The Queen's College, Cork: its origins and early history, 1803-1858

This work examines the origins and early history of the Queen's College, Cork. Designedly there is as much stress on the origins as on the early history, for it is the contention of the work that the College was something more than a legislative mushroom. It was very much in the tradition of the civic universities which added an exciting new dimension to academic life in these islands in the nineteenth century. The first chapter surveys university practice and thinking at the opening of the century, relying exclusively on published sources. The second chapter is devoted specifically to the state of learning in Cork during the period, and makes extensive use of hitherto unpublished manuscript material in relation to the Royal Cork Institution. The third chapter deals with the highly significant evidence on education embodied in the Report of the Select Committee on Irish Education of 1838. This material has not previously been published. In chapter four an extended study is made of relevant letters in the manuscript correspondence of Sir Robert Peel - even the most recent authoritative biography has ignored this material. The remaining three chapters are devoted more specifically to the College, both in the formulation or policy and in its practical working. In chapter six there is an extended survey of early College life based exclusively on hitherto unpublished manuscript material in the College Archives. All of these sources, together with incidental published material, are set out at the end of each chapter.

Leadership and management standards in the UK Lifelong Learning sector

Leadership and Management Standards in the UK Lifelong Learning Sector. Presentation on research findings on leadership and management in the LLS sector, in the context of UK government policy changes introducing the 2007 Principals' Qualifying Programme (PQP) delivered by the Centre for Excellence in Leadership (CEL)/Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS). Discusses the role of standards in leadership and management professional practice and development and sums up the history of development of standards in relation to the National Occupational Standards (NOS) for Leadership and Management, based on the UK Management Standards Centre (MSC) Institute for Leadership and Management Standards. Discusses the Lifelong Learning UK (LLUK) Benchmark Role Specification for Principals in FE, Sixth Form and Specialist Colleges and the fact that the LSIS PQP has adopted those as part of its programme for Principal development. In the context of the implementation of standards for leadership and management, discusses the importance of values-based and research-informed leadership and the development of trust in lifelong learning sector institutions, given the multiple challenges facing vocational education and training (VET) institutions and the relative lack of recognition and support for the difficult roles taken on by Principals and senior leaders.

Rapid tryptophan depletion improves decision-making cognition in healthy humans without affecting reversal learning or set shifting

Rapid tryptophan (Trp) depletion (RTD) has been reported to cause deterioration in the quality of decision making and impaired reversal learning, while leaving attentional set shifting relatively unimpaired. These findings have been attributed to a more powerful neuromodulatory effect of reduced 5-HT on ventral prefrontal cortex (PFC) than on dorsolateral PFC. In view of the limited number of reports, the aim of this study was to independently replicate these findings using the same test paradigms. Healthy human subjects without a personal or family history of affective disorder were assessed using a computerized decision making/gambling task and the CANTAB ID/ED attentional set-shifting task under Trp-depleted (n=17; nine males and eight females) or control (n=15; seven males and eight females) conditions, in a double-blind, randomized, parallel-group design. There was no significant effect of RTD on set shifting, reversal learning, risk taking, impulsivity, or subjective mood. However, RTD significantly altered decision making such that depleted subjects chose the more likely of two possible outcomes significantly more often than controls. This is in direct contrast to the previous report that subjects chose the more likely outcome significantly less often following RTD. In the terminology of that report, our result may be interpreted as improvement in the quality of decision making following RTD. This contrast between studies highlights the variability in the cognitive effects of RTD between apparently similar groups of healthy subjects, and suggests the need for future RTD studies to control for a range of personality, family history, and genetic factors that may be associated with 5-HT function.

How teachers of Geography and History of Secondary Education assess?

The purpose of this article is to analyse the assessment procedures and instruments used by teachers of Geography and History of Compulsory Secondary School (ESO) in the Region of Murcia (Spain). The data have been extracted implementing a survey technique proceeded by a descriptive analysis. The results show that teachers generally have a traditional conception of assessment, reflected in the fact that they think that assessment should not change when teaching strategies are changed or when they innovate. On the other hand, although they consider that is necessary to employ a variety of instruments to assess well and to prevent school failure, they still use exams as the most objective and essential instrument in the assessment, while they don’t apply continuous assessment, only tests in a continuous way. The implementation of similar research in other areas or in other subjects shows the existence of contrasts in teacher assessment practices.

Student teachers' prior experiences of history, geography and science: initial findings of an all-Ireland survey

Research into student teachers' perceptions, attitudes and prior experiences of learning suggests that these experiences can exert an influence on practice which can be relatively undisturbed by their initial teacher education. This article is based on the initial findings of an all-Ireland survey of all first-year students on B.Ed. courses in colleges in Northern Ireland and in the Republic of Ireland. The survey is the first stage in a longitudinal study which will follow the same cohort of students for the duration of their initial teacher education, seeking to map and track the development of their ideas about teaching and learning in primary history, geography and science. Based on an analysis of the quantitative data in the entry questionnaire, the initial findings suggest that subject knowledge remains a problematic issue in initial teacher education and that both location and gender interact with knowledge, attitudes and subject area to produce a complex and challenging context for teacher educators in history, geography and science education.

The mental health needs of people with a learning disability detained in police custody

Few research studies examine the prevalence or mental health needs of people with a Learning Disability (LD) detained in police custody. This paper describes the population of detainees with an LD who presented to an inner city inter-agency police liaison service during a three-year period. Two forensically trained Community Mental Health Nurses (CMHNs) screened all custody record forms (n=9014) for evidence of a mental health problem or LD. The CMHNs interviewed positively screened detainees (n=1089) using a battery of measures designed to assess mental health status, risk-related behaviour and alcohol or drug abuse. Almost one-in-ten of those interviewed (95/1089) were judged to have a possible or definite LD. Fifty-two per cent were cases on the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ) whilst 61% attained 'above threshold' Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) scores. The majority (63%) had a history of causing harm to others while 56 per cent had a history of self-harm. More than half (56%) regularly consumed harmful levels of alcohol while one-in-four (27%) reported abusing drugs. Higher than expected numbers of detainees have a learning disability and most have complex mental health needs. A police liaison service offers a way of identifying people with LD and connecting them with appropriate health and social care agencies.

Conflict, transition and education for ‘political generosity’: learning from the experience of ex-combatants in Northern Ireland

This article suggests that opportunities exist to harness the potential of history and citizenship education with the processes of transition in developing programmes which support young people in exploring conflict and the challenges associated with attending to its legacy. Drawing on the experience of Northern Ireland, it is suggested that the narratives of those who have been involved directly as both combatants in conflict and latterly as agents of change in their communities provide unique opportunities for young people to reflect on these issues. By way of illustration, an account of one such initiative is presented: ‘From Prison to Peace: learning from the experience of political ex-prisoners’; a structured programme which invites young people to engage directly with loyalist and republican ex-combatants in the Northern Ireland conflict. The article suggests that such programmes have the potential to assist young people in exploring the complexity of conflict and the intricacies of transition. Furthermore it is suggested that the relationships which exist between these ex-combatants arguably can challenge sectarian perspectives and foster capacity for ‘political generosity’ towards those with opposing political aspirations.

Did children’s perceptions of an after-school social learning program predict change in their behavior?

This research explored the influence of children’s perceptions of a pro-social behavior after-school program on actual change in the children’s behavioral outcomes over the program’s duration. Children’s perceptions of three program processes were collected as well as self-reported pro-social and anti-social behavior before and after the program. Statistical models showed that: Positive perceptions of the program facilitators’ dispositions significantly predicted reductions in anti-social behavior; and positive perceptions with the program activities significantly predicted gains in pro-social behavior. The children’s perceptions of their peers’ behavior in the sessions were not found to a significant predictor of behavioral change. The two significant perceptual indicators predicted a small percentage of the change in the behavioral outcomes. However, as after-school social learning programs have a research history of problematic implementation children’s perceptions should be considered in future program design, evaluation and monitoring.

"Should I prioritize medical problem solving or attentive listening?": the dilemmas and challenges that medical students experience when learning to conduct consultations

Objective: Communication skills can be trained alongside clinical reasoning, history taking or clinical examination skills. This is advocated as a solution to the low transfer of communication skills. Still, students have to integrate the knowledge/skills acquired during different curriculum parts in patient consultations at some point. How do medical students experience these integrated consultations within a simulated environment and in real practice when dealing with responsibility?

Methods: Six focus groups were conducted with (pre-)/clerkship students.

Results: Students were motivated to practice integrated consultations with simulated patients and felt like 'real physicians'. However, their focus on medical problem solving drew attention away from improving their communication skills. Responsibility for real patients triggered students' identity development. This identity formation guided the development of an own consultation style, a process that was hampered by conflicting demands of role models.

Conclusion: Practicing complete consultations results in the dilemma of prioritizing medical problem solving above attention for patient communication. Integrated consultation training advances this dilemma to the pre-clerkship period. During clerkships this dilemma is heightened because real patients trigger empathy and responsibility, which invites students to define their role as doctor.

Practice Implications: When training integrated consultations, educators should pay attention to students' learning priorities and support the development of students' professional identity.

Learning outcomes tracking system (L.O.T.S):seeing student progress as term progresses

At QUB we have constructed a system that allows students to self-assess their capability on the fine grained learning outcomes for a module and to update their record as the term progresses. In the system each of the learning outcomes are linked to the relevant teaching session (lectures and labs) and to [online] resources that students can access at any time. Students can structure their own learning experience to their needs to attain the learning outcomes. The system keeps a history of the student’s record, allowing the lecturer to observe how the students’ abilities progress over the term and to compare it to assessment results. The system also keeps of any of the resource links that student has clicked on.

Using VEs to enhance chronological understanding of history in middle school children.

Studies with computer-experienced children in the UK and less experienced in Ukraine explored the potential for VEs in teaching historical chronology to middle-school children aged 10–12 years old. Active fly-through VEs had been previously used successfully with primary school children aged 8–9 years old (given specific training with the environment) when they were subsequently tested for their ability to order events chronologically. All VEs in the present studies included a training element and active challenge, both found previously to enhance learning in other age groups. Ukraine children were trained and tested. UK children here were trained and tested, then retrained and retested to examine savings. Unlike other age groups, no significant benefit was seen for VE training compared with PowerPoint and Text conditions in either study. Possible explanations for the ineffectiveness of VE training for children of middle school age will be discussed. Keywords: timeline, chronographics

Can virtual environments enhance the learning of historical chronology?

Historical time and chronological sequence are usually conveyed to pupils via the presentation of semantic information on printed worksheets, events being rote-memorised according to date. We explored the use of virtual environments in which successive historical events were depicted as “places” in time–space, encountered sequentially in a fly-through. Testing was via “Which came first, X or Y?” questions and picture-ordering. University undergraduates experiencing the history of an imaginary planet performed better after a VE than after viewing a “washing line” of sequential images, or captions alone, especially for items in intermediate list positions. However, secondary children 11–14 years remembered no more about successive events in feudal England when they were presented virtually compared with either paper picture or 2-D computer graphic conditions. Primary children 7–9 years learned more about historical sequence after studying a series of paper images, compared with either VE or computer graphic conditions, remembering more in early/intermediate list positions. Reasons for the discrepant results are discussed and future possible uses of VEs in the teaching of chronology assessed. Keywords: timeline, chronographics

Do challenge, task experience or computer familiarity influence the learning of historical chronology from virtual environments in 8–9 year old children?

Studies examined the potential use of Virtual Environments (VEs) in teaching historical chronology to 127 children of primary school age (8–9 years). The use of passive fly-through VEs had been found, in an earlier study, to be disadvantageous with this age group when tested for their subsequent ability to place displayed sequential events in correct chronological order. All VEs in the present studies included active challenge, previously shown to enhance learning in older participants. Primary school children in the UK (all frequent computer users) were tested using UK historical materials, but no significant effect was found between three conditions (Paper, PowerPoint and VE) with minimal pre-training. However, excellent (error free) learning occurred when children were allowed greater exploration prior to training in the VE. In Ukraine, with children having much less computer familiarity, training in a VE (depicting Ukrainian history) produced better learning compared to PowerPoint, but no better than in a Paper condition. The results confirmed the benefit of using challenge in a VE with primary age children, but only with adequate prior familiarisation with the medium. Familiarity may reduce working memory load and increase children’s spatial memory capacity for acquiring sequential temporal-spatial information from virtual displays. Keywords: timeline, chronographics

Work in progress - learning through role play games

It is commonly accepted that the educational environment has been undergoing considerable change due to the use of the Information and Communication tools. But learning depends upon actions such as experimenting, visualizing and demonstrating through which the learner succeeds in constructing his own knowledge. Although it is not easy to achieve these actions through current ICT supported learning approaches, Role Playing Games (RPG) may well develop such capacities. The creation of an interactive computer game with RPG characteristics, about the 500th anniversary of the city of Funchal, the capital of Madeira Island, is invested with compelling educational/pedagogical implications, aiming clearly at teaching history and social relations through playing. Players interpret different characters in different settings/scenarios, experiencing adventures, meeting challenges and trying to reach multiple and simultaneous goals in the areas of education, entertainment and social integration along the first 150 years of the history of Funchal. Through this process they will live and understand all the social and historical factors of that epoch.