Re-imagining our curriculum
Consolidating the First Year Experience
Prototype Project Updates:
January 2016
General DetailsProject Title / DIT Peer Mentoring Universal Design Pilot
Name of Main Applicant / John Delap
Position Held / Project Officer, Access & Civic Engagement
College / DIT
Tel. Number / 01 402 7622
Email /
Names of any co-applicants
(& colleges they are based in): / Finbarr O’Leary, Brian Gormley, Katherine Slattery
Signed / J. DELAP
Date / 27 January 2016
TU4D Theme (Please tick)
Induction/early orientation First 5,6 or 7 weeks;
X Peer mentoring Assessment and feedback;
Graduate Attributes Students/ autonomous self-directed learners,
Learning spaces – virtual & physical Alternative Curriculum models
Summary of Prototype project(max 200 words) / Delivering sustainable Peer Mentoring is a priority of the Technological University for DublinEnhancing the First Year Experience initiative. Good quality Peer Mentoring can be delivered to all 1st year DIT students, but the Institute needs to develop a best-practice model which can be adapted by 1st Year Course Tutors in each DIT School.
The DIT ACE Office has led the way in developing a best-practice Peer Support programme. The DIT ACE STUDENT LEADERSHIP LAUNCHPAD is the result of years of practice and research into best-practice in the delivery of peer support. Using this successful model as a base, we intend to work collaboratively with DIT Campus Life and the DIT Chaplaincy to develop a paired down template which individual Schools can adopt. We will also engage in consultations with ITT and ITB colleagues to ensure all knowledge and potential-roll out details are captured.
This work will be completed collaboratively during summer 2015. We will implement a pilot version of this template with the School of Hospitality Management in the 2015-16 academic year and will report back on the results after extensive evaluation. During the summer of 2016 we intend to edit the pilot model and ensure resources and training can be delivered to 1st Year Tutors across the College of Arts & Tourism, with a view to further expansion in the years to come.
Project dates / September 2015-August 2016
Main proposed original project outputs for the TU4D (max 100 words) / (please include as a list of bullet points. These can be ones modified from the original submission)
- The TU for Dublin process has clearly articulated that resources should be focused on improving the 1st year experience
- the development of a template model for Peer Mentoring would enable Schools in all three HEIs to ensure that we are delivering best-practice peer support to incoming 1st year students.
- This collaboration will ensure that the amalgamated Institute can stand provide top-notch resources to its lecturing staff for the delivery of peer support.
- When fully implemented, standardised peer support across the amalgamated Institute may also serve to lessen the pastoral care burden on 1st Year Tutors and enhance the reputation of the TU4D.
Project outputs including any evaluation data(max 300 words,data to be included in an appendix but can be summarised here) / This project feeds into Points 1, 2, 4, 5, and 6 of the TU4D themes.
Point 1 - Inductions/Orientation
Students may report feeling more settled and strongly connected to and prepared for their course/TU4D if Induction sessions feature strong Peer Mentoring elements. Further, lecturers will find that if key second year students are trained to provide basic information to first year students at Induction that first year tutors will find their workload reduced, in the long run.
Point 2 - First 5, 6, or 7 weeks
Studies show that 1st year students benefit most when induction activities are extended beyond the initial induction week. In the first six weeks, 1st year students (especially those from cohorts who are underrepresented in higher education) often report a struggle to adapt to college life. This is a critical time for students to witness successful role models with whom they can relate.
Point 4 - Students as autonomous self-directed learners
The crafting and delivery of effective Peer Mentor models within academic Schools would provide a concrete forum for First Year Tutors to cultivate self-directed learners. Many of the skills second and third year students develop by serving as Peer Mentors feeds directly into DIT’s Graduate Attributes. It will also increase the students’ connection with the School, which may be useful post-graduation when the TU4D seeks donations from Alumni.
Point 5 - Peer mentors
The value of effective Peer Mentoring (for the reasons mentioned above) cannot be overstated. Many academic studies show that effective peer mentoring programmes are linked with higher rates of progression and eventual graduation. Effective peer mentoring, in addition to enhancing the student experience, also maintains stability in the number of bums-on-seats, which is relevant for Schools.
6. Graduate Attributes
Finally, the skills learned (both my student mentees and mentors) will complement the information they learn in the classrooms and will undoubtedly service to provide students with skills they need to succeed in the working world. Such skills are clearly outlined in DIT’s Graduate Attributes.
Lessons Learned
(max 200 words) / Already we have met with colleagues in all three Institutes to discuss approaches for delivery of Peer Mentoring supports for Academic Schools. This project has begun this process of gathering data and best practice with regard to how ITB, ITT and DIT incorporate Peer Mentoring into the FYE curriculum.
This collation of data on respective approaches to resourcing and delivery of peer mentoring programmes is key for the development of a universal design template which can be employed to Heads of Schools within their own area in the new TU4D.
Carving out time to collect this data has proven useful. One lesson learned is that it is more time-consuming than expected to record the many diverse approaches currently being utilised across the three institutions. That said, it is key that this effort be made if the new TU4D desires to roll out a “best practice” peer mentoring model and provide academic staff with simple, easy-to-deliver templates for adopting peer mentoring into their own 1st year curriculum. This project will aim to provide such a template, which can then be adapted by academic colleagues within each school. First, however, an audit of current practices must be completed.
Next stage(max (max 200 words) / If you haven’t already done so, how do you plan to evaluate your prototype project (please include at least one evaluation method and nature of data to be provided to the TU FYE working group)
This project will create two things:
1)An audit of current Peer Mentoring practices being utilised by colleagues within ITT, ITB & DIT. To-date, several meetings we have held in ITB, ITT and DIT in the Autumn 2015 semester have developed a collegiality among staff involved in Peer Mentoring at all three institutions. We will create a spreadsheet capturing current Peer Mentor models being delivered across this three institutions and send out an email blast (with the help of the TU4D administration team!) to ask colleagues we have not yet met to get in contact with us so we can record their practice. This recording of this data will be a major accomplishment for the amalgamated institutions, as there is no central repository for this data, at present.
2)On foot of the compilation of this data, our team will create a pilot template Heads of Schools can adapt with their own teams for delivering effective peer mentoring within their own schools (as described above).
How do you plan to develop /implement your project outputs/findings over the next months? (please reference possible future funding applications and/or change to your practice)
Once the template is ready, we will use our contacts within the three HEIs to target three academic Schools where pilot programmes can be run during the 2016-17 academic year. We will closely monitor:
- The resourcing requirements
- The clarity of the template material
- The evaluation of the effectiveness of the programme for staff, second year mentors and 1st year mentees
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2015-6TU4D Reimagining the FYE Project Update on Progress