Promoting Innovation and Creativity in Initial Teacher Technical Education in Ireland: A Case Study

Abstract

[EN] The Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology (GMIT), Ireland, is a Higher Education (HE) provider of Initial Teacher Education (ITE).Graduates on its BSc (Hons) in Education (Design, Graphics and Construction) degree programme are qualified to teach technical subjects at second level. A defining element of delivery is the promotion of creativity and innovation in the classroom, by means of active, student-centred and design-led teaching and learning (T&L) strategies. This paper outlines a GMIT qualitative student-perspective pilot study, involving a total of 42 GMIT student teacher participants (n=42). The study aims to analyse the effectiveness of two selected platforms in the ITE programme: 1) presentation contributions by 14 student teachers at the GMIT ‘Creativity and Innovation in Teaching’ Conference (2016) (n=14), and 2) a textual analysis of student online forum critical reflection submissions (2016-2017) (n=28). The research confirms the effectiveness of both strategies in promoting a practice of innovation and creativity in the classroom, including evidence of the innovative educational technology classroom tools and increased student-centred, active learning and design-led strategies in T&L. Challenges identified include clasrrom management and time management constraints.