CBL Examples
See below for some further examples of CBL in action across Faculties.
The DCU Hack4Change Social Innovation Series was a series of five day-long hackathons hosted for University students from March 9-13th 2024. Each day had a designated theme (Mental Health & Wellbeing, Fast Fashion, Smarter Travel and Climate Action & Sustainability; Inclusivity and Diversity) with students self-selecting to the theme that interested them. Student teams were helped to develop viable ideas that could address a specific challenge within their designated theme.
Students worked on research and ideation, assisted by a set of informative prompts and a customized HackCanvas created by University staff. Academic and practicing specialists were brought in to provide the students with expert insight and mentorship. Over the course of the week, over 90 experts delivered keynote sessions and ‘lightning’ talks, provided small-group mentoring to help the student teams develop and refine their ideas, and judged pitch presentations held at the end of each day.
Embedding Student-Centred Learning within DCU’s Biomedical Engineering Programme
The project is focused on curriculum development within the Biomedical Engineering Programme in the School of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering and specifically on embedding student-centred challenge-based learning within our programme. The initial focus of this project is on a masters level module 'Biomechanics of Tissue Engineering' which teaches students the principles of tissue engineering and the application of biomechanics theories. Central to this year-long module is a design challenge where students are tasked with designing, fabricating and testing tissue engineered scaffolds with the aim of achieving a new medical device capable of addressing a recognised clinical challenge. The lectures, tutorials and laboratory work delivered during the module are designed to support the project work as it progresses. Students are required to deliver key elements of their projects at various points during the year. Overall, the approach aims to improve student engagement and motivation, reinforce design thinking and problem solving and enhance creativity.
DCU is one of twelve European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) member institutions, an EU-funded European University that is engaged in creating, testing and evaluating a new pedagogy using the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) framework.
The first DCU ECIU pilot challenge ran in March - May 2021. Professor Deiric O Bróin from the School of Law and Government led the Challenge, with support from Dr. Fiona O’Riordan from the Teaching Enhancement Unit (TEU). The Challenge partner was the Eastern and Midland Regional Assembly (EMRA), a local government structure with elected representatives that sit on a regional assembly on behalf of the citizens of the regions. As the Midlands region pivots from reliance on fossil fuel energy production to greener renewable energy production using the existing energy infrastructure, students must come up with proposed solutions and recommendations that can help revitalise the area using the connected nature of the region, and existing workforce.
For further information please contact Professor Deiric O Bróin (deiric.obroin@dcu.ie)
DCU is one of twelve European Consortium of Innovative Universities (ECIU) member institutions, an EU-funded European University engaged in creating, testing, and evaluating a new pedagogy using the Challenge Based Learning (CBL) framework.
The first DCU ECIU pilot challenge ran successfully in March-May 2021 with the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences under the guidance of Professor Deiric O Bróin from the School of Law and Government led the Challenge, with support from Dr. Fiona O’Riordan from the Teaching Enhancement Unit (TEU).
Following on from this success, Dr. Monica Ward from the School of Computer Science leads on a challenge running from September - December 2021, again supported by Dr. Fiiona O’Riordan from the Teaching Enhancement Unit (TEU). The Challenge titled - The psychological impact or disruption of innovative technologies on society- is leading edge and exciting, and attracting a lot of international interest.
For further information please contact Dr. Monica Ward (monica.ward@dcu.ie)
In November 2021, DCU Institute of Education held a two-day virtual hackathon event called ‘Hack to Transform’. This weekend event for postgraduate research students invitedparticipants to come together to solve/hack an education challenge for the 21st Century. DCU Institute of Education prides itself on being a forward-thinking, innovative provider ofpostgraduate research education. The IoE Postgraduate Researcher Development Framework identifies skills that students may wish to develop over the course of theirPostgraduate research degree. In ‘Hack to Transform’, the focus was on one (sometimes intangible) quadrant of the framework: Personal Effectiveness Competencies. These competencies include personal agility, teamwork, independence and creativity. This short, fast-paced event enabled research students to practise their creative problem-solving skills, work in a new team and create a pragmatic solution to the education challenge. The students pitched ideas, voted on the five most workable solutions and formed teams within which they could hack. The education challenge was broad in order to cover the range of research interests among the teams.
How can we ensure the most effective education experience for all in the 21st Century?
The research students used the six stages of Design Thinking as a foundation for their approach to the challenge (Razzouk & Shute, 2012 ). These are:
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1. Empathy |
Gaining empathetic understanding of the problem you’re trying to solve. Setting aside your own assumptions and gaining insight into users and their needs. |
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2. Define |
Stating users’ needs and problems. Defining the core needs and creating the problem statement. |
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3. Ideate |
Challenging assumptions and creating ideas… thinking outside the box. Looking for alternative ways to solve the problem. |
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4. Prototype |
Starting to create a solution via a real world representation. |
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5. Test |
Trying it out and going back to user base for feedback. |
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6. Launch |
Putting the solution into effect |
The teams of research students were supported by mentors outside of the university and academic setting and were encouraged to present their solution to the judging panel in an innovative way, so no slide decks! Some activities included short films and interviews with key stakeholders to show the worth of their solutions. Judging criteria were provided and a scoring rubric was used by the five judges to pick the worthy winner: FUNdamental Education. This Nano CBL event provided an opportunity for realisation of the vision for Doctoral study in the IoE. That vision espouses that postgraduate study does not operate within a vacuum, but rather within a vibrant, dynamic and interactive academic community.
To hear more about the participant experience, particularly as a Hackathon first-timer, read this reflection from one participant: Going The Distance with a Hackathon: Personal Reflections
To hear more about the rationale, format, and outcomes of the hackathon from the perspective of the event lead, read this blog post from Dr Gillian Lake: Hackathons - a creative approach to developing researchers and solving educational challenges
For further information please contact Clare Gormley (clare.gormley@dcu.ie) or Dr Gillian Lake (gillian.lake@dcu.ie)