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Current Projects

Here you will find an inventory of projects the centre is involved in. For inquiries or additional information, please do not hesitate to contact us. Thank you for your interest!

Empowerment Through Education – targeted education programs to change behaviours governing parasite control in horses in Ireland
Empowerment Through Education – targeted education programs to change behaviours governing parasite control in horses in Ireland

Funding Body:
DAFM, Equine Technical Support and Equine Breeding Schemes 2023

PI: Dr Nicola Walshe
Collaborators: Grace Mulcahy, Theo De Waal, Diane Cashman, Jane Howard, Alison Burrell (Animal Health Ireland)

Duration:
July 2023 - Jan 2024

Informed by the latest scientific information and research into the views and experiences of stakeholders, this project aims to design and develop a new UCD micro credential for veterinary practitioners. This course aims to develop the necessary skills and expertise to assess and mitigate parasitic disease risk for the individual horse and/or the herd. The course will provide students with the most up to date research in this area covering everything from the fundamental first principles of parasitology to the application of those first principles in the clinical field. Through case-based learning, the student will be encouraged to engage with real-life complex cases, reflect upon their professional practice, and develop their communication comp

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Examining Student Learning and the Utility of ‘Open-Book’ Authentic Case-Based Online Assessments
Examining Student Learning and the Utility of ‘Open-Book’ Authentic Case-Based Online Assessments

Funding Body:
UCD / HEA / National Forum for the Enhancement of Teaching and Learning

PI: Sue Rackard
Collaborators:
Diane Cashman, Bryan Markey, Joe Cassidy, Sean Lacy (Munster Technological University), Holly Digham, Jullianna Gallo, Carla Coll, Tom Maher,

Duration:
March 2023 - Dec 2024

Description:
The overall aim of this research project is to evaluate a novel assessment format that was developed to evaluate student clinical reasoning through an online authentic, case-based, and ‘open-book’ approach. The project's research objectives are to explore the utility of an online, authentic, case-based, ‘open-book’ assessment format designed to assess clinical reasoning and examine learning strategies students adopted to prepare for this assessment format
An international study of teaching and assessment of professionalism competencies in Veterinary Medicine programs with a focus on the challenges of sustaining a professionalism curriculum
An international study of teaching and assessment of professionalism competencies in Veterinary Medicine programs with a focus on the challenges of sustaining a professionalism curriculum

Funding Body:
Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) Council on International Veterinary Medical Education (CIVME)

PI: Sue Rackard
Collaborators:
Associate Professor Talia Guttin (St. George’s University School of Veterinary Medicine, Grenada, West indies)
Associate Professor Gheorge Goran (Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, UASVM of Bucharest, Romania)
Professor Md. Ahasanul Hoque (Chittagong Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Bangladesh)

Description:
This study aims to
1. Define the current required professionalism competencies in veterinary medicine as described across accreditation standards and in the veterinary medical literature.
2. Identify the scope of competencies taught and assessed , the types of teaching and assessment, and the structure of inter

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The Evidenced-Based Education Collaborative (EVIBEC) Learning Outcomes Framework
The Evidenced-Based Education Collaborative (EVIBEC) Learning Outcomes Framework

This project brought together an interdisciplinary team of academics with a common interest in the design and delivery of evidence-based practice within their disciplines.

Project Outcomes to date:
- Open access interactive learning outcomes framework aligned to EBP competencies, classified according to the 5’A’s of EBP, and mapped to the cognitive levels of Bloom’s taxonomy.
- A broad range of suggested learning activities, aligned with the 5'A's of EBP, generated through extensive discussion with students.
Resources for use in EBP teaching.

Ongoing work:
- Our open access learning framework has been designed to promote sharing, discussion, and ongoing iterative development of this work.
- It is hoped that the interactive Padlet platform will support growth of our Community of Practice with like-minded health professional educators feeding back and contributing to this resource.
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A European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) initiative to share best practice in the use of logbooks for Day 1 Competencies across Veterinary Education Establishments
A European Association of Establishments for Veterinary Education (EAEVE) initiative to share best practice in the use of logbooks for Day 1 Competencies across Veterinary Education Establishments

EAEVE represents and supports its member establishments within Europe and globally by driving the harmonisation of a research-based veterinary education and its evolution in the context of societal challenges. EAEVE's evaluation system gives assurance to the public (to know they can trust the quality of veterinary services), veterinary students (to know their education reaches agreed standards) and veterinary educational establishments (to know that their curricula and School reach agreed standards). In 2022, EAEVE's Executive Committee established a working group to propose an e-logbook template which could be adopted and implemented across EAEVE Schools. Sue Rackard is one of six international experts selected to serve on this working group and is responsible for leading one of the four constituent work packages of the project.
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Metacognition - Fostering metacognitive skill development in University Education through blended learning\n
Metacognition - Fostering metacognitive skill development in University Education through blended learning

Metacognition, popularly dubbed ‘thinking about thinking,’ refers to knowledge, awareness and understanding of one's own thought processes and approaches to learning. Metacognitive skills are widely recognised as key transversal skills. They are strongly linked to academic achievement, essential for effective lifelong learning, and underpin many of the key competencies identified as essential for education for sustainable development.

The fundamental importance of metacognitive skills makes them a high impact educational target.

UCD Fellows in Teaching and Academic Development created and trialled the Metacognition Design Framework, an evidence-based learning design that scaffolds the development of metacognitive skills in students through blended learning.

Contact Us

UCD Veterinary Sciences Centre, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, Ireland.
E: sue.rackard@ucd.ie | Location Map(opens in a new window)