Trinity Access 21College For Every Student Research Update

Innovative partnerships to build an education system that supports every young person to reach their full academic potential

Introduction & ContextAn educational reform movement is underway in Ireland. This movement seeks to increase the number of people with the skills needed for employment in the 21st century and to address educational disadvantage. The Trinity Access 21 (TA21) project, an innovative university led school outreach programme that empowers students, supports 21st century learning environments and strengthens ‘college going’ cultures in communities where progression to higher education is low, is at the forefront of this transformation in education.

Efforts to widen participation

rates of young people in Higher

Education (HE) have resulted

in an increase from 20% in the 1980’s to 52% in 2015.

Despite this general expansion a

persistent pattern of inequality of access by low socioeconomic status

(SES) students remains.

For example, participation rates in higher education for

low SES students was only

23% (HEA, 2015).

The structural barriers to the educational

development of low SES students include:

Access to information about school subject choice and

college course options;

Educational guidance in low SES schools which is often

replaced by counseling for critical personal issues;

Access to available trusted role models from similar

communities who have gone on to higher education;

School learning environments that tend to be

teacher-directed.

To increase the 21st century

teaching capabilities of

teachers across the Irish

second level education

system;

To build a robust evidence base that informs policy and

structural change.

TA21 partnered with 11 Dublin area secondary schools to pilot the programme with 1,100 students. Now, together with educational partners, teachers and schools across the country, TA21 is scaling the project.

To support educational attainment and post secondary progression by

students from geographical

areas where attendance at

third level is low;

TA21 partners with schools to

implement four core practices;

1) Mentoring, 2) Leadership through Service, 3) Pathways to College, 4) 21st Century Teaching and Learning. Students participate in 1-3, with

4 supporting teaching practice

through a Post Graduate

Certificate in 21st Century Teaching & Learning. The four

core practices are underpinned

by a longitudinal research

study.

Participation rates

can be mapped geographically and strongly

correlate with the

level of affluence in the community

where the school is

located.

Percentage progression to Higher Education statistics by Dublin postcodes

TA21

2014

GOALS

19802010

To increase 21st century teaching capabilities, especially computer science skills, of teachers across the Irish second level education system;

Milestones so far . . .

Key Findings

September 2014 launch of PG Cert with 81 teachers from 11 TA21 schools

November 2014 1100 students attend Mentoring Showcase in the National Conference Centre

* High Control (HC) group includes students from high-progression schools not taking part in the TA21 programme ** Matched Control (MC) group includes students from DEIS Schools not participating in the TA21 programme

November 2015 5000 students in 11 TA21 schools participate in College Awareness Week

May 2016 200 teachers participate in the ‘21st Century Skills’ Conference in Google Foundry

May 2016 launch of the inaugural ‘21st Century Schools of Distinction’ Award

July 2016 320 teachers from 23 countries have completed the PG Cert in 21st Century Teaching & Learning

May 2017 1100 students from TA21 schools participate in Leadership through Service Summit in Trinity College Dublin

Matched Control**

High Control*

TA21 Group

40 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017

45

50

55

60

65

YEAR% P

LAN

NIN

G O

N A

PPLY

ING

TO

CO

LLEG

E INTENTION TO APPLY TO COLLEGE

E PRE TA21

ENGLISH

POST YEAR 1

POST YEAR 2

D

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GRA

DE

TA21MC

HC

EPRE TA21

MATH

POST YEAR 1

POST YEAR 2

D

C

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GRA

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TA21MCHC

CHANGE IN ENGLISH AND MATH GRADE

0

STUDENT COLLABORATION

1 = ALMOST NEVER

4 =DAILY

STUDENTS CREATE JOINT PRODUCTS

STUDENTS DIRECT OWN LEARNING

CREATIVITY WITH TECHNOLOGY

CLASSROOM PRACTICES

1 2 3 4

Before PG Cert After PG Cert

TA21 SCHOLARS

PG CERT TEACHERS

are grading how well their teachers are preparing them for college higher than the two control groups;

are reporting an increase in confidence to achieve their goals and their dream job;

who increase by 1 the rating of the school’s college-going culture, have a corresponding 39% increase in their intention to apply to college;

who visited a college were 2.3 times more likely to say they plan to do a degree than those who did not visit;

who were visited by college students in their school were 2.4 times more likely to say they plan to do a degree than those who had no visits;

who talked to family about college were 2.1 times more likely to say they plan to do a degree than those who had not talked to family; who said they needed to improve their grades were 1.5 times more likely to say they plan to do a degree than those who did not say they needed to improve their grades.

Following participation in the PG Cert teachers report;

An increased feeling of autonomy in their teaching practice;

Increased levels of confidence to use technology in the classroom;

Better relationships with their students.

May 2016 200 teachers participate in the ‘21st century Skills’ Conference in The Foundry, Google Dublin

Increased levels of confidence to teach Computational Thinking, Scratch, Raspberry Pi and Python’ ‘21st Century Schools of Distinction’ Award in The Foundry, Google Dublin.

Better relationships with their student;

Increased levels of confidence to use technology in the classroom;

TRINITY ACCESS 21 PILOT SCHOOLS

Ard Scoil La Salle, Raheny, Dublin 5

Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

Mercy Secondary School, Inchicore, Dublin 8

St Mark’s CS, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Balbriggan Community College,Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

Loreto College, Crumlin, Dublin 12

Moyle Park College, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

Tallaght Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Ballinteer Community School, Ballinteer, Dublin 1

Marian College, Dublin 4

St Joseph’s Secondary School, Rush, Co. Dublin

,TRINITY ACCESS 21, PILOT SCHOOLS

TRINITY ACCESS 21 PILOT SCHOOLS

Ard Scoil La Salle, Raheny, Dublin 5

Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

Mercy Secondary School, Inchicore, Dublin 8

St Mark’s CS, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Balbriggan Community College,Balbriggan, Co. Dublin

Loreto College, Crumlin, Dublin 12

Moyle Park College, Clondalkin, Dublin 22

Tallaght Community School, Tallaght, Dublin 24

Ballinteer Community School, Ballinteer, Dublin 1

Marian College, Dublin 4

St Joseph’s Secondary School, Rush, Co. Dublin

Mentoring‘Mentoring’, one of the four Trinity Access 21 core practices, is a college focused programme which supports students in developing college going aspirations the confidence to s cceed in college and the no ledge a o t ho to successfully navigate the college application process. TA21 Mentoring works by matching TA21 Scholars with a trustworthy role model, ideally one from the student’s own community or from a similar background, and supports them with a range of college focused mentoring activity plans to help them cultivate good relationships and share important college going information with their mentees.

Students who had a mentor were 3.2 times more likely to say they plan to complete a degree than those who had no mentor.

Long term quality mentoring with a college student or a graduate from the same community has a meaningful

impact upon student

self belief and

aspiration.

MENTORING OUTCOMES

80% 76%of the TA21 Scholars participated in college focused mentoring.

of TA21 Scholars participated in a Mentoring programme in 2016/17.

of TA21 Scholars rated their mentoring relationship as either good or excellent.

As the number and quality of mentoring sessions increased, TA21 Scholars’ intention to complete a college degree increased.

Moyle Park scholars participating in online mentoring

The average number of times per year that TA21 Scholars met their mentor.

75%3

Leadership Through Service‘Leadership through Service’, the second Trinity Access 21 core practice, puts students in charge of designing, planning and delivering a community service project. It supports students to identify opportunities to lead, develop leadership skills, prepare for the realities o anaging a pro ect and re ection on personal development.

Transformative leadership projects led by TA21 Scholars have included the launch of a new 21st Century Library and Learning Space in Ard Scoil La Salle, Raheny, opened by Dublin poet Paula Meehan, and an overnight trip focused on developing study skills by the girls at Mercy Secondary School, Inchicore.

“It felt like I was helping them so therefore I was taking out a load of stress so, like they’re going into school and as well as that they need to try and make friends but they’ve already made friends now so that’s a bit of stress already relieved and I was talking to them about study a bit, every few minutes I’d say study this and study that and how many s ects e s all do in first ear and how much we do in third year, that there’s a big leap from one and a half hours to two and a half hours, so.”

Trinity Access 21

rolled out a four

part Leadership

through Service

workshop series

in all 11 project

schools, supporting

100% of TA21 Scholars

to be involved

in a student led

community service

project.

‘It was … a sense of pride really because you thought up a project and you had an idea, and it was only a rough idea and then just to see it all carried out and actually say, we completed this … I feel like it’s something big to us’ - TA21 Scholar

- a TA21 scholar in St Josephs describes the impact o developing a leadership activit to help the first years

1000 students attend Leadership Summit in TCD 2017

Mercy Inchicore Leaders

Moyle Park Leaders1000 Scholars attend Leadership Summit in The Foundry, Google Dublin

Pathways to College‘Pathways to College’, another of the four Trinity Access 21 core practices, opens windows on the wide ranging educational opportunities available after school by providing information to students about college options, the application process, college co rses and financial s pports cholars learn a o t their interests and are e posed to ne possi ilities thro gh a variet o activities including visits to college campuses, events where they can meet with people working in different careers and talks with their parents and family members about their plans for the future. Key features of the Pathways practice is the nationwide College Awareness Week (CAW) and collaboration with school guidance counselors.

PATHWAYS TO COLLEGE OUTCOMES

TA21 Scholars who visited a college campus were 2.3 times more likely to say they plan to complete a degree than those who had not visited a college.

8181% of TA21 Scholars had a college student visit their school in the last year.

TA21 Scholars who were visited by college students in their school in the last year were 2.4 times more likely to say they plan to complete a degree than those who had no students visit their school.

TA21 Scholars who said they talked to their family about college were 2.1 times more likely to say they plan to complete a degree than those who had not spoken to their parents about college.

College Awareness Week had over 125000 participants in over 1200 events across 27 counties.

Actually going to Trinity, seeing real students, real people, talking to real lecturers, it makes it a reality, it’s possible to go to college.

- TA21 Scholar

2016

”

82% of TA21 Scholars visited at least one college campus in the last year.

82

80% of TA21 Scholars talked to their parents about college.

80

75% of TA21 scholars completed a college investigation assignment.

75

100% of TA21 schools participated in College Awareness Week.

100

sa the are confident or ver confident the ill be able to make friends in college.

75

72% of TA21 scholars were confident that the ill be able to graduate from college.

72

70656055504535302520Pe

rcen

tage

% w

ho s

aid

yes

63.4

49.9

Visited a college campus

I will complete a 4 year degree

No college visit

”

”

21st Century Teaching and Learning‘21st Century Teaching and Learning’, the fourth Trinity Access 21 core practice, is a student led approach to developing communication, collaborative, technical and problem solving skills, aiming to support students to meet the demands of a knowledge

ased societ el innovation and help all st dents lfil their potential. Trinity Access 21 works with teachers through accredited and non accredited continuous professional development (CPD) programmes. A key feature of the 21st Century Teaching and earning practice is the evel ostgrad ate ertificate in st

Century Teaching and Learning (PG Cert) accredited by Trinity College Dublin. The 21st Century Teaching and Learning practice is grounded in the Bridge 21 method of learning. Bridge 21 is a cross curricular, technology mediated, team and project based educational model.

PG CERT

Antrim Armagh 1Carlow 1 2Cavan 5Clare 1Cork 2DerryDonegal 2DownDublin 74 54 75Fermanagh Galway 1 6KerryKildare 4 5Kilkenny 1Laois 4 7LeitrimLimerick 2Longford 1 1Louth 1 4Mayo 2 1Meath 1 3 2Offaly 2 16Roscommon 1SligoTipperary 1 3TyroneWaterford 1 1 12Westmeath 1 2Wexford 1 2 1Wicklow 2 8

14/15 15/16 16/17YEAR

320teachers from 23 counties across Ireland completed the PG Cert from 2014-2017. The PG Cert has a lasting impact. A year after completing the PG Cert, teachers continue to show an increase in their self reported confidence and re enc o se of collaborative teaching practices in the classroom.

After participating in the TA21 CPD coding or shops teachers gained in confidence to teach

Computational Thinking, Scratch, Raspberry Pi and Python.

82% of TA21 Scholars said they ere confident or ver confident

to use technology to create projects and share information within groups.

80% of TA21 Scholars said the ere confident or ver confident to or in gro ps and collaborate to create projects.

”

Bridge 21 model of teaching and learning underpins all teacher and student classroom activities;

More than 1700 students in the 11 TA21 schools have participated in a 21st Century Teaching and Learning experience.

t the end o the first phase of the TA21 project students in the 11 schools reported significantl higher levels o confidence to use technology in the classroom, to work collaboratively, and to think critically compared to Control schools who were not participating in the TA21 project.

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of s den s o s a ed e ere confiden o se these practices in the classroom

Control Group TA21

280 teachers have participated in non-accredited professional development computer science courses.

21st Century School of Distinction AwardTA21 launched a national scheme, the ‘21st Century Schools of Distinction’ Award, to recognise and showcase the efforts of schools nationwide to transform their school culture and to develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning. The scheme recognises the extraordinary work being successfully undertaken, often by schools in challenging conditions and with limited resources. It encourages participants to draw on their own school and community resources and the resources of TA21 to support educational innovation and change. Winning schools demonstrate excellence in several core areas, including innovative approaches to 21st century teaching and learning, mentoring, leadership development and post secondary readiness.

Since May 2016, 9 schools have received the full ‘21st Century Schools of Distinction’ Award. Prizes included a ‘21st Century School of Distinction’ banner; a specially developed digital logo to publicise the award; a scholarship to participate in the US national conference of College for Every Student and access to Trinity

ccess s digital tool it hich identifies recognises sho cases and disse inates the efforts of secondary schools nationwide within the DEIS programme to transform their school culture and/or to develop innovative approaches to teaching and learning through the use of technology.

FUTURE VISION

WINNING SCHOOLS

FUTURE VISION WINNERS

Caritas College, Dublin 10

(2015-16, 2016-17);

Fingal Community College, Swords,

Co. Dublin (2015-16);

Mt Sion Primary School, Waterford

(2015-16);

Portlaoise College, Co. Laois

(2015-16, 2016-17);

St Aloysius College, Athlone,

Co. Westmeath (2015-16);

Knockmahon NS, Bonmahon,

Co. Waterford (2016-17);

St. Dominic’s College Ballyfermot,

Dublin 10 (2016-17);

Pobalscoil Iosolde, Palmerstown,

Dublin 20 (2016-17);

Scoil Bhride, Shantalla, Galway

(2016-17).

Coláiste de hÍde, Tallaght, Dublin 24

(2015-16);

Mount Sackville, Chapelizod, Dublin

20 (2015-16);

St Kevin’s Community College,

Dunlavin, Co. Wicklow (2015-16);

St Paul’s Community College,

Waterford (2015-16, 2016-17);

Athy College, Athy, Co. Kildare

(2016-17);

Lucan Community National School, Co.

Dublin (2016-17);

Mount Sion Education Campus (Pre

School, Primary School & Secondary

School), Waterford City (2016-17);

Lehinch N.S, Lissatava, Hollymount,

Co.Mayo (2016-17);

Kildare Place School, Rathmines,

Dublin 6 (2016-17);

Coláiste Eoin, Cappagh Road, Finglas,

Dublin 11 (2016-17).

Dublin Expansion • Inner City Programme

- Dublin City Council

National Expansion• Partner Higher Education Institutions

• Partner Further Education Institutions

• Partner Institutes of Technology

• Partner Education Training Boards

International Expansion • International Partners

20000 STUDENTS

1500 TEACHERS

70 SCHOOLS

Report authors Dr Katriona O’Sullivan and Dr Megan Kuster

Trinity Access 21Trinity College DublinDublin 201 896 4099info@ta21.ie

SUPPORTED BY GOOGLE

Trinity Access 21 Trinity College DublinDublin 201 896 4099info@ta21.iewww.ta21.ie