Scholars Ireland is an excellent opportunity for students to get an understanding of student life, gain confidence in written communication and resilience. St Joseph's links with TAP ( Trinity Access Programme) gives twelve Second Year students the opportunity to take part in this initiative.Scholars Ireland is designed to give young people an authentic experience of university. From being taught by PhD tutors, to studying undergraduate-style topics, it aims to break down barriers to university. Each programme includes 12 pupils and 1 PhD tutor. Pupils study the same course but are taught in two small groups of six. Students are supported by Ms Mackin , the Scholars Ireland coordinator in St Josephs.
Pupils begin their Scholars Ireland journey with a Launch Event online in association with Trinity College Dublin, during which they learn about university life from university staff, hear keynote speeches, undertake a skills session, and take part in an introduction tutorial with their PhD tutor. Following the Launch Event, the PhD tutor conducts online tutorials on a weekly basis.
The students had been working with English PHD student Liz from Trinity focusing on creative writing. She described the focus of the Creative Writing module as focusing on the students' development of characters - ie, learning different techniques to create full-bodied, nuanced characters, as well as learning techniques on dialogue and establishing a strong sense of place in their writing. There will be an element of traditional criticism/interpretation of certain passages from short stories and scenes from television shows, in order to see how the techniques they'll be introduced to can be applied.
There's a big emphasis on students discovering their own 'voice' and learning how to put their unique life experiences down on the page, as well as encouragement for them to take risks and 'think outside the box' with what they choose to write. There will be a workshop element to the class, in that students will be encouraged to share and offer support with their fellow students' writing. Each tutorial will require the students to write a short piece focusing on that week's topic - ie, a character-focused piece, a scene between two people that consists only of dialogue, and a scene that foregrounds 'place' in its narrative. There will also be an element of 'reading as a writer' - ie, applying some aspects of critical theory to the pieces they've written. This will include very introductory lessons on subgenres such as autofiction, which I think is a quite low-stakes method to getting students to simply 'write what they know.'
The final assessment will be a longer creative piece on the student's own chosen topic - they will be assessed on the basics we'll have discussed in the tutorials, such as development of rich, nuanced characters, strong sense of place, realistic and relevant dialogue, etc."
Following the Launch Event ,the PhD tutors and students met online on a weekly basis .There was a real taste of University style pedagogy including independent research, critical thinking and higher-order questioning. The tutorials culminated in students completing a challenging university -style assignment, which was marked by PhD tutors. The results achieved by the students speak for themselves a wonderful four - 1.1 grades , five 2.1 and three 2.2 grades.
The Graduation Ceremony took place in Trinity College on Thursday March 16th . The sucessful students can be so proud of themselves, accepting and completing this challenge.