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Teaching & Learning

Apply for a Delta Award

 

DELTA Awards

DELTA AwardThe DELTA Awards are awarded annually by the Higher Education Authority to disciplinary teams that have demonstrated excellence in teaching, learning and assessment in Higher Education.

Disciplinary teams that can apply for the award include programme teams, academic schools and departments, and other established communities of educators that are working together to improve teaching, learning and assessment.

The team must engage in a reflective exercise where their collective practice is considered according to the dimensions of the DELTA Framework. In addition to demonstrating excellence in aspects of their practice, the team must develop an action plan to enhance their practice across the various dimensions, including design of learning, teaching and learning practice, assessment OF/FOR/AS learning, strategy and capacity building, and evidence-based approach. All aspects of the process are very well supported by HEA/DELTA resources.

Colleagues across TU Dublin are already engaged in many exemplary practices and the DELTA Award is an excellent opportunity to gain national recognition for the quality of this work.

TU Dublin encourages disciplinary teams to apply for the DELTA Award. The Learning Teaching Assessment (LTA) team will support applicant teams in understanding and navigating the application process, and in developing an action plan to enhance their practice according to the dimensions of the DELTA Framework.

TU Dublin Success in DELTA Award

TU Dublin teams have been successful on a five occasions in winning DELTA awards. 

DELTA Framework

DELTA_FrameworkThe DELTA Framework is described by the Higher Education Authority as "a structure which can be used by disciplinary groups or institutions to plan and prioritise their efforts to enrich understandings and practices within disciplinary contexts". 

It is comprised of five dimensions, each of which are themselves comprised of a series of criteria that can be used by disciplinary teams to assess their current practice. As part of the DELTA Award process, teams will map their current practice to each of the criteria and use this to reflect on their areas of strength and their areas for development. 

As an example, one of the criteria under the assessment dimension is:

There is a need to strike a balance between competing assessment challenges, ensuring assessment strategies are creative, engaging and motivating while at the same time being sustainable, efficient, valid and reliable.

The full set of criteria is available on the Higher Education Authority's DELTA Framework page.

Find out More

An introductory video, a Frequently Asked Questions page and a considerable set of resources about the DELTA Awards are available on the Higher Education Authority's DELTA Awards website.

Commencing the DELTA Award Application Process, 

Any disciplinary team considering making an application for the DELTA Awards, or anyone interested in finding out more about the DELTA Awards, should contact Learning Teaching Assessment (LTA).