Student Experiences of the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme

SCHOOL EXPERIENCES AND LEARNING PROCESSES AMONG LCA PARTICIPANTS 69and video/audio facilities as well as to involve visiting speakers andstudents themselves giving a presentation to the class (Figure 5.8).Figure 5.8: Other Approaches Used in Fifth Year Classes (%‘Every/Most/Some Lessons’), as Reported by Students100% every/most/some lessons806040200Give presentation Visiting speaker Use ICT Use video/audiomaterialsLCA LCE/LCVPSource: Post-Primary Longitudinal Study (PPLS) database.The teaching approaches in sixth year are broadly similar to those foundin fifth year classes, with active learning methodologies (such as groupwork and project work) more evident in LCA classes. However, in somerespects, the differences in approach become even more evident, with alarger gap in the use of teacher-centred methods between LCE/LCVP andLCA classes (Figure 5.9).Figure 5.9: Approaches Used in Leaving Certificate Classes (% ‘Every/MostLessons’), as Reported by Students100% every/most lessons806040200Project work Group workExpressopinionsTeacherexplainswellTeacherreadstextbookCopy notesfrom boardPractice LCexampapersTeachertalks mostLCALCE/LCVPSource: Post-Primary Longitudinal Study (PPLS) database.The majority of respondents felt that the active teaching approachesused in LCA enhanced their overall learning experience and re-engagedthem in their schoolwork (see section 5.1). Figure 5.9 indicates that in sixthyear, LCA students were more likely to report being able to express their