Dr. Greg Foley:

My background is in STEM subjects; I am a chemical engineer and teach in a biotechnology programme. To return to Senator Craughwell's original point, we must get past the idea that third level education is about sitting in lecture halls. Studying a STEM subject exposes the student to a huge diversity of learning. He or she spends a lot of time in laboratories and undertakes research projects and group projects. I tend to teach small classes so I characterise much of my teaching as teaching by walking around. I do a lot of hands-on problem solving in the laboratories while I teach laboratory modules. I am glad the Senator raised the issue of big classes, because recently there has been a big push led by Professor Philip Nolan and the task group on reform of university selection and entry, TGRUSE, which is considering the whole area of transition. One of the current fads is the idea that all students should go into a general entry course and then make their decisions on the subjects in which they will specialise. That means that people are stuck into these large, impersonal classes while they are making that difficult transition from second level education. More often than not, resources will be such that they will have to be assigned to different disciplines on the basis of academic performance in first year.