Towards Research-led Learning Pedagogy: A Case Study

Research and teaching are always going hand in hand for high-quality learning in higher education. Nevertheless, their synergy and interplay are subject dependant and specific in terms of the level and nature of the student cohort. In this paper, we describe a case study for research-led teaching and learning for MSc students in ICS subject area. The paper first analyses the characteristics of ICS MSc course in Ulster University and outlines the research activities on the application of the semantic technologies in Ambient Assisted Living. Then it introduces a research-led learning pedagogy that exploits research to motivate learning needs and increase creativity, in particular, tailored for MSc students in ICS subject areas. We detail the practice of the pedagogy in a specific teaching context and present specific evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of the pedagogy. We discuss the lessons learnt and the adoption of the research-led learning pedagogy.