John Meegan

Dr John Meegan

Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education

Lecturer

Location School of Education

Floor 2nd

Room 219

Email John.Meegan@mu.ie

Biography

John is an Assistant Professor in Digital Learning with the Froebel Department of Primary and Early Childhood Education in Maynooth University. Before this role, John worked as a Lecturer in Primary Education in the School of Education with Hibernia College, and as an advisor on the primary Digital Technology team with the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST). John is a trained primary school teacher and has taught in mainstream and SEN settings. John completed his PhD with Maynooth University and has published research in the areas of doctoral teacher-research identity, social-emotional learning, and future skills. John’s research interests include digital technologies for teaching, learning and assessment, Generative AI in education, scenario-based learning, self-efficacy, social-emotional learning, narrative research, future skills, and educational design research.

Research

Research Interests

Research Projects

Title	Role	Description	Start date	End date	Amount
A Generative AI scenario-based learning intervention in Pre-Service Teacher Education.	Co-PI	Our research aims to design and evaluate the impact of a Generative AI scenario-based learning intervention on pre-service teachers' self-efficacy and AI literacy. This cross-departmental research aims to explore the impact on both primary and post-primary student teachers. This project will adopt an explanatory sequential mixed methods approach (Cohen et al. 2011). In essence this project seeks to determine if Generative AI can be used to generate appropriate Scenario Based Learning (SBL) vignettes and assist students in productively exploring them from multiple perspectives. Proactively engaging with the technology will also afford opportunities to explore how they work and limitations associated with them which could potentially simultaneously improve learners AI Literacy. Research questions: 1. How can a scenario-based learning generative AI chat intervention be designed to enhance the self-efficacy and AI literacy of pre-service teachers in an initial teacher education program? 2. Does a Generative AI scenario-based learning intervention impact pre-service teachers' sense of self-efficacy? 3. Does a Generative AI scenario-based learning intervention impact pre-service teachers’ AI Literacy?	23/02/2024	30/08/2024	2680
To investigate the use of technology-enhanced simulation as an integrative authentic assessment approach on a blended learning professional programme	Principle investigator	This project designed and investigated the use of a technology-enhanced simulation as an integrative authentic assessment approach on a blended learning professional programme. The Hibernia College School of Education (SOE) academic team, the Digital Learning Department (DLD) and the Department of the Registrar will design and implement a technology-enhanced virtual scenario-based learning environment to support the assessment of programme learning outcomes on a professional programme. This simulation acted as a bridge between assessed experiences in real sites of practice and academic and professional studies. It provided learners with the opportunity to develop skills and competencies prior to entering the placement setting. Learners were assessed on these skills in a simulated environment, enabling consistency, efficiency and transparency in assessment practices.	08/01/2023	31/01/2024	34250
A review of a primary school-based 21st century skills intervention programme.	Principle investigator	The implementation of 21st-century skills and competency-based learning in European and OECD countries’ educational curricula indicates affirmative action across global educational systems to develop a wider breadth of skills beyond traditional literacy and numeracy skills. With this explicit focus on competency and skills-based education, many schools seek to develop skills through innovative teaching methods or by employing specific skills-based interventions. This article presents a small-scale pilot case study of the Magical Leaders programme, a 21st-century skills intervention programme suitable for primary school students between 10 and 12 years of age. The study investigated Irish primary school teachers’ attitudes to and perspectives on the Magical Leaders programme, the 21st-century skills outcomes, the programme’s resources, and the core peer-to-peer teaching methodology. Analysis of focus group discussions highlights the positive development of students’ 21st-century skills, teachers’ and students’ perspectives of engaging with the programme, and the peer-to-peer teaching methodology. Several challenges to programme delivery were identified, including an over-reliance on the programme’s digital components and inadequate teacher training.	01/11/2021	01/09/2022	5000

Publications

Peer Reviewed Journal

	Year	Publication
	2023	John Meegan (2023) 'You Can Do It! A narrative inquiry into children’s experiences of a social-emotional and academic learning programme'. Irish Educational Studies, 42 . [Link] https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2259886
	2023	John Meegan (2023) 'Tensions and dilemmas: a narrative inquiry account of a teacher-researcher'. Irish Educational Studies, :1-16. [Link] https://doi.org/10.1080/03323315.2023.2236592
	2023	John Meegan; Elva Casey (2023) 'Integrating 21st century skills into Irish primary schools: A study on the outcomes, experiences and observations of teachers'. Irish Teachers Journal, 11 :72-88. [Link]

Conference Contribution

	Year	Publication
	2023	John Meegan (2023) EDEN 2023 Annual Conference Virtual scenario-based learning (VSBL) as an integrative authentic assessment approach Dublin, Ireland, .
	2023	John Meegan (2023) The 6th SPHE Network conference is entitled ‘Being, Becoming and Beyond: SPHE In Children and Young Being and Becoming: Lessons learned from an arts-based narrative inquiry with primary school children and their experiences of a Social-emotional and academic learning programme Dublin, Ireland, .
	2023	John Meegan and Elva Casey (2023) HECA Continued Conversations Seminar Connected Conversations Cohort Connections: A Student Wellbeing Pilot Initiative Dublin, Ireland, .
	2022	John Meegan (2022) HECA Research Conference 2022 Integrating 21st-Century Skills into Irish Primary Schools: A Pilot Study on the Outcomes, Experiences and Observations of Teachers Dublin, Ireland, .
	2022	John Meegan (2022) ATEE Spring Conference 2022 Integrating 21st-Century Skills into Irish Primary Schools: A Pilot Study on the Outcomes, Experiences and Observations of Teachers Dublin, Ireland, .
	2019	John Meegan (2019) 6th International Irish Narrative Inquiry Conference 2020 Relating Narratives in an Arts-Based Narrative Inquiry Dublin, Ireland, .

Professional

Professional Associations

Description	Function	From / To
European Digital Education Hub	It's mission is to overcome the current fragmentation of digital education policy, research, and implementation practices at European level.	23/06/2024 -
Social Personal and Health Education (SPHE) Network	The Network addresses many different issues relating to SPHE with a view to facilitating its ongoing development as an integral part of both the primary and post-primary curricula.	01/11/2023 -
Network for Educational Action Research Ireland	NEARI is an independent, unfunded and non-affiliated network for practitioners at all levels of education and it aims towards developing action research scholarship and practice.	01/09/2024 -

Committees

	Committee	Function	From / To
	School Placement Committee	To provide oversight regarding school placement across BEd and PMEd programmes in the Froebel Department	-

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