B.Ed (Primary) Year 2 Module Listings

Overview

The School Placement Studies course examines the role of the primary teacher and provides an overview of the Primary School Curriculum (1999). On completion of this course students will be able to demonstrate a professional approach to teaching, engage in reflective action on their teaching and learning, explore a range of teaching skills that include group teaching, cross-curricular skills, integration, monitoring pupil environment, medium to long-term planning and will be able to design age appropriate activities for the senior classes.

• To extend students’ range of skills and abilities so that they can reflect on a variety of methodologies and consider their implementation in the classroom
• To progress students’ concepts of the role of the teacher and develop their professionalism in the classroom
• That students will learn to plan comprehensively for teaching to include integration of subjects and collaborative learning practices
• That students will engage with a variety of differentiation and assessment strategies when planning for and teaching in the classroom
• That students are able to apply a variety of principles and techniques in classroom behaviour management
• That students will develop (a) an increased awareness of the importance of creating a stimulating classroom environment and (b) the necessary skills to realise this aim at the level of practice.
• That students learn to self-reflect and evaluate classroom preparation and performance and implications for future planning

Overview

English Methods (2.5 ECTS Credits)

As language is central to learning and English is the medium for most learning in the Primary Language Curriculum (2019), the importance of literacy in English cannot be overstated.

Children at senior class levels need to develop literacy skills in the three language strands of oral language, reading and writing. Pre-service teachers need guidance and instruction in understanding how these skills are developed and in learning methodologies for teaching in these areas.

On successful completion of the module, students will be able to:

• plan a series of English language lessons for senior classes (5th & 6th) in accordance with the principles of the Primary Language Curriculum (2019)
• describe appropriate teaching methodologies for the teaching oral language, reading and writing as appropriate to the senior classes in primary school
• describe and illustrates the literacy-related knowledge, strategies, skills, and attitudes that children will need to draw on in order to meet the oral language, reading and writing demands of the Primary Language Curriculum (5th & 6th classes).
• describe the processes by which literacy learners analyse and respond to texts and bringing a critical awareness to reading and writing.
• Undertake short term and long term planning for school placement and plan a unit of work for instruction in oral language, reading and writing for this placement

Múineadh na Gaeilge (2.5 ECTS Credits)

Sa mhodúl seo cuirtear béim ar na modhanna agus cuir chuige éagsúla chun an Ghaeilge a mhúineadh sa seomra ranga. Tógtar ar an mbonn eolais a fuair siad sa chéad bhliain.

Overview

This course is divided into two learning areas (1) Physical Education (PE) and (2) Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE). It is based on a broad philosophy of health that encompasses all aspects of a child’s well-being, with a particular focus on physical, social, mental, and spiritual health. It is concerned with developing students’ knowledge and understanding, skills, values and attitudes that are central to quality PE and SPHE programmes for children. Student teachers will be encouraged to focus on the role they play as they promote:

• The physical, social and emotional growth and development of pupils in both learning areas
• The adoption of active, healthy lifestyles through informed decision making which leads to effective and responsible action
• An understanding of the value of self and others and the development of positive interpersonal relationships
• Participation in regular and varied physical education experiences, which provide the foundation for a lifelong commitment to valuing and leading a physically active lifestyle
• The systematic and explicit teaching of personal and social skills to give students a basis for resilience and the resourceful management of their own lives

Overview

This module focuses on enabling students to plan and facilitate a range of suitable drama methodologies and strategies (e.g. process drama and Mantle of the Expert) in the Senior Classes. Analysis of the theoretical and practical principles which underpin process and educational drama more broadly are also explored. Key debates in the field are explored, and methods of planning, structuring and devising for the Senior Classes are examined.

In music and visual arts education, this module extends students’ subject and pedagogical connoisseurship through participation, repertoire and critical, contextual and curriculum studies. It also examines the curriculum for music and visual arts in the senior classes in light of pupils’ aesthetic and creative development. Musical and artistic development of the child as a senior learner, assessment of music and visual art, and lesson and thematic planning are key foci for this module.

Overview

English (2.5 ECTS credits)

Traditional story is an important part of the cultural heritage passed on from one generation to the next and is also the foundation for much literature for children and adults. This module aims to build on the JF Programme in further developing the students’ literacy skills, their knowledge and appreciation of story (with an emphasis on folktales/fairy tales and their socio-cultural contexts). The module aims to engender in the students an enthusiasm for narrative and a desire to share stories with others as well as a critical awareness of the socio-cultural and ideological dimensions of stories.

On successful completion of this module students should be able to:

• Critically analyse and appraise a selection of traditional stories
• Apply a general knowledge of traditional story to discussion of specific stories
• Engage in close analysis and broad discussion of the fairy-tale genre
• Draw on secondary literature in their analysis of selected stories
• Write fluently and accurately with appropriate use of the conventions of literary criticism/academic writing

Gaeilge (2.5 ECTS credits)

Sa mhodúl seo, féachtar go príomha ar an gcineál Gaeilge a bheidh ag teastáil ón mbunmhúinteoir sa seomra ranga. Tá béim ar mhúinteoirí a chumasú le go mbeidh sé/sí in ann feidhmiú trí mheán na Gaeilge go neamhfhoirmiúil le pobal na scoile, agus é/í féin a chur in iúl go héifeachtach nuair a bhíonn Gaeilge á múineadh. Cuirtear an-bhéim ar an nGaeilge a úsáid mar theanga bheo chumarsáideach le linn an lae scoile, chomh maith le feasacht chultúrtha a fhorbairt. Spreagtar an t-ábhar oide chun taitneamh a baint as an modúl, dearcadh dearfach a fhorbairt i leith na teanga, mar aon le fonn san ábhar oide a chothú an Ghaeilge a úsáid mar theanga i bpobal foghlama ilteangach. Tógtar sa mhodúl seo ar an obair a rinneadh sa chéad bhliain agus cuirtear níos mó béime ar an bhfoghlaim neamhspleách.

Overview

Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) (2.5 ECTS credits)

The Module will focus on practical experiences that will provide the necessary skills and pedagogical understandings that primary teachers will need in order to teach the three SESE subjects of history, geography and science successfully in various classroom settings, urban, rural and multicultural. There will be an increased emphasis on practical investigations incorporating fieldwork in different settings for all three subject areas. Areas of study include curriculum content, methodologies and approaches, integration and planning, assessment, resource planning and use of technology in teaching history, geography and science with a particular emphasis on the 5th of 6th classes of the primary school. The study of the Primary School Curriculum (1999) and the associated Teacher Guidelines will be the main focus of the course. The course will afford students the opportunity to continue to critically examine their own attitudes and beliefs in relation to the three subject areas together with effective strategies that will enhance pupils’ learning in social, environmental and scientific education.

Mathematics (2.5 ECTS credits)

This module builds on the concepts explored in Maths Methods 1 during First Year. The course aims to facilitate exploration of the content of the Primary School Mathematics Curriculum in fifth and sixth classes. The lectures also encompass the further development of lesson plans and an introduction to writing schemes which include differentiation and assessment. The focus of the lectures is on exploring students’ own experiences and understandings of mathematical concepts and incorporating that learning into their experiences of teaching mathematics to children in the senior primary classroom. It works on the development of enduring mathematical understandings, through exploring key questions such as ‘Why do we measure things?’ or ‘What makes a computational strategy effective and efficient?’ building on the work completed in the First Year course. Students also explore the relationship between planning and assessment. Through engaging with the backward design process, students explore what is worth being familiar with, what is important to know, and what constitutes enduring mathematical understandings in children. Students examine in great detail examples of both teachers’ and children’s work and develop materials which can support their teaching of the fifth and sixth class curriculum. In this module, assessment consists of a written examination.

Overview

As digital natives, it is widely held that 21^st century students use technology in creative ways on a personal basis (Green & Hannon, 2007; Thomas & Seely Brown, 2011). However, at broad policy levels there are deep concerns that this fluid usage is not translating to education settings (ibid). Thus, an increasing body of literature foregrounds the importance of affording students the skills necessary to effectively and creatively integrate ICT into the classroom settings in order to enhance teaching and learning (cf. DES 2015; Kampylis, Law, Punie, Bocconi, Brečko, Han, Looi, & Miyake, (2013) for example, within the context of Inquiry Based Learning.

Inquiry as a theme of educational research has attracted considerable interest, particularly in recent years (Audet, 2005; Erickson, 2008; Lindfors, 1999; Parker, 2007). Inquiry can be seen as a process of seeking. It may take the form of a closed-ended search whereby specific answers are discovered to specific questions. Alternatively, it may take the form of an open-ended search, in which questions are formulated but answers are multiple or provisional or both. The exploratory nature of inquiry allows students to consider different ways of looking at ideas and issues, and to think creatively about problems that do not possess simple answers. Inquiry Based Learning (IBL) is the object of growing interest in a number of countries such as the UK, the US and Ireland in which there is a lively debate about pre-determined outcomes and teaching standards and standardised testing that are often contrasted with inquiry and discovery approaches to learning. Finally, it currently influences curriculum development and teaching approaches and methodologies in a number of recent innovative programmes to construct new models of teaching and learning [Pataray-Ching & Roberson, 2002; Sausele Knodt, 2010]. This has led to research and development of inquiry based curricula and the argument in support of IBL is being heard increasingly and recognised as an appropriate pedagogical approach.

Overview

Curriculum and Assessment

This course will provide students with insights into international and national models of curriculum development. Through active engagement students will develop a strong understanding of the nature of core components of the latest models of national Primary curricula. The relationship between models of curriculum and assessment will be examined as to how they may be used to recognise and support planning, teaching and learning for a wide range of abilities, drawing links with other course modules such as Inclusive Education.

Psychology of Education

This course will extend students’ understanding of the role of psychology in education through elucidating its relationship with curriculum and assessment, and the multifarious dimensions of learner engagement and academic achievement. Emphasis will be placed on key statistical concepts underpinning standardised assessments, giving particular attention to the parameters of interpretation and range of application. Students will be encouraged to draw on psychological theory and research to analyse the notion of ‘effective pedagogy’, which, culminating in the formulation of their own ideas, reflect an integration of theory and practice that is grounded in the complex dynamics of everyday classroom life.

Overview

This module will address the development of appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes in students preparing to become practitioners of Inclusive and Special Education in Ireland. It aims to introduce them to, and provide for their interrogation of the relevant traditional and contemporary theoretical models (Medical, Social, Biopsychosocial, Capability, UDL) with a view to their development of appropriate understandings of special needs and special needs education. Students will also be afforded opportunity to consider current Irish policy and practice in Inclusive and Special Education, with reference to historical, philosophical, legislative and policy developments nationally and internationally. Thus it is anticipated that students will be able to bring a theoretical lens to appropriately critique these developments, a learning process which is also likely to heighten students’ own awareness of, and increasingly impact positively on their attitudes and dispositions. This module also seeks to develop students’ understanding of how mainstream and special primary schools in Ireland are currently structured and staffed to support individual and special needs of pupils. Students will be facilitated and encouraged to develop their knowledge about the range of learning ability, as well as knowledge of key strategies for supporting this varied learning potential. By means of coursework and referral to relevant research and readings, students will be introduced to a range of specific emotional, behavioural, physical and learning conditions, with a view to their development of appropriate understandings and skills for supporting associated special educational needs.

Overview

Building on students’ learning during module 1 and the conceptual models introduced then, this module will further address students’ development of appropriate knowledge, skills and attitudes as they prepare to become practitioners of Inclusive and Special Education in Ireland. In coursework and via referral to relevant research and readings, it seeks in particular to develop students’ knowledge of, and understanding about a range of linguistic, communicative and physical conditions and the possible implications of these for children’s learning. Interventions, strategies and assessments pertinent to the facilitation of this learning will be addressed. The development of students’ knowledge of, and skills in planning for both differentiated and special education practice will be a key focus of the module, as will the enhancement of appropriate attitudes with respect to varied learning ability and to the social inclusion of individuals with special educational needs. It is anticipated that the development of such knowledge, understanding and attitudes will be facilitated particularly through student observation, documentation and practice in special and mainstream class settings. Having reflected on their learning during these school placement experiences, students will also be supported in their comparison and critique of national and international practices and trends in special educational needs provision.

Overview

Teaching English as an Additional Language:

This module takes a sociocultural perspective to additional language learning in the primary school setting. It aims to set out key theories and principles of EAL and their application to the classroom. It aims to equip students with elementary skills in teaching children from minority language backgrounds. The most recently available Census figures indicate that there are 200 nationalities in Ireland with approximately 182 different languages. Teachers must provide differentiated instruction for pupils whose first language is not English “to ensure that these students are fully included in teaching and learning, and that their achievement is on a par with their English-speaking peers” (O’Toole & Skinner, 2018)

Teagasc Cruthaitheach Teanga

With the implementation of the 2019 Primary Language Curriculum, an integrated approach to language learning and teaching is advocated in primary classrooms, drawing on the child’s entire linguistic repertoire. This reflects a move away from the ‘two solitudes assumption’ (Cummins, 2008) that has previously characterised language teaching in Irish primary schools. Opportunities to explore integrated pedagogies for language teaching are therefore necessary during initial teacher education. Creative approaches to the teaching of Gaeilge, L2 in English-medium schools and L1 in Irish-medium schools (Scoileanna Gaeltachta and Scoileanna lán Ghaeilge) are critical in light of challenges that have been highlighted in children’s learning experiences (Dunn, 2020; Harris 2006; DES 2013; 2018). The role of Irish as a basis for future language learning is important in the context of a Modern Foreign Language being implemented in primary schools.

Though the potential benefits of CLIL or co-teaching approaches to learning Irish have been highlighted in several research studies (Dunne, 2020; Harris & Ó Duibhir, 2011), they have not been fully exploited to date. Drawing on the experiences of national and international CLIL studies (e.g. Dalton-Puffer, 2007; Harris & Mac Giollabhuí, 1988; Seoighe, 2014), and using co-teaching as a framework, students will have the opportunity to design creative language teaching resources, and to reflect on the need to balance language learning with maintaining the integrity of the subject. Irish will be the main language of the module but other classroom and home languages will be included.