B.Ed (Primary) Year 3 Module Listings

Overview

Students undertake studies in Early Childhood Education to develop their understanding of how young children learn best. On completion of the module students should have developed the skills necessary to organise, manage and support young children’s learning using appropriate teaching methodologies such as talk and discussion, active learning, collaborative learning, problem-solving and use of the environment. Students also need to be conversant with up-to-date research in Early Childhood Education and should be able to advocate for children and for appropriate classroom practice for the early childhood years.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Discern what the appropriate teaching methodologies for the early year’s classroom are and the theories that inform them and apply those methodologies effectively in practice.
• Differentiate between the different types and benefits of play and use this knowledge to set up appropriate play-based learning experiences in the early year’s classroom.
• Observe and assess children’s learning needs through play and other learning situations.
• Design and set up a stimulating, print-rich learning environment for an early years classroom.
• Set up appropriate learning experiences to develop early literacy.
• Use appropriate classroom resources in terms of educational equipment, timetables, classroom rotas and wall displays to enhance children’s learning. 
• Plan and execute discrete oral language lessons and ensure that the classroom environment is language rich, that it promotes quality student-student dialogue as well as student-teacher and group conversations, as appropriate. 
• Employ appropriate classroom management strategies in the early years classroom.
• Provide differentiated learning experiences for the children as necessary.
• Identify the fundamental movement skills that underpin the development of a young child’s gross motor skills and devise appropriate physical activities to develop those skills.

Method of Assessment

Written assignment (3,000 words)

Overview

Building on the learning from the Sociology / Psychology Year 2 module, the emphasis of this module is on providing for students’ integrated learning across the disciplines of psychology and sociology, other coursework and classroom practice (Darling-Hammond, 2006; Conway et al., 2009). The focus is on enabling students to deepen their understanding of the complexity of psycho-social factors impacting on children’s school participation and outcomes. The ultimate aim is that students can employ well-founded and highly appropriate perspectives in their analyses and interactions in classrooms and schools.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Draw on understandings of micro- and macro-level psycho-social dynamics in schools, to offer explanations for educational achievement and / or underachievement
• Critically examine the problems and possibilities pertaining to the concept of education as a social equaliser, with particular reference to the role of the teacher and the role of various approaches to, and conceptions of, curriculum and assessment
• Critically explore the socio-political nature of ‘curriculum’ and assessment with regard to issues of inclusion and social justice
• Critically explore Irish approaches to curriculum development and implementation, and locate them within an international and theoretical context
• Identify a range of potential assessment strategies, and explore the circumstances under which each could be effectively used in the classroom context
• Draw on psychological and sociological insights gained with respect to the dynamics and issues of school and classroom life, to understand and employ successful pedagogical strategies

Method of Assessment

Group Project and Presentation

Overview

English Methods

As language is central to learning and English is the medium for most learning in the Primary School Curriculum, the importance of literacy in English cannot be overstated. Children at junior 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.

Irish Methods

Gaeilge is a living language of communication. It is part of our heritage and the most distinctive part of Gaelic culture. The learning of Gaeilge enables the child to make closer contact with that culture. Gaeilge is the national language of Ireland; it has constitutional status and in general every primary school child must learn Gaeilge.

Learning Outcomes

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

English Methods

• Demonstrate an understanding of the strong reciprocal relationship between oral language and literacy learning in the emergent years
• Plan a series of English language lessons for junior classes in accordance with the principles of the Primary School Curriculum (1999)
• Describe appropriate teaching methodologies for the teaching of oral language, reading and writing as appropriate to the junior classes in primary school
• Describe and illustrate the literacy-related knowledge, strategies, skills, and attitudes that children will need to draw on in order to meet the emergent literacy demands as outlined in the English Language Curriculum (Infant classes & First class)
• Demonstrate an understanding of the lexical, syntactic and pragmatic nature of language development in the early years
• Undertake short term and long term planning for school placement in junior classes and plan a unit of work for instruction in oral language, reading and writing for this placement
• Demonstrate an understanding of reading development in the early years with particular knowledge of the constrained knowledge and skills that children need in order to decode and encode

Irish Methods

• Demonstrate an understanding of how to teach Gaeilge as a living language of communication in the junior classes as it is recommended to do that in the 1999 Curriculum 
• Show deeper knowledge of the Gaeilge Curriculum and explain what is entailed in a communicative approach in the junior classes 
• Use strategies and appropriate teaching methods to cater for communicative needs in communicative situations 
• Explain the importance associated with enjoyment and positive attitude and outline ways in which Gaeilge can be promoted informally 
• Undertake short term and long term planning for school placement and for teaching career, plan a unit of work for a period of a week under the umbrella of the themes and topics of the Gaeilge Curriculum, write a Gaeilge lesson plan and demonstrate the importance associated with language functions and periods in a communicative lesson plan, integrate the strands of the Gaeilge Curriculum, demonstrate the importance of listening in junior classes and ways to integrate listening and speaking and undertake pre-reading and pre-writing activities, as is appropriate, and undertake appropriate assessment 
• Plan and teach a lesson in another curricular area through the medium of Gaeilge

Method of Assessment

English Methods

1.5 hour exam

Irish Methods:

Presentation

Overview

Maths Methods

This module aims to develop in student teachers the ability to create, implement and assess engaging and challenging mathematical experiences for children in infants to first class of primary school. Research has shown (NCTM 2011) that a content-based approach to early childhood mathematics can be too narrow and the focus is now moving towards the development of young children’s ability to access powerful mathematical ideas which are relevant to their current lives.

This module will focus on the connections between the Primary School Mathematics Curriculum and the Aistear framework and contextualize it in the light of international findings. Students will examine examples of these powerful mathematical ideas and also explore the pervasive nature of numeracy in the lives of young children. To do this they will have to review their experiences with the second to sixth class curriculum and construct an understanding of the lines of mathematical development which come from the building blocks of early mathematics.

Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE)

This module seeks to build on the preceding Year 2 module in Social, Environmental and Scientific Education (SESE) with a particular emphasis on teaching junior classes (infants to second) in the primary school.

Education about the environment can be pursued through a range of learning experiences across a number of curricular subjects. The national strategy for improving literacy and numeracy in schools – Literacy and Numeracy for Learning and Life – The National Strategy to Improve literacy and Numeracy among Children and Young People (2011) advocates a cross curricular approach to developing literacy and numeracy so that pupils can apply those skills to real life situations and enable them to make sense of the world.

There is immense potential for integration and linkage between SESE and other curricular areas. Key mathematical skills such as problem solving, estimating and measuring, problem solving, and analysing data are also skills shared with the subject areas of science and geography in particular. History also has potential to develop the mathematical understanding of time and time measurement.

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. The study of the Primary School Curriculum (1999) and the associated Teacher Guidelines will be the main focus of the course.

Learning Outcomes

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

Maths Methods

• Make explicit connections between early mathematics and the mathematical understandings of the older primary school child through a line of development approach
• Describe clearly a selection of key concepts in primary mathematics (junior infants to first class)
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of appropriate formative assessment strategies in early mathematics

SESE

• Articulate the principles underlying the teaching of SESE curriculum from Junior Infants to 2^nd Class
• Outline the content of the SESE curriculum from Junior Infants to 2^nd Class 
• Prepare and write schemes of work in SESE which demonstrate a thorough understanding of the principle of integration and linkage 
• Recognise that teaching SESE requires a balanced approach between teaching the content knowledge in a subject area and teaching the acquisition of the necessary skills which will enable pupils to become lifelong learners 
• Display an understanding of and competency in the implementation of the content and the methodologies appropriate for Junior Infants to 2^nd Classes 
• Create practical and original classroom ideas for the teaching of SESE 

Methods of Assessment

Maths Methods

1.5 hour exam

SESE

1,500 word assignment

Overview

Music is a time based, sonorous art. ‘It is a mode of discourse as old as the human race, a medium in which ideas about ourselves and others are articulated in sonorous shapes.’ (Swanwick, 1999) As a diverse and lifelong activity, music is enjoyed by people of all ages. (DES 1999) The third year module has a particular weighting on music education, developing students’ musical concepts and skills through active engagement in listening and responding, composing and performing activities. It situates the teaching of music in the context of the primary classroom with a focus on music learning in Junior classes.

In addition, students will explore the junior arts curricula in light of the younger pupils’ aesthetic and creative development through participation, repertoire, critical and contextual understandings. They will explore how to create an ‘inclusive’ arts practice in terms of embracing children’s different cultural backgrounds but also in ensuring that children are exposed to a disparate and appropriate repertoire of music, art works and dramas. The course will also address the challenges and opportunities that differentiation for the arts can afford.     

Learning Outcomes

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

• Demonstrate an understanding of the junior arts curricula
• Make skilled and imaginative use of body, voice, space and media to express and create
• Design imaginative and informed schemes for the arts in junior classes in a manner which evidences their understanding of younger pupil’s needs and interests 
• Implement an inclusive arts classroom practice
• Design schemes in a manner which celebrates all pupils’ creativity, promotes creative thinking, highlights the aesthetic dimension of learning and ensures that the arts are not subsumed through any planned integration
• Differentiate for the arts, taking cognisance of pupils' abilities, needs and interests and cultural backgrounds and interests

Method of Assessment

2 x Group Project Presentations (50%)

Individual Integrated Arts Project/Presentation (50%)

Overview

Approximations of Practice

In common with other areas of professional learning, from medicine to psychotherapy, approximations of practice are increasingly being used as a "pedagogy of enactment" (Grossman, Hammerness and McDonald, 2009) in the preparation and assessment of teachers. The approximations are centred around high leverage practices or core practices in teaching, examples of which include teaching the whole class and understanding variations in achievement, preparing for a lesson, leading a whole-class discussion, connecting content across lessons, teaching while students work independently, establishing a classroom culture (Lampert, 2001). This module extends what the students learned when doing their approximations of practice in their junior freshman year. The practices this year emphasise differentiation, assessment and use approximations that include interaction with members of the wider school community. As far as possible approximations are integrated with one another.

Behaviour Management

As part of their B.Ed., students engage in modules on classroom management which focus on day-to-day organisational matters within their practice. Students also undertake modules in Special Educational Needs, specifically in terms of syndromes and conditions which affect some children whom they will encounter during their careers. This course on Behaviour Management, which forms part of the Professional Studies component, will focus on the needs of children whose behaviour is not necessarily identified as a Special Educational Need, and which may not be successfully managed through regular classroom management strategies.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Communicate about a student with a parent/guardian 
• Communicate about teaching with parents/guardians
• Work with individual students to elicit, probe and interpret their thinking about content 
• Provide oral and written feedback to students
• Learn about students’ cultural, religious, family, intellectual and personal experiences and resources for use in education
• Apply and integrate practices of teaching through sustained engagement with ideas in the module
• Choose, appraise and modify tasks, texts and materials for a specific learning goal
• Write correct, comprehensible and professional messages to colleagues, parents and other professionals 
• Compare, contrast and critically analyse major psychological approaches to behaviour management 
• Describe a range of interventions - individual, classroom and whole-school - to meet the needs of children with challenging behaviour 
• Use relevant research and theory to enhance students’ practice in facilitating children's learning
• Demonstrate knowledge of system-level influences on child and teacher behaviour (Toshalis, 2010) and an understanding  of the "child in context” (Bronfenbrenner and Morris, 1998) 
• Integrate theoretical concepts around social justice and inclusion with day-to-day practice at classroom level (Bryan, 2010) 

Overview

Communicative Competence in English

This module is part of the theme 'Professional Studies and the Practice of Teaching'. The module intends to develop in students an appreciation of the diversity and complexity of the relationships that exist within primary school communities. Through exploring the roles of the stakeholders in a child’s education and reflecting on their own attitudes and understanding of partnership they will be better able to understand how a complex organisation such as school operates. It is important for beginning teachers to be aware of the range of strategies that may be used to develop positive relationships and communicate effectively in their professional lives. Throughout the module, a strong emphasis will be placed on the key role that digital technologies play in this context.

Communicative Competence in Irish

Irish is a language and in the school it is important that the teacher is proficient in Irish when teaching Irish, when interacting informally with the children and when conversing in Irish with other adults in the school community.

Learning Outcomes

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

Communicative Competence in English

• Demonstrate an appreciation of the roles of stakeholders in a child's education and the importance of engagement and co-operation with them through identifying and exploring their own attitudes and understandings of partnership
• Practise their ability to compile a range of strategies for developing positive relationships and communicating effectively with pupils, parents, colleagues, the school principal, school management, co-professionals and the wider community
• Show their understanding of diversity in the school community

Communicative Competence in Irish

• Orally express him/herself properly, fluently and accurately while teaching, also in informal settings with the children and in spoken communication with other adults in the school; fulfil ordinary professional duties, exchange, check and confirm information; express and defend an opinion
• Communicate accurately in writing, in school notices, messages and in letters/emails etc.
• Read aloud accurately, with meaning and with proper pronunciation, and extract meaning from circulars and from articles in publications for teachers etc.

Method of Assessment

Communicative Competence in English:

Creation of a Digital Resource

Communicative Competence in Irish: 

Oral and written examination

Overview

The underlying principle of the module is to enable students to deepen their understanding of mathematics, so that they can effectively do the work of teaching. It is designed to facilitate the acquisition of a range of specialised knowledge and skills required, in focused ways (Ball, D. et al, 2008). Learners will engage in unpacking familiar concepts, procedures and principles to develop competency in the practices required in teaching mathematics, such as explaining and following explanations, reasoning and problem solving.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this module, the student should be able to:

• Analyse and solve a range of mathematics problems that teachers need to solve when teaching key topics in primary school mathematics
• Represent abstract mathematical ideas in multiple ways that primary school children will understand
• Explain the mathematics behind algorithms and procedures used in primary school mathematics
• Provide mathematically precise definitions of key terms which are comprehensible to primary school students
• Use notation and terminology precisely when discussing primary school mathematics
• Employ strategies (e.g. estimation, checking over completed work, testing answers – using inverse operations or substituting) to promote accuracy in mathematical work

Method of Assessment

3 hour exam

Overview

Field experiences in teacher education programmes are excellent opportunities for pre-service teachers to learn to teach in complex and authentic learning situations. Sawyer (2006) posits that knowledge is now considered as ‘situated, practised and collaboratively generated.’ Indeed it is because of this that learning to teach through the practice of teaching while on school placement is a critical component of teacher education programmes (Furlong and Maynard, 1995).

In Year 3, students will focus on early years learning. Emphasis will be placed on assessment and students will be expected to engage in a variety of assessment of and for learning techniques and use this information in order to enhance pupil learning. Students will continue with observations and reflections and will have increased responsibilities for planning and teaching to include a period when they will have total responsibility for the teaching and learning within the classroom. Students will be encouraged to engage in and learn from reflective practice during the placement, and to focus their reflections around their use of assessment strategies to inform teaching and learning. Students will be required to set learning goals for themselves based on their reflections and learning from their Year 2 practice. This will form part of their teaching file and will form part of their discussions with their tutors during feedback sessions.

Learning Outcomes

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

• Prepare schemes of work and a thematic approach to planning which is appropriate to the age and ability range of the pupils in an early years context 
• Prepare, teach and evaluate lessons of appropriate challenge and interest in the early years class range
• Select, create and use resources appropriate to the early years class, to include digital and creative technologies, and displays to support their teaching and pupil learning
• Employ a range of strategies to facilitate active differentiated learning within an inclusive and stimulating learning environment
• Apprentice all children in subject-specific and integrated higher order thinking
• Engage in professional discussions with class teacher, principal teacher, HEI tutor, parents and colleagues
• Demonstrate a capacity to use what is learned through critical reflection to enhance their teaching and pupil learning in the classroom
• Demonstrate knowledge and understanding of suitable formative and summative assessment strategies in an early years context, with particular emphasis on numeracy

Method of Assessment

School Placement