Education - Post Primary Teaching

ProfMasters Education

Graduate Taught (level 9 nfq, credits 120)



The programme pays systematic attention to dispositions, values and beliefs regarding professionalism as public service and commitment to social justice with confidence, competence and appropriate expertise, both disciplinary and pedagogical. It develops practice-oriented enquiry which is both rigorous and systematic and builds relevant and sustainable synergies between theory and practice.



UCD School of Education is currently offering the following methodology subjects within the PME September 2023 intake.



Accounting

Agricultural Science

Applied Mathematics

Biology

Business

Chemistry

Politics and Society

Classical Studies

Computer Science

Economics

English

French

Gaeilge / Irish

Geography

German

History

Italian

Mathematics

Music

Physics

Physics and Chemistry

Spanish



Key Principles of The PME Programme



The programme is built on the following commitments to:



Cultivate a lifelong disposition towards professional growth and renewal that is informed by:



A broadly interpreted and inclusive understanding of evidence-informed practice;



Imbue all elements of the programme with a critically reflexive yet constructive disposition;



Advocate for education as a public good and for commitment to that ‘calling’ to be a teacher as a pledge to being a public intellectual through civic engagement and professional renewal;



Pursue, through that activism, the highest professional standards, underpinned by a commitment to one’s own professional renewal and a spirit of lifelong learning;



Demonstrate an on-going commitment to the teaching profession by means of a variety of partnerships within individuals, schools, their communities and managements, professional agencies—local, national and international—a ‘web of commitments’;



Advocate through one’s own professional engagement the notion of teacher-researcher within a community of scholars, both national and international, to build systematically and more coherently the knowledge-base of teaching, learning and leading.



Programme Design Principles:



Linkage between the different components of the programme in Education is fundamental in order to bridge the gap between sound knowledge of educational theory and the development of professional competency as a teacher. As such the programme design principles include:



Explicit connections between carefully planned module content, coursework and school placement;



The scaffolding of student development as pedagogues --? ensuring a praxis orientation to student teachers’ work, understood as phronesis;



The sustained and critical exploration of diversity across and between all modules;



The design and support of school placement to ensure that it occurs within the context of a collaborative professional community which draws on the strengths of the school, the students and the university;



An explicit emphasis on quality pedagogy which facilitates the development of content specific pedagogy which is firmly based on good evidence with solid theoretical foundations;



Active and diverse pedagogies which scaffold and enhance student reflection and which lead to conceptual change amongst students in relation to what constitutes and contributes to high quality teaching and learning;



Programme Aims:



Graduate highly educated Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) who are/ becoming excellent professionals, who are confident and self--? assured; committed to their subject pedagogy and to the teaching profession, and who are engaged in on-going professional renewal and development;



Develop expertise (subject matter and pedagogical content knowledge) coupled with a deep understanding of the principles of teaching, learning and assessment;



Cultivate a disposition which combines passion with purpose, empathy and understanding with cognitive challenge, resilience and hardiness;



Encourage students to invest continuously in their own learning and those of their pupils and colleagues through scholarship, research and capacity built in a collegial and collaborative manner;



Over time, through in—school mentoring, induction and collaboration enable graduates to become leaders in their specialisms and to enable them to recognise their leadership role in being ambassadors for their disciplines;



Cultivate a deep understanding of the formative role of assessment in learning and exhibit the capacity to deploy a range of assessment strategies which enable learners to build their understanding of key concepts in a principled manner;



Recognise the significance of reflection in the development of expertise and innovative practice thus providing curriculum leadership within their disciplines, schools and the wider educational community;



Combine respect, understanding and empathy in their professional disposition which is cognisant of diversity, inclusion and the consequent necessity for differentiation, discretion and professional judgment in building trust, promoting equity and justice amongst peers, students, parents and the wider public;



Enable student teachers to recognise that being and becoming a professional is a continuous journey characterised by a judicious mix of confidence and uncertainty, capacity to make sophisticated professional judgments in the interest of learners, whilst remaining open to possible alternatives, being committed to the benefits of professional community while being sufficiently self-critical to avoid “group think”;



Seek at all times to be mindful of professional responsibilities to learners, community and the profession while being principled and vigilant in the promotion and upholding of the highest professional standards.



Who should apply?

Full Time option suitable for:



Domestic(EEA) applicants: Yes

International (Non EEA) applicants currently residing outside of the EEA Region. No

When applying for a place on the Professional Master of Education, the PME Applicant will be required to make a formal declaration of studies undertaken in at least one post-primary curricular subject area.



He/she will be required to declare that they...



Hold an Honours Bachelor Degree NFQ Level 8 (or equivalent) carrying at least 180 ECTS Credits.



Have studied the requisite number of ECTS credits in the subject(s) they wish to have recorded on the Register of Teachers e.g. 60/80/90 ECTS credits.



Have completed at least 10 ECTS credits at third year degree level or higher



Have met all the specific detailed requirements of the Teaching Council in terms of mandatory areas of study

In all cases (a) – (d) the PME Applicant will be required to identify the specific module/course code where requirements have been met.



In the second semester of the first year, the Teaching Council will write to all PME student teachers on its database confirming...



1. That they meet the requirements for named curricular subject(s) and will be eligible to register on successful completion of the PME.

or

2. That they meet the requirements for at least one curricular subject but do not meet the requirements for one or more subsequent subjects and will be eligible to register on successful completion of the PME.

or

3. That they do not meet the requirements for at least one curricular subject and will therefore not be eligible for registration when they complete the PME.



In the case of number 3 above, the student teacher will be advised to notify the PME Programme Director who will determine if they can continue on the PME programme.



You may be eligible for Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), as UCD recognises formal, informal, and/or experiential learning. RPL may be awarded to gain Admission and/or credit exemptions on a programme. Please visit the UCD Registry RPL web page for further information. Any exceptions are also listed on this webpage.

Applicants must apply directly to UCD (link will be available soon). The final closing date for applications is 31 January 2025.

Assessment is a combination of written assignments, reflective practice logs, e-portfolios, poster presentations and oral presentations. School placement is also assessed over the course of both years, by at least two university personnel each year. Typically students can expect at least four visits per year in their school placement. Students must pass the school placement aspect of the programme in Year One in order to progress onto Year Two.

120

2 years full-time

ProfMasters Education (W327) Full Time

nonEU fee per year - € 19900


***Fees are subject to change