What is the programme about?
The Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning aims to provide a structured, integrated programme for developing high level, evidence-based competence in teaching, learning and scholarship within the third level, further education, post-primary and primary sectors. The programme aims to provide participants with the skills, knowledge and competencies to design, teach, assess and evaluate educational programmes and to enable them to become professional, reflective practitioners. It will also equip graduates for roles in academic leadership and/or research supervision. The flexible delivery of the programme offers learners the possibility of studying stand-alone modules right up to completing the full Master of Arts in Teaching and Learning.
The embedded Postgraduate Diploma comprises five mandatory modules and one elective module. For the award of the Postgraduate Diploma, learners are required to complete 60 credits. For the Masters qualification, learners are required to complete the Postgraduate Diploma and complete an additional 30 credits: Education Research Methods (10 credits) and a Masters Research Project (20 credits).
What will I be able to do when I finish this programme?
On completion of this programme, students should be able to:
• Critically analyse current theories and research in teaching, learning and assessment practices and policies in higher education;
• Assess, select and evaluate the use of varied teaching and assessment strategies, including the integration of digital technologies to ensure effective teaching practices and enhance student engagement;
• Synthesise pedagogical research with discipline-based expertise to enhance models of higher education practice and the design of education programmes for diverse learners;
• Apply the reflective practitioner model in order to identify and promote improvements to own practice, whilst demonstrating professionalism and high ethical standards;
• Demonstrate initiative and leadership skills in working with peers and other educators and the wider community in designing curricula, leading programmes and/or conducting research supervision in diverse educational settings;
• Evaluate the wider social, political and economic environment within which the teaching professional operates;
• Demonstrate reflectivity and creativity in the interpretation and application of concepts, methods and approaches to teaching, learning and assessment;
• Develop knowledge and expertise in the use of appropriate research methods in higher education and use these to research practice and make a contribution to knowledge;
• Design and execute an independent, critical, and reflective professional investigation which examines the relationship between theory and practice, adopting the most appropriate research methods to address and analyse the identified issues.