DCU Home | Our Courses | Loop | Registry | Library | Search DCU
<< Back to Module List

Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

All Module information is indicative, and this portal is an interim interface pending the full upgrade of Coursebuilder and subsequent integration to the new DCU Student Information System (DCU Key).

As such, this is a point in time view of data which will be refreshed periodically. Some fields/data may not yet be available pending the completion of the full Coursebuilder upgrade and integration project. We will post status updates as they become available. Thank you for your patience and understanding.

Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Professional Placement 4
Module Code ED8077 (ITS) / EDP1098 (Banner)
Faculty DCU Institute of Education School Policy & Professional Practice
Module Co-ordinatorDamien Burke
Module TeachersGeraldine O'Connor, John White
NFQ level 10 Credit Rating 12.5
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
Repeat the module
Resit the module at the next opportunity.
Description

The module will enable students to gain a wide range of professional experiences in planning and teaching all day in a middle/senior class in a primary school setting. Throughout the school placement, students will be expected to maintain consistent standards of effective planning, teaching, reflection and evaluation and to develop skills in long-term planning and the completion of the Cuntas Míosúil (monthly progress report). Planning approaches to differentiating for all learners including children with various high incidence and low incidence special needs in the primary school will be integral to all elements of planning. Students will be expected to demonstrate adaptive agency and to plan and manage the learning environment to construct effective classroom roles, expectations and learning outcomes. Students will work collaboratively with their Treoraí and the school community in a range of school projects and initiatives and in the process enable students to see themselves as important resources for a school community. Students will have opportunities to engage in professional dialogue with cooperating teachers and support staff and to participate in activities such as ongoing assessment and co-teaching. Students will become familiar with the Code of Professional Conduct (Teaching Council) and its implications for the professional role of the teacher and apply these standards to their own professional practice. Students will develop their knowledge of statutory requirements for safety, health and welfare management systems in schools as evidenced by school policy development. Students will engage in critical and shared reflection on the elements of their placement, informed by coursework and school-based learning. Students will examine the policies and practices in operation related to inclusiveness and parental involvement with a view to informing their planning and delivery of the curriculum.

Learning Outcomes

1. Undertake and write short-term and long-term teaching plans.
2. Employ a variety of curriculum methodologies, creative resources and teaching styles.
3. Engage children actively in learning through whole class teaching, group work and individual/pair work.
4. Communicate effectively and professionally with children, adults, and professionals in a school setting.
5. Critique and assess desirable pathways for improvement in their teaching and their own learning.
6. Reflect on their own professional development and demonstrate insights into their own classroom teaching, planning and management competencies informed by coursework, observations and experiences.
7. Reflect on the school's inclusive educational practices and policies, both formal and informal. Examination of such practices and policies with regard to how the student translates them into their delivery of the curriculum.
8. Reflect on the school's formal and informal approaches to parental involvement through discourse with their Treoraí, classroom observation, policy analysis and critique of classroom and school practices.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Professional Practice312.5School-based preparation and teaching in a primary school context
Total Workload: 312.5

All module information is indicative and subject to change. For further information,students are advised to refer to the University's Marks and Standards and Programme Specific Regulations at: http://www.dcu.ie/registry/examinations/index.shtml

Indicative Content and Learning Activities

Overview
Child Protection (Statutory requirements revisited, School Policy) 
 Advanced methods in planning lessons (short-term and long-term planning) . Creating exciting classroom and school displays (with an active role for children). 
 Recording children’s progress and using outcomes to help improve planning and teaching
. Privacy and confidentiality around information received in the classroom/school. 
 The Code of Professional Conduct (Teaching Council) 
 Year 4 (BEd) and Induction Year
. School policies and implementation at classroom level (challenges and supports). 
 Observe and record school attendance: The Leabhar Rolla /Online Record Systems (end of term calculations, submission to the principal). Cuntas Míosúil submission. Absenteeism of pupils: Procedures in place, professional responsibilities, Role of Welfare Board Building personal and professional resilience when teaching: Sources of support, personal crises. Care and management of the Voice.

Child Protection
Statutory requirements revisited. School policy, procedures and protocols in relation to Child Protection. University policy, procedures and protocols in relation to Child Protection for students on School Placement. Enactment of policies in preparation, teaching and in engagement with children.

Long and Short-Term Planning
Advanced methods in planning lessons (short-term and long-term planning) to include the preparation of logical progressional schemes of work, daily plans with succinct structured lesson notes, and the completion of the Cuntas Míosúil.

Monitoring and Showcasing Children's Learning
Creating exciting classroom and school displays (with an active role for children). 
 Recording children’s progress and using outcomes to help improve planning and teaching

Code of Professional Conduct
Privacy and confidentiality around information received in the classroom/school. 
 The Code of Professional Conduct (Teaching Council) 
and how domains pertain to student teachers as emerging professionals.

Preparation for Droichead and Induction
Through portfolio based learning, identify an action plan for teacher induction drawing on the Teaching Council's Droichead process, Taisce and the materials for the NIPT.

Attendance
Become familiar with the leabhar rolla/online record systems ((end of term calculations, submission to the principal). Familiarisation with NEWB/school policy in relation to absenteeism of pupils, procedures in place, professional responsibilities, the role of the NEWB.

Development of Adaptive Expertise and Personal / Professional resilience when teaching
Development of adaptive expertise. Capacity to deal with unexpected events in a professional manner. Flexibility and adaptability to children's learning and changes in the school and the wider education environment. Care and management of the voice when teaching.

Reflection Tasks
Undertake reflective tasks which consider the role of parents in their child's education. These tasks will include an examination of the school's policies and practice and how they translate to practical implementation. Reflective tasks will also examine formal and informal school approaches to providing for an inclusive learning environment to include a consideration of policy and practice, with a specific focus on the Treoraí's implementation of inclusive practices. These tasks make specific provision for the student to critique how they can adopt these inclusive practices and policies during their school placement

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Participationn/a100%n/a
Indicative Reading List

  • Moyles, Janet,Georgeson, Jan,Payler, Jane: 2011, Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning: In Early Years And Primary Education, McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 9780335244126
  • Tony Bonfield,Kathleen Horgan: 2016, Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn, Gill Education, 9780717162444
  • Chris Kyriacou: 1991, Essential Teaching Skills, Wiley-Blackwell, 9780631176473
  • Ian Rushton,Martin Suter: 2012, EBOOK: Reflective Practice for Teaching in Lifelong Learning, McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 9780335244027
  • Louis Cohen,Lawrence Manion,Keith Morrison,Dominic Wyse: 2010, A Guide to Teaching Practice, Routledge, 9781136949654
Other Resources

53008, Website, ED8077, 0, Professional Placement Materials and Guidelines,

<< Back to Module List