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Module Specifications.

Current Academic Year 2024 - 2025

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Date posted: September 2024

Module Title Professional Placement 5
Module Code ED8078 (ITS) / EDP1099 (Banner)
Faculty DCU Institute of Education School Policy & Professional Practice
Module Co-ordinatorDamien Burke
Module TeachersGeraldine O'Connor
NFQ level 10 Credit Rating 15
Pre-requisite Not Available
Co-requisite Not Available
Compatibles Not Available
Incompatibles Not Available
Repeat the module
Resit at the next opportunity.
Description

The module will enable students to continue to gain a wide range of professional experiences in planning and teaching all day in any primary school class 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, to plan and manage the learning environment to construct effective classroom roles, expectations and learning outcomes. Students will work collaboratively with a 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 their Treoraí 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 engage in reflective tasks focused on deepening their understanding of how parents can be involved in education and in providing the highest standards of inclusive education.

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. eflect 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 formal and informal approaches to parental involvement through direct observation, policy analysis, critique of classroom and school practices.
8. Reflect on the school's inclusive educational practices and policies. Examination of such practices and policies as they translate practically to teaching and learning.



Workload Full-time hours per semester
Type Hours Description
Fieldwork375School-based preparation and teaching.
Total Workload: 375

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

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 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.

Personal and 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 full 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. These tasks make specific provision for the student to critique how they adopt these inclusive practices and policies during their school placement.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment100% Examination Weight0%
Course Work Breakdown
TypeDescription% of totalAssessment Date
Professional PracticeSchool-based preparation, teaching and professionalism to be evaluated by HEI placement tutor/s.100%n/a
Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories:
Resit category 1: A resit is available for both* components of the module.
Resit category 2: No resit is available for a 100% continuous assessment module.
Resit category 3: No resit is available for the continuous assessment component where there is a continuous assessment and examination element.
* ‘Both’ is used in the context of the module having a Continuous Assessment/Examination split; where the module is 100% continuous assessment, there will also be a resit of the assessment
This module is category 1
Indicative Reading List

  • Ian Rushton,Martin Suter: 2012, EBOOK: Reflective Practice for Teaching in Lifelong Learning, McGraw-Hill Education (UK), 9780335244027
  • Tony Bonfield,Kathleen Horgan: 2016, Learning to Teach, Teaching to Learn, Gill Education, 9780717162444
  • Janet Moyles,Jan Georgeson,Jane Payler: 2017, Beginning Teaching, Beginning Learning, UK Higher Education OUP Humanities & Social Sciences Education OUP, 9780335226962
  • David Midwinter,Tracy Whatmore: 2011, Positive Placements, A&C Black, 9781441138316
  • Louis Cohen,Lawrence Manion,Keith Morrison,Dominic Wyse: 2010, A Guide to Teaching Practice, Routledge, 9781136949654
Other Resources

53020, Website, Professional Placement, 0, ED8077 Professional Placement Guidelines and Materials,

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