Module: Professional Placement 2 & Reflection

Module Specifications..

Current Academic Year 2023 - 2024

Please note that this information is subject to change.

Module Title	Professional Placement 2 & Reflection
Module Code	ED9047
School	78
Module Co-ordinator	Semester 1: John White Semester 2: John White Autumn: John White
Module Teachers	Catherine Mulryan Kyne
NFQ level	99	Credit Rating	5
Pre-requisite	None
Co-requisite	None
Compatibles	None
Incompatibles	None

Coursework Only
Resit the module at the next opportunity.

Description

Reflection and Enquiry Tutorials During this part of the module, students are encouraged to draw on their learning and experiences across the PMEP programme for reflection and dialogue. The tutorials provide a space for students to discuss ideas, concepts, issues that arise in course modules and readings and to develop their reflective skills in the context of their work. The tutorials also provide students with opportunities to engage in discussion and critical reflection on key aspects of good professional practice in the primary school and to identify and explore fundamental elements of effective and inclusive teaching and learning, in line with the Céim standards on Inclusive Education, Professional identity and Agency. Through observation of teaching, online engagement, reading, and discussion, students are encouraged to set goals for their own learning and development as teachers, develop their capacities to reflect as teachers, and to develop skills and competencies that will facilitate and support them during Professional Placement. The Reflection Tutorials will introduce students to the Taisce portfolio, and students will be supported by their tutor in developing this portfolio. Professional Placement 2 This placement will enable students to further develop their understanding of inclusive and special education through observing and assisting teachers in special education settings by undertaking structured observation & reflection, and direct teaching. Students will have opportunities to work collaboratively with SET and other specialist teachers in the school community, and to learn from dialogic interactions with children, teachers and HEI tutors. Differentiated provision for all children in the primary classroom will be interwoven with development of students’ critical analysis of their own planning, teaching, and provision for children. Students will be expected to demonstrate in their reflections how their learning experiences during placements have been incorporated in to their professional development as a teacher of all children. Students will further develop their understanding of the professional role of the SET teacher through observing teaching and through ongoing professional conversation with their cooperating teacher / treoraí. Students will enhance their skills in curriculum planning, teaching, classroom organisation and assessment modalities. Through this, students will also be expected to demonstrate familiarity with a range of appropriate and inclusive pedagogical approaches. Students will examine parental involvement in the school and how the role of parents is a positive resource in the provision of an inclusive classroom and school environment.

Learning Outcomes

1. Develop and apply the skill of reflection, engage in reflection in a community of practice and illustrate their progression as reflective practitioners through the process of developing the Taisce portfolio.
2. Engage in discussion and critical reflection on key elements of good practice in the primary classroom, and the importance of communication and engagement with parents and the wider school community.
3. Critically reflect on their own evolving identities as future teachers.
4. Display an evolving understanding of inclusive educational practices; demonstrate such practices in one's teaching; transmit a positive disposition towards inclusion and pupil diversity; show a practical ability to foster an inclusive culture within one's classroom.
5. Identity, record and use key components required for short-term planning in an inclusive/SEN context through the use of planning tools, and, employ a range of appropriate teaching resources, including digital, to facilitate effective teaching and learning which meets the individual needs of each child.
6. Undertake a series of reflective tasks; engage in constructive self-evaluation; complete a detailed post-placement meta-reflection, and, implement goals to generate change and improvement in an inclusive/SEN context
7. Demonstrate effective communication skills in an inclusive/SEN context which facilitate effective teaching and learning with individuals and maintain a positive learning environment through the use of appropriate approaches
8. Identify and document how the placement setting enables parents to be a positive force in their school-wide inclusive agenda, and more broadly, in the holistic development of each child.

*Type*	*Hours*	*Description*
Workload	Full-time hours per semester
Assessment Feedback	125	Submission of PMEP1 Taisce Portfolio which has been worked on throughout the academic year. Engagement with and completion of reflection activities and tasks during a series of Reflection and Enquiry tutorials.
Professional Practice	125	Professional Placement 2: School-based work including Reflection, Preparation, Teaching and Self-Evaluation. A 1,000 word post-placement meta-reflection is an integral part of the Professional Placement 2 component.
Total Workload: 250

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

Reflection and Enquiry
Students reflect on: (1) the role of reflection in learning and professional practice, (2) the nature of learning and the learning process, and different perspectives on learning and individual differences and needs in this context, (3) the experiences that have shaped their understandings of children and childhoods, (4) their insights, understanding and learning about children’s learning from their own experience, from course work and specifically from a reading/resource that they have selected, (5) their personal concepts of teachers and teaching and the origins of and influences of these concepts, recognising that the predominant influence is their own personal experience as a student in the classroom, (6) the role of the classroom environment in the context of teaching, learning and social interaction, (7) factors influencing learning engagement including physical and circumstantial factors, personal factors, forms of social support and the quality of tasks and challenges, (8) perspectives on children’s experiences of teaching and learning in the classroom, (9) the many dimensions of the role of the teacher, including working with parents and stakeholders within the school community, (10) some of the common non-instructional and instructional routines of the school day and their role in making classroom “work” for children and teachers, (11) the importance of the Taisce portfolio in teacher education.

Professional Placement 2
Students are required to (1) undertake a series of reflective tasks that (a) are centred around teaching and learning in an inclusive/SEN context and (b) that foreground the significant value of parental involvement in such settings; (2) further develop their understanding of short-term planning to include lesson planning in an inclusive/SEN context; (3) deepen their' skills in undertaking lesson evaluation and using the outcomes to further improve approaches to planning and teaching; (4) further enhance their ability to evaluate the process of children’s learning through assessing learning, monitoring individual and group learning and celebrating the children’s efforts and achievements; (5) develop further understanding of approaches to planning and teaching in inclusive/SEN contexts; (6) explore the conceptualisation of inclusion and differentiated provision through examples of approaches which differentiate teaching and learning for all learners and learning contexts, and, (7) examine ways of building resilience and personal resources to cope with unanticipated problems and interpersonal issues when planning and/or teaching in an SEN/Inclusive context.

Assessment Breakdown
Continuous Assessment	100%	Examination Weight	0%

Type	Description	% of total	Assessment Date
Course Work Breakdown
Portfolio	Submission of a PMEP1 Taisce Portfolio at which will has worked on throughout the academic year. Engagement with and completion of reflection activities and tasks during a series of Reflection and Enquiry tutorials.	50%	As required
Professional Practice	Professional Placement 2: School-based work including reflection, preparation, teaching and self-evaluation. A 1,000 word post-placement meta-reflection is an integral part of the Professional Placement 2 component.	50%	As required

Reassessment Requirement Type
Resit arrangements are explained by the following categories; 1 = A resit is available for all components of the module 2 = No resit is available for 100% continuous assessment module 3 = No resit is available for the continuous assessment component
This module is category 2

Indicative Reading List

Other Resources

52895, Website, 0, Universal Design for Learning Guidelines, https://udlguidelines.cast.org/, 52896, Website, National Council for Curriculum & Assessment, 0, NCCA Guidelines for teachers of students with mild / moderate / severe & profound disabilities, https://www.sess.ie/resources/curricular-material,

Programme or List of Programmes

PMEP	Professional Master of Education Primary

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