Course to help with teaching

fifomania

Hi
I'm hoping to apply for a teaching degree with the CAO next year and I'm wondering to kill this year is there any course or anything I could do to improve my chances or to look good on my application? I'm a mature student.
Help appreciated! thanks

spurious

You could volunteer as a literacy tutor.

dory

Oh, I'd be interested in this too. I saw a nightcourse about helping young learners but now I can't see it again. I already have experience, now I would like the theoretical side of things. Not to help my application for anything; I'm just interested!

gaeilgegrinds

Do a FETAC first aid course, SNA course or Diploma in ESOL? Or all?

spurious

I forgot about First Aid - always a good one to have.

messygirl

Hey Fifomania

quick question, I take it you are going for the 3 year B.Ed? If you apply through the CAO it is purely on a points basis and if you get the points you get in, simple as. You can also simultaneously apply as a mature student, which is based solely on interview.

Regarding the CAO there isn't anything you can do for it.
Regarding interview basis (note you can apply for Dublin AND mary i, unlike the postgrads where it is one or the other) i went for the b.ed interview (unsuccessful) and they focused on 3 main things:
1. experience with kids/subbing anything to do with kids like coaching brownies etc
2. Community involvement
3. Hobbies and skills, ie, what can you bring to the course, what skills can you bring to the teaching profession.

For the interview you would be better off working with kids (library book clubs, brownies, coachin local football team, homework clubs, youth clubs anything you can think of) if you could get a job as an sna even better. Antything that shows you have been in charge of a grooup of kids and can manage the group. Also would be worth getting a weeks observation to show youhave been interested in teaching and know exactly what is involved. For the community involvement check out your local gaa club/ootball club/church and see if there is anything you can get involved in like cake sales, church collections, tidy towns, community festivals, any charity things, anything that shows you are involved in the community. check out volunteerireland.com and see if you can volunteer in any sector (simon, svdp and so on). If you played a sport/instrument or did irish dancing try and pick it up again and big it up in the interview. They want well rounded, skilled people to tell them why they should pick you.

Edit: regarding courses check to see that they don;t do it in the course, like if they already have a first aid course on the degree course then you are reapeating things essentially, and i did an sna course and it was like750 and our tutors were not good (putting it mildly) and i could have gotten the info outof a book.it does look good but im sure there are other things. you could look into a tefl course and in a interview spin it so that you show them you can now sdo lesson plans, have experience in classroom and especially important if you are teaching kids who dont have english.

Best of luck