Hibernia Teaching course

cagefan

Hi,

I am looking at the Hibernia secondary school teaching course and am wondering how it compares to the others eg Maynooth, UCD, TCD ect.

Would it be looked at as equal to the other courses?

Thanks

Stephen

pjfogarty

I would imagine that all hdips in ed are treated equally as they really are of no benefit.The real thing that will stand to you is experience in the classroom.So i would get subbing ASAP.I opted for Part time course in DCU so as to continue subbing.Torture but i now have both experience and hdip.

byhookorbycrook

If you are not a qualified teacher you will or should not get subbing. If and when you go to the expense of qualifying,you'd be pretty peeved if someone with no qualifications got work ahead of you. Not to neglect to say that students deserve a proper teacher.

pjfogarty

With respect,the hdip in ed will not make someone a "proper teacher"

Powerhouse

pjfogarty wrote: »

With respect,the hdip in ed will not make someone a "proper teacher"

That is quite distinct from saying - as you did earlier - that it is "of no benefit".

Just wondering...if the course is of no benefit why are you doing it?

cagefan

Powerhouse wrote: »

That is quite distinct from saying - as you did earlier - that it is "of no benefit".

Just wondering...if the course is of no benefit why are you doing it?

Talk about hijacking a thread! Thanks for the advise -at least the constructive bits( aka PJfogarty). I was already thinking of applying for subbing but imagine it will be difficult in the current climate!

pjfogarty

cagefan wrote: »

Talk about hijacking a thread! Thanks for the advise -at least the constructive bits( aka PJfogarty). I was already thinking of applying for subbing but imagine it will be difficult in the current climate!

Very difficult,my advice would be to go back to your old secondary school and chat to the principal.Tell him you are looking for experience and that you will work for free.Even if you are just supervising.The most important thing you can get from this is whether you would in fact like teaching.Experience in a school will certainly help for the DCU interview.

Powerhouse

cagefan wrote: »

Talk about hijacking a thread! Thanks for the advise -at least the constructive bits( aka PJfogarty). I was already thinking of applying for subbing but imagine it will be difficult in the current climate!

So what PJ "imagines" about the relative merits of the various courses which he/she dismisses as "of no benefit" anyway is "constructive advice", but a post which asks him/her to explain why they would deem such courses to be of no real benefit is "hijacking the thread"? That is an astonishing view from someone who started a thread to get information on the relative merits of these courses.

Bottom line here is that you should not darken the door of any school to do "subbing" without a teaching qualfication in the current day and age with thousands of graduates unemployed. It would also be a good idea, whatever course you pursue, to do so in an open-minded manner acknowledging that there is plenty for you to learn and that when applying for a job you will find the course and a good performance in it to be a significant benefit in trying register as a teacher and to get employment subsequently.

Constructive advice and having your own preconceptions confirmed are not always the same thing.

P.S. Just for the record (and this is genuine practical advice) if you were to apply, say, to the NUI colleges where experience is taken into consideration in their application, bear in mind that teaching experience must be paid work i.e. genuine teaching. So beware of the limitations of offering to work for free.

cagefan

Powerhouse wrote: »

So what PJ "imagines" about the relative merits of the various courses which he/she dismisses as "of no benefit" anyway is "constructive advice", but a post which asks him/her to explain why they would deem such courses to be of no real benefit is "hijacking the thread"?

Bottom line here is that you should not darken the door of any school to do "subbing" without a teaching qualfication in the current day and age with thousands of graduates unemployed. It would also be a good idea, whatever course you pursue, to do so in an open-minded manner acknowledging that there is plenty for you to learn and that when applying for a job you will find the course and a good performance in it to be a significant benefit in trying register as a teacher and to get employment subsequently.

Constructive advice and having your own preconceptions confirmed are not always the same thing.

P.S. Just for the record (and this is genuine practical advice) if you were to apply, say, to the NUI colleges where experience is taken into consideration in their application, bear in mind that teaching experience must be paid work i.e. genuine teaching. So beware of the limitations of offering to work for free.

Hey Powerhouse, I'm just trying to find out if the Hibernia course is worthwhile, which was answered by PJ. So perhaps if you have an opinion on the merits of that course vs the others you could share it? I just quoted the last message, didnt necessarily mean to single yours out - just seemed like thread was going to turn into a bitching session. On a side note- calling someone closed minded from two lines of text strikes me as a little ironic. You seem to have made up your mind rather quickly really:). Anyway thanks for the info.

Powerhouse

cagefan wrote: »

So perhaps if you have an opinion on the merits of that course vs the others you could share it?

I don't have an opinion on the relative merits of the courses. I did the course in one college in my time and cannot comment with authority on any of the others. And I am not sure there has even been a graduate of the Hibernia post-primary course yet not to mind me having met one or worked with one from whom I might have got some information about it. I'm just being honest here - I could feed you with a load of half-baked theories but I choose not to.

To be quite candid with you I asked only the kind of questions of PJ that I think you should be asking. You're the one looking for the info after all and if you are thinking of shelling out €8k+ for a course I think you should do so on the basis of real research. His answer would be far too trite and vague for me if I was in that position anyway, but I'm sure you know best.

cagefan

Powerhouse wrote: »

I don't have an opinion on the relative merits of the courses. I did the course in one college in my time and cannot comment with authority on any of the others. And I am not sure there has even been a graduate of the Hibernia post-primary course yet not to mind me having met one or worked with one from whom I might have got some information about it. I'm just being honest here - I could feed you with a load of half-baked theories but I choose not to.

To be quite candid with you I asked only the kind of questions of PJ that I think you should be asking. You're the one looking for the info after all and if you are thinking of shelling out €8k+ for a course I think you should do so on the basis of real research. His answer would be far too trite and vague for me if I was in that position anyway, but I'm sure you know best.

Well I agree - one shouldn't base all there decisions on one opinion in a website forum no matter what the answer, however he was the 1st to reply to my thread which was a number of days old and I was grateful for his opinion. Anyway, all the best to you and thanks for your opinions and info!

niamh198

pjfogarty wrote: »

I would imagine that all hdips in ed are treated equally as they really are of no benefit.The real thing that will stand to you is experience in the classroom.So i would get subbing ASAP.I opted for Part time course in DCU so as to continue subbing.Torture but i now have both experience and hdip.

I have an interview for DCU this week and was wondering if you had any advise on what type of questions I might be asked.
Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Mr.BA

pjfogarty wrote: »

I would imagine that all hdips in ed are treated equally as they really are of no benefit.The real thing that will stand to you is experience in the classroom.So i would get subbing ASAP.I opted for Part time course in DCU so as to continue subbing.Torture but i now have both experience and hdip.

Quite personally I have been very critical of the Hibernia Course for Secondary School Teaching.
The fact that you said it was equally treated is a completely untrue. You are far better of going to an actual university to do the hdip as you will be on top of the list to get employed.
A student who has done the hdip online, compared to someone who did it in a University, will have no chance.

You're better of trying to apply for universities. If ya haven't got enough points do a masters and it will always stand to you especially doing an interview in Trinity for the dip!

solerina

I cant say what the outcome of the Hibernia course will be but Im sure that it will be just as good as the longer running more traditional coillege courses. However I do think that Hibernia are approaching the course in a way more professional manner than any of the other Institutions. They have a week long observation which is compulsory for their students, the students must fill in a fairly detailed worksheet during this week, which is based on the different classes which they observe. A person in the school is nominated as the Hibernia students mentor. The mentor does online sessions with Hibernia to prepare then to help the student when they begin in the school. The student is prepared, the school is prepared...which is alot more than I can say for the students coming from the more traditional centres (in many cases).

I also have to disagree with Mr BA, the quality of the candidate will determine who gets the job, it wont be based on where their PGE came from. A good CV and a good interview is the most important thing.

Figerty

I work in Education and Hibernia graduates are not regarded that well. The first few years had top quality people on the courses but the last few years are not as well regarded. This is a sweeping generalisation I know but that is the vibe out there. I am sure there are some top quality people on the course.

If you want to become a teacher, go to a recognised college full time. You will learn as much from your classmates as you will in lectures.

H.Dips are to become 2 year long programmes now rather than the 1 year add on of a few years ago.

Mr.BA

Figerty wrote: »

I work in Education and Hibernia graduates are not regarded that well. The first few years had top quality people on the courses but the last few years are not as well regarded. This is a sweeping generalisation I know but that is the vibe out there. I am sure there are some top quality people on the course.

If you want to become a teacher, go to a recognised college full time. You will learn as much from your classmates as you will in lectures.

H.Dips are to become 2 year long programmes now rather than the 1 year add on of a few years ago.

I completely agree with you on this! Not worth spending all the money on doing a PDE online! Also just to the previous speaker, that wasn't a very good reason to support Hibernia!
The reason why I'm also against it is because people who literally scrape a 2:2 in their degrees get into that course! I know someone who got 2.48 GPA from UCD and ended up getting into it! Those people clearly don't know their field so how could they possibly be fit to teach?

It's a complete joke! They should do away with the course if you ask me! So unemployable compared to other proper PDE courses!

spurious

Mr.BA wrote: »

The reason why I'm also against it is because people who literally scrape a 2:2 in their degrees get into that course! I know someone who got 2.48 GPA from UCD and ended up getting into it! Those people clearly don't know their field so how could they possibly be fit to teach?

Do you have any evidence whatsoever that being very good at studying something makes you very good at teaching it?

chippers

spurious wrote: »

Do you have any evidence whatsoever that being very good at studying something makes you very good at teaching it?

There was a video uploaded on a thread a while back about the Finnish education system. It was a very good watch - have a look.

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=75775332

The video did not imply that being very good at studying a subject made a very good teacher but I dont think is the point the OP is trying to make. However, it did provide evidence of only top graduates being accepted into the professional education courses in Finland. And that their excellent in-depth knowledge of their subject was very important to the success of the Finnish education system.

SlinkyL

This is the first year of the Hibernia post-primary course, and as a student on the course, I can safely say that the course is well-run and the content and material covered is very thorough. It also opens up the possibility of returning to education and qualifying as a teacher to many people who, for various reasons, cannot attend college on a full-time basis. Lots of the students on the course have financial commitments and/or young children, preventing them from attending a 'proper university' and this course offers a really flexible way of studying. In this regard it is very progressive. There will always be plenty of people who are happy to offer negative advice based on very little knowledge, but my advice would be to try and ignore unfounded comments and research the course thoroughly yourself. The qualification is fully recognised by the teaching council and I would suggest that their approval is more important than that of posters on an anonymous forum. HTH:)

Miss Lockhart

SlinkyL wrote: »

It also opens up the possibility of returning to education and qualifying as a teacher to many people who, for various reasons, cannot attend college on a full-time basis. Lots of the students on the course have financial commitments and/or young children, preventing them from attending a 'proper university' and this course offers a really flexible way of studying. In this regard it is very progressive.

I can't comment one way or the other on this course, or indeed or on Hibernia in general, as I don't know anybody who has studied with them. I will agree though, that there is definitely a negative attitude towards the course from many principals - whether that is justified or not.

I would however caution those embarking on the course that they are going to find it very tough once qualified - just like graduates of other teacher training courses.

Starting out in teaching now, more often than not, invoves being available at the drop of a hat, being extremely flexible and for many it involves sitting around all day in school waiting for a class or for some subbing to arise. Of course there will be little pay for these short and sporadic hours - but to get those few hours you will have to give up a lot more of your time. This will also cause problems with signing on for social welfare due to the spread out nature of teaching hours.

People who are unable to be flexible with their time or their financial commitments, for whatever reason, will find it particularly difficult - especially since they will be competing against people without those same constraints.

lizeob

Mr.BA wrote: »

I completely agree with you on this! Not worth spending all the money on doing a PDE online! Also just to the previous speaker, that wasn't a very good reason to support Hibernia!
The reason why I'm also against it is because people who literally scrape a 2:2 in their degrees get into that course! I know someone who got 2.48 GPA from UCD and ended up getting into it! Those people clearly don't know their field so how could they possibly be fit to teach?

It's a complete joke! They should do away with the course if you ask me! So unemployable compared to other proper PDE courses!

What the hell are you talking about. Seriously think before you write something like that down

lizeob

Hey

I got a 2:2 in my degree. Are you saying I shouldnt become a teacher???
If your going to have that negative attitude towards people, you defintely aint fit for teaching yourself..:)

Mr.BA

lizeob wrote: »

Hey

I got a 2:2 in my degree. Are you saying I shouldnt become a teacher???
If your going to have that negative attitude towards people, you defintely aint fit for teaching yourself..:)

Just to let you know that I know many people who got 2:2's and became teachers and a great at it. If you read what I said again you'd see that I said people who barely get 2:2's get into the hdip there and it's a joke as they don't know their field well enough! Like someone I know got 2.48 GPA from UCD! That person got her 2:2 cos she got someone to do their assignment and take home exam where she got the a+. She was on a pass. Colleges like the NUI and trinity want students with higher grades as they better know their fields!

Koddle

<snipped unsubstantiated allegations>

Mod note: Please do not sign up to boards to use every single post to bad mouth a company, thanks.

solerina

As far as I am concerned once the person is qualified and registered with the teaching council it shouldnt matter whether the qualification is from Hibernia or elsewhere. In fact as a supervising teacher/mentor of many H.Dips/PGCEs over the years the best candidate I have ever encountered (which includes 2 with doctorates) was from Hibernia...its the person that you should judge on their ability not what college they attended !!!