Interview for DCU Part-time PGDE

bananaskin

Hi there
I have an interview for the DCU PGDE (p/t) in Febuary and was wondering has anybody got any experience of these interviews and if so what should one expexct?
any advice very welcomed.
Regards G

coolperson05

Hi everyone,

Same boat - interview coming up. I've been teaching for the past year part time and have a masters, will I be ok?? Any particular tips or topics they'll cover? Behaviour in classroom, subject knowledge, recent knowledge on teaching issues?! I really hate interviews!

All responses welcome!

Armaghmagic

Same as yourselves, interview February 13th, bit nervous......have heard that it is only about 10 minutes so one word keeps coming up when I ask any of my colleagues who have done it, as well as 2 principals, and that word is "PRESENCE"!! Make yourself remembered!

redout

I done an interview in 2010 though not for this course.

It was conducted by two PhDs from the relevant school.

Started off with only one doing the talking whilst the other just observed and took notes.

The basic questions such as tell us about yourself up to this point and why do you want to do this particular course.

There will probably be a couple of follow up questions depending on the answers you gave.

Actually this was the point when the second person started to become involved i.e. asking questions based on the notes they took.

After that they will ask if you have any questions for them - my advice is to ask something even if you dont as it shows that you have an interest.

In my case I was offered the place there an then though this is not always the case so dont worry if you are not.

Best of luck.

bananaskin

Cheers Redout
Are u finished the course yet and if so how are you finding getting work?
Regards G

pjo90

Hi,

I worked on this programme for a short while in the past and have been on the other side of the interview. To be honest there is no real trick to it. What you need to do is to

a) Demonstrate that you have an interest in teaching
A knowledge of your subject, of the different curricula, of developments in your subject field helps. Also if you had some idea about the Teaching council, changes in Teacher Ed etc that can be useful but not essential.
If you have ever taught - bring along a sample of your work (lesson plans, evaluations, resources etc, etc)

b) If possible refer to some experience of teaching - if you have none, then some experience of working with kids in a structured environment (e.g. sports teams, community groups etc), failing that again some evidence that you have worked with any sort of group.
If you are from an industry background, experience of training also helps

c) Think why you want to be a teacher and then express this. There are no cynics on the programme. Most of the staff are former teachers and are really committed to giving individuals the opportunity to access the course if at all possible.

d) Your qualification - make sure it is in a recognised area, make sure that you enter all of the relevant details, if you have additional qualifications put them in (even if they are non- academic)

e) References - include any that you can - particularly good ones!

f) Seems obvious but if you are including a personal statement (which you used to have to do) put a bit of thought into it. No spelling or grammatical errors, a bit of honesty and a bit of passion for teaching always helps.

Can't think of much else. Hope it all goes well.

bananaskin

Thanks for that pjo90.
That information is very valuable and gives me an insight into what to expect on the day.
I will let you know how I get on.
Regards
G

bananaskin

Armaghmagic wrote: »

Same as yourselves, interview February 13th, bit nervous......have heard that it is only about 10 minutes so one word keeps coming up when I ask any of my colleagues who have done it, as well as 2 principals, and that word is "PRESENCE"!! Make yourself remembered!

Hey Armaghmagic
How did ur interview go?
Any tips/advice!!
Hope you are successful with ur application my interview is fri so trying to prepare myself before then
Again best of luck
G

coolperson05

Yes, any word on this would be great! I'm up tomorrow too and very nervous!

Armaghmagic

Hi folks been off for a while. Really sorry I couldnt give any advice before your interviews, hope you both got on well. Still waiting to hear how mine went. Lasted about 15 minutes and was asked what I did during the 4 years between finishing my degree and now, what do I think about teamwork and how about the discipline methods I show!

All in all not too bad but nomatter how it went I know there is a long list!

Armaghmagic

Got offered a place last Tuesday March 27th!!!

Anyone else hear back from them?