Higher Diploma in Further Education (Teaching Adults)

clau22

Hi,

Just wondering did anyone complete this course or are due to commence it?
This course I'm looking at is in NUI Maynooth.

Thanks!

louliewan

Did you go to the information session on 13th of feb? There were a few students there who are doing the course now and a past student who is now teaching

clau22

Yes, I attended both the online Q&A session and the information session last Thursday. I have submitted my PAC application, so it's a waiting game now!

louliewan

clau22 wrote: »

Yes, I attended both the online Q&A session and the information session last Thursday. I have submitted my PAC application, so it's a waiting game now!

Good luck ;-)
Did you have an interview yet?

clau22

Thanks! :-)

I have it this Thursday evening eeekkkk!!! Did you complete this course or are you starting it?

My dilemma now is what to wear for the interview, was thinking of a suit, maybe that's too formal though?

louliewan

clau22 wrote: »

Thanks! :-)

I have it this Thursday evening eeekkkk!!! Did you complete this course or are you starting it?

My dilemma now is what to wear for the interview, was thinking of a suit, maybe that's too formal though?

I also applied for the course, my interview is on Thursday morning, I think smart/casual is the way to go, you want to be comfortable and relaxed. I did my degree course there and loved Maynooth, great for matures. Hope all goes well for you, we may end up as classmates!

clau22

Ah will the very best of luck to you! Yes, I graduated from NUIM in 2012, I did the BA, yep loved Maynooth and also was a mature student!

I'll keep you posted on how I get on Thursday, might see you in September, all going well! ;-)

louliewan

Well, attended the interview yesterday and felt really comfortable with both people who were interviewing me, felt it went well, how did you get on?

clau22

Hiya,

Yes, I too attended interview yesterday evening, and felt ok about it. It was very informal, as they said more of a 'chat' than an interview!
Interviewers were very nice also. There must have been about 7 others being interviewed. Someone told me they may have 40 places available.
Glad your interview went well. Hopefully within the next 2 weeks we'll hear back. :-)

louliewan

Still no word!

clau22

louliewan wrote: »

Still no word!

I know! Last Thur would have bern the 2 weeks since interview, when I heard nothing I thought surely by Fri! I'll wait till Thur and if I hear nothing I'll ring!

louliewan

I got a message to say there was a high volume of applications and it would be mid march before interviews were finished but I was hoping to know before now. Hopefully by the end of the week we'll know ;-)

louliewan

Still interviewing so it will be another while before we know

clau22

Yes, hopefully by the end of the week we should know! Very high volume of interviewees and unfortunately only 35 places approx!

louliewan

clau22 wrote: »

Yes, hopefully by the end of the week we should know! Very high volume of interviewees and unfortunately only 35 places approx!

Any news?

clau22

Hi,
Yes, I received word yesterday, I got accepted, now the fun begins!
Have you heard anything back?

louliewan

clau22 wrote: »

Hi,
Yes, I received word yesterday, I got accepted, now the fun begins!
Have you heard anything back?

Congrats, well done! Got accepted also, can't wait

clau22

Aw that's great! Be seeing you so at the Easter info session! :-)

louliewan

clau22 wrote: »

Aw that's great! Be seeing you so at the Easter info session! :-)

Easter info session?

clau22

Well at the interview and I'm almost certain the info session that was in NUI we were told that we'd be meeting up around Easter time to go through placements etc, I presume once we accept and post Garda vetting form they'd get in touch with us about dates?

louliewan

clau22 wrote: »

Well at the interview and I'm almost certain the info session that was in NUI we were told that we'd be meeting up around Easter time to go through placements etc, I presume once we accept and post Garda vetting form they'd get in touch with us about dates?

Ah that's grand, thanks, be seeing you then ;-)

38Flowers

Hi there,

Just wondering what this course qualifies you to do exactly?

Thanks

clau22

Hi,
You can teach in any Further Education sector, FETAC accredited centers, eg: PLC colleges, Youthreach, VTOS, ETBs, teaching adults. Does not qualify you to teach primary/secondary.
Hope this was of some help?!

38Flowers

Thanks a million for the quick reply Clau22

Is this qualification a requirement to work in these areas?
And how many hours per wk is the course?

Thanks for the help

clau22

No prob, my emails come in straight away on my phone!
Mon 6-9.30pm, Tue 9-5pm.
Yes, you will be registered on The Teaching Council once qualified so those places I mentioned you would be required to be registered on Teaching Council. This will be the 3rd year if the course where you will be registered with The TC.

38Flowers

Thanks for all the info., much appreciated! Best of luck with the rest of the course.

clau22

@louliewan Hiya just wondering have/are you looking for teaching practice placement? I had an appointment this morning with one centre so fingers crossed! Have a few more in town I can try.
Do you know of anyone on this year's course, like are you preparing for the course or know what's the coursework etc? I have been in touch with a former student, briefly and a current student who's been answering my questions and providing me with info.
Also have been in contact with Rose.
Be great if got both placements before the summer! ;-)

louliewan

Hi Clau22, i have one place sorted tg, going to enquire in another one in Tallaght tomorrow. The only information I have on the course is what is provided in the module description, I was going to look into some of the theorists over the next while, just to get an idea of what their ideas were. Good luck with placements, I'm sure it will be fine for you :-)

sairaxx

Hi how are you. Just wondering would u have any info since you completed the course as im considering doing it myself.
Thanks a mill

clau22

@sairaxx Hi,

I will be starting this course in September, so the only info I have is from an online Q&A session I attended plus an info session held in the college jn Feb. You can look up the course on the NUIM website. I can tell you the course is 1 year full time, 11.5 lectures, 100hrs teaching practice in a FETAC accredited centre. I hope this is of some help?!

louliewan

Did you get to attend today? Seems like a great bunch, very friendly, and staff in the department seem very approachable. The meeting was very positive, cant wait to get started. How are the placements going for you?

clau22

Hey,

Yes I attended today and found it very informative. Looking forward to just starting now, feel as if I know all there is to know about the course!

Still waiting to hear back from the centre I applied to, I'm glad I now know that the 2nd placement doesn't have to be got straight away.

Will definitely attend the induction week as that will be very important and beneficial. The tips the current students gave were invaluable, their experiences before and since the course were good to hear. I definitely looking forward to the 'journey' and how this course will give me confidence and competence to teach and to be more positive and participate in assessments.

clau22

Hi

I have secured one placement, thankfully! I'm thinking I might leave the 2nd placement till the department knows which one I have so that I won't choose a centre that is similar. Also, you wouldn't be starting the 2nd placement until after Christmas.

Have you seured your two placements?

louliewan

Morning,
Well done, it's a relief to get it sorted. I have the first placement also and just have to provide hours for the second one to see if they can accommodate me. Sure we are well on our way! Hope the reading list is posted soon, am dying to get started.

clau22

Thank you! And well done to you also! Great to have it sorted at this early stage.
Yes, hopefully they will post up something soon, would be great to get ahead

dar100

Is there a part time option available for this course? What is the full time commitment? I know some places say full time, but students are only in for 1 or 2 days

clau22

Hi

The course is full-time. Mon 6-9.30pm, Tue 9-5pm. You have to do teaching practice totalling 100hrs, so 50 hours semester 1, 50 hours semester 2.

dar100

clau22 wrote: »

Hi

The course is full-time. Mon 6-9.30pm, Tue 9-5pm. You have to do teaching practice totalling 100hrs, so 50 hours semester 1, 50 hours semester 2.

Hi

Thanks for that, so it's one evening and one full day? How much does it cost?

clau22

I don't know off hand but if you check out the NUIM website you should find the details there.

Yes one evening per week and a full day Tues.

dar100

Does anyone have any feedback or experience of the PG Dip in Learning and Teaching, with a further ed element, run by the National College of Ireland?

Is it accredited by the teachers council?

What is the quality of the course?

How is it viewed by potential employers?

clau22

Hi @louliewan,

We won't feel it till we are back in the swing of things, it'll feel like we never left! ;-)

Regarding my second placement, I have to ring the manager in early December to arrange to meet up where she will show me around the centre and I've to bring my CV, insurance forms and Garda Vetting form, so it's still not 100% guaranteed but do you think I should notify the Dept. about this? I was thinking of sending Michael an email just to let him know my progress to date.
The manager of this centre did say she takes on 8-10 student teachers during the year and as she knows I won't be starting until early 2015 she obviously didn't feel the need to see me so early on. I will ring her even in Nov just so that she won't have forgotten me and the earlier I get to meet her the better the chance of securing the placement.
I am happy enough to keep in with this centre and if I don't secure it I can look elsewhere then as I still will have a few months before the 2nd placements commence.
I hope you got the green light with your second placement? :-)

clau22

Hi @louliewan,

We won't feel it till we are back in the swing of things, it'll feel like we never left! ;-)

Regarding my second placement, I have to ring the manager in early December to arrange to meet up where she will show me around the centre and I've to bring my CV, insurance forms and Garda Vetting form, so it's still not 100% guaranteed but do you think I should notify the Dept. about this? I was thinking of sending Michael an email just to let him know my progress to date.
The manager of this centre did say she takes on 8-10 student teachers during the year and as she knows I won't be starting until early 2015 she obviously didn't feel the need to see me so early on. I will ring her even in Nov just so that she won't have forgotten me and the earlier I get to meet her the better the chance of securing the placement.
I am happy enough to keep in with this centre and if I don't secure it I can look elsewhere then as I still will have a few months before the 2nd placements commence.
I hope you got the green light with your second placement? :-)

louliewan

Hi Clau22,
It can't come quick enough for me,.
I would keep the department up to date with your situation just so they can offer another option if needs be. My second placement is not entirely sorted yet either as the school want to set up night courses and wanted me to help with these. It will be the first time they've done this so they have to finalise some details before they get back to me.
i enquired about a reading list and got a mail from Rose to say we would have it soon.

clau22

Yes, I thought myself that I should let the Dept. know at what stage I'm at re placements as they did say at the last info session to try and get the 2 placements before commencing the course. I was in contact with a student who has completed this course and I asked her what should I do re notifying the Dept. and she said I didn't need to notify them and that a lot of students hadn't got their 2nd placements and that she hadn't got hers for ages either!

I just felt myself that I'd like to let them know just in case there were any issues etc. Would it be best to email Michael as he is the director or would it be ok to send it to Rose?

I asked the student who has done the course about books and she said we didn't need to buy any so do you think the reading list will be posted on Moodle and relevant chapters put up?

It will be good to get started on the reading list soon enough just to be prepared!

Teapot30

Hi everyone, sorry to bump an old thread im applying to the hdip course in Maynooth this year and im just wondering how everyone got on with it? was the course worth it? was the qualification beneficial to you? how did you find the course and tutors in general? and did anyone find employment after the course? ive heard its very difficult to find a job in further education teaching so im not sure if im making the right move.

Thanks

x