Whats the primary teahing course like in Maynooth?

itsduffy

my year was brought to an open day in maynooth last week and I fell in love with the place. I was thinking about doing the primary teaching course there (mh002)-I think , could anyone fill me in on what its like ? :) thanks:)

sadie06

itsduffy wrote: »

My year was brought to an open day in Maynooth last week and I fell in love with the place. I was thinking about doing the primary teaching course there (mh002)-I think. Could anyone fill me in on what it's like ? :) Thanks:)

I'm probably going to get a telling off for this, but if you really plan on teaching children in the future, try to at least observe the most basic rules of writing such as capitalisation and punctuation. I'm sure it's just an oversight on your part, but if you plan to go to college and study anything (particularly primary education) you should correct these bad habits as soon as possible.

In answer to your question, Froebel College moved to Maynooth this year, and are only integrating into campus life. Here is the link to their department: http://www.nuim.ie/froebel-department-primary-and-early-childhood-education

I only have second hand knowledge of the postgraduate qualification, of which I have heard good and bad. The good is that work placements are well supported and seem to be of a high quality, and overall the course structure is strong. The bad is that many lecturers treat you as if you are still in school, behaving more like primary teachers than lecturers, which is in direct contrast to the expected college experience.

You will love Maynooth. Good luck!

degausserxo

Give it over, it's a forum post, not a thesis she's writing.

I'm in first year OP, and while it wasn't my first choice by far, the course is great and I can't imagine myself doing anything else now. From September to December you spend every Monday on placement (which is mostly observation) with either Junior or Senior Infants, followed by a two week block placement in January where you have to teach at least three lessons a day. From February, the Mondays are then spent observing again, this time with either first or second class. You don't get marked on TP in first year.

The year (think there are 61 people in my class) is split up into four groups, but for most lectures two groups will be together. There are a few classes you'll take with your group alone, and five or six where the entire year is together. The year isn't semesterised per se; Froebel actually have a two week timetable, so for a lot of classes you'll have them once a fortnight, like P.E, Sociology and Philosophy. As far as hours go, at the minute we only have 2/3 on a Tuesday and Friday, but Wednesdays and Thursdays are pretty full (9-6 with an hour break).

Like I said, it's a two week timetable, so there are a lot of different classes - off the top of my head, Curriculum and Methodologies, Placement Learning, Psychology, Irish Literature, Irish/English/Maths Competency, Art, Music, Drama, S.P.H.E, Language Studies, Irish Methodologies, Mathematical and Scientific Enquiry, Sociology, Philosophy, History of Education... there are probably a lot more! Although it sounds like a lot, in practice it's not too much as the timetable is alternated. If you decide you might like to work in a Catholic school when you graduate, there's an external certificate course you have to complete which is run by St Pat's on South Campus that's worked into the timetable - 2 hours per week.

There aren't a whole lot of assignments (so far I think there's been 5 or 6) but it's quite heavy on readings as there are a few seminars a week. There are no Christmas exams as you'll be on placement, but of course, there are summer ones, and you'll have a fair few presentations to do.

As for the department itself, it's really close-knit and everyone (that I've encountered anyway) is lovely. There'll be a lot of crossovers with lecturers so you'll get to know them pretty well, and students from higher years include themselves with first years... everyone knows each other in Froebel! The only downside really is that in effect we're not fully integrated with the rest of Maynooth as our lectures aren't in any of the main buildings, and the rooms we're in while the specialised building is under construction are only really used for the B. Ed. students, so in that respect you won't run into many of the regular Maynooth students. It really is a brilliant course though, and like I said, I can't imagine myself doing anything else now.

Any more questions, feel free to PM me Good luck with the LC!

3beanzz

I'm looking for the same information on the postgraduate version of this course - Professional Masters of Education (PME primary) if anybody would have information on books to read for the course or any examinations to be aware of. Also what time of year do the gaeltacht placements usually take place?