All Primary / Secondary Masters Courses - Post Q's Here Please

Postgrad10

There probably will but you won't be allowed to teach it if it's not your degree subject( or so the teaching council says:)
also those of you with two subjects and are thinking of attending cspe methods anyway will soon change your minds once the workload starts . Be warned !

Postgrad10

Sorry you said purge , I read surge my eyes are going! They'll have to put a stop to unqualified cspe teachers I'm sure,

nordisk celt83

^^^

Do hope they'll do something about CSPE/Politics and Society, and help make it more mainstream and accountable. I actually feel quite passionately about the subject matter's significance to the overall educational process!!!

Ok, one last ambiguity to clear up then... On here, many are saying you can only register your degree subjects with the teaching council, but my impression from the website is that it's also possible to register any subject that comprised at least 30% of your course (i.e a 1st yr subject.)

Can anyone offer some clarity on this???

As I said, I have two degree level subjects I can register, but I'm just interested in knowing all the options...

Toto Wolfcastle

It's 30% over a period of at least 3 years.

nordisk celt83

Thanks!

So, basically a subject taken in the first year of a 3year BA can be registered as a subject with the teaching council.

UnLuckyAgain

nordisk celt83 wrote: »

Thanks!

So, basically a subject taken in the first year of a 3year BA can be registered as a subject with the teaching council.

Not quite, the subject must be 30% of a degree course extending over at least 3 years, amounting to 180 credits. Therefore you would need to have amassed 54 credits in that subject in order for it to be eligible for registration purposes.

rainbowtrout

nordisk celt83 wrote: »

Thanks!

So, basically a subject taken in the first year of a 3year BA can be registered as a subject with the teaching council.

No it has to be 30% of your degree and taken over 3 years/final year/degree level.

A subject taken only in first year does not make up 30% of a degree.

nordisk celt83

Agh, that's what I was wondering. The use of 'studied over 30% of a 3 period,' instead of 30% of the value of the degree is somewhat ambiguous!!!

Essentially, a first year subject, in your average BA degree, is only worth around 11% so.

Clarification at last, thanks.

UnLuckyAgain

nordisk celt83 wrote: »

Agh, that's what I was wondering. The use of 'studied over 30% of a 3 period,' instead of 30% of the value of the degree is somewhat ambiguous!!!

Essentially, a first year subject, in your average BA degree, is only worth around 11% so.

Clarification at last, thanks.

See how many credits you have taken already, highly unlikely to be more than 11/12%. You can make up the extra credits to bring that subject to degree level if you wish.

nordisk celt83

Will have a look... Thanks for all the info!

ArtSmart

nordisk celt83 wrote: »

Agh, that's what I was wondering. The use of 'studied over 30% of a 3 period,' instead of 30% of the value of the degree is somewhat ambiguous!!!

Essentially, a first year subject, in your average BA degree, is only worth around 11% so.

Clarification at last, thanks.

i'd say the best way of looking at it is that a degree is that which takes a min of 3 years.
so, one year or two years, no matter what % module were covered, is not seen as part of a degree, bec it wasn't 3 years, and therefore is not a degree.
in short a degree only exist when 3 years full time study (or equivalent .ie 6 p/t) were completed.
the 30% rule only then kicks in

sounds obvious, but i guess it isn't always.

fakearms123

Hey, I have had to take CSPE as my secondary subject because my course only allows me to teach one subject but during my course I did a fair bit of computer applications, why is Computer Studies not a secondary subject? I had computer studies once or twice a week when I was in school and that was almost 10 years ago

Toto Wolfcastle

A lot of schools don't offer it, or they only offer it to a couple of years. Plus generally people aren't hired because they're qualified to teach computers. It's usually given to existing teachers. I'd imagine that the demand isn't just there to offer it as a subject during the PGDE.

Keyann

rodgered wrote: »

Bit worried myself with the same thing, my subjects are Geog and Economics and apparently the number for Economics are dropping rapidly so will look for CSPE with my soc and pol too! You would stand a good chance of getting CSPE hours with legal science too. I would take it but thats just my opinion.

Thanks Rodgered, think I will go for it. Just hear there are so many history teachers and probably too limited when have no other subject. You should be fine with Geography and Economics. Did Economics in first year, wish I had it as another subject.

spurious

fakearms123 wrote: »

why is Computer Studies not a secondary subject? I had computer studies once or twice a week when I was in school and that was almost 10 years ago

It is a subject in the Leaving Certificate Applied.

naomi23

Hi,

I am thinking of applying for the PGDE this December with Geography but am worried about not getting a job the other side. All I hear is bad news about the lack of teachers jobs but its what I want to do. If it really goes belly up, is there a chance I could transfer the course and work abroad in New Zealand or Canada or do I have to start all over again when I get there??

Any advice would be great!!!

Cheers

delta_bravo

naomi23 wrote: »

Hi,

I am thinking of applying for the PGDE this December with Geography but am worried about not getting a job the other side. All I hear is bad news about the lack of teachers jobs but its what I want to do. If it really goes belly up, is there a chance I could transfer the course and work abroad in New Zealand or Canada or do I have to start all over again when I get there??

Any advice would be great!!!

Cheers

If you did a teaching course in NZ/AUS and wanted to teach in Ireland you would need to do the dip all over again. I think you can only do it in another EU country and then do an exam in Ireland.

If you did the dip in Ireland and wanted to teach in AUS I think you need 3 yrs+ experience to get a working visa. It was that last time I checked.

digsy01

dno7239 wrote: »

Anyone doing English in Trinity??

Hey Dno, I'm new to boards! But yeah, I also got a place in English in Trinity! Have you secured a teaching placement yet?

dno7239

No placement yet I sent off loads of letters before Easter break, so Ill wait till the schools are back, then Ill start to panic! How about yourself?

digsy01

Yeah I'm the same, I have sent off lots of CVs, I have an interview for a school next week so fingers crossed, but no response yet from the majority of places I have contacted. I'm glad to hear we are all in the same boat anyways!!

mr_october

Has anyone heard anything back from Trinity yet? All I have is confirmation from PAC...just wondering if we are due to get anything else!

PeeWe

mr_october wrote: »

Has anyone heard anything back from Trinity yet? All I have is confirmation from PAC...just wondering if we are due to get anything else!

I have been thinking the same thing - I haven't received anything yet I am sure over the next few weeks we will

lducd

Hey guys, im doing the PGDE in ucd this year and was hoping to business as my second subject, but didnt specify my second subject on the pac application form. Does anyone know if you can do it as your second subject without having the higher points that are usually required for business?? I have to get my masters recognised after the pgde but other than that i dont know if ucd will actually allow me to do it as my second subject, and they arent great for getting back to you so was wondering if anyone could help??
thankls!

UnLuckyAgain

lducd wrote: »

Hey guys, im doing the PGDE in ucd this year and was hoping to business as my second subject, but didnt specify my second subject on the pac application form. Does anyone know if you can do it as your second subject without having the higher points that are usually required for business?? I have to get my masters recognised after the pgde but other than that i dont know if ucd will actually allow me to do it as my second subject, and they arent great for getting back to you so was wondering if anyone could help??
thankls!

Yes, you can take it as your second subject in UCD. (I'm going to be taking it as my first subject starting this August/September). The higher points required for business studies only applies to business degrees - you can see which ones are part of this regime on the PAC website. For example, I have an Arts degree with Economics as a subject, which also allows me to teach JC Business Studies. So because my degree is Arts rather than a Business degree, you're somewhat exempt from the higher points needed.

Strictly speaking, once you're offered a place, you can take any second subject methodology you wish during the PGDE, but you won't be able to register as a teacher of that subject unless you have a primary degree in it.

lducd

THanks so much, saved me a lot of hassle!! UCD aren't great for giving out info, thanks again!

KnocKnocKnock

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered but for my Bachelor degree I did German and Psychology with only a few modules of English so I don't know what I can teach as my second subject. Does anyone know where I can find information on maybe doing an English course so that this would be recognized as my second subject?

Also, did many of you have experience in a school before applying for the PGDE? I noticed an area for "relevant experience" on one application form. I have some experience working with kids between 10-16 in Germany, but it's been 8 months, not the entire school year. The form specified that anything under one year counts as 0 points and maybe it also wouldn't count because it wasn't experience of the Irish school system.

lducd

KnocKnocKnock wrote: »

I'm sorry if this question has already been answered but for my Bachelor degree I did German and Psychology with only a few modules of English so I don't know what I can teach as my second subject. Does anyone know where I can find information on maybe doing an English course so that this would be recognized as my second subject?

Also, did many of you have experience in a school before applying for the PGDE? I noticed an area for "relevant experience" on one application form. I have some experience working with kids between 10-16 in Germany, but it's been 8 months, not the entire school year. The form specified that anything under one year counts as 0 points and maybe it also wouldn't count because it wasn't experience of the Irish school system.

I would say the best thing you could do would be to send an e-mail to the teaching council of Ireland as they are usually very good with letting you know what you would need to do to get your English recognised. As for your 8 months experience I would think that it woldnt count on the application form as it was under a year, but I'm sure it will be a great asset to your cv when you go for a teaching job! hope this helps a little bit!

katg27

Hi All, was wondering does anyone have any suggested reading before September, feel i should be getting a head start so i'm not completely thrown in the deep end!!
Anyone goin to NUIG, would be great to get to know some faces before Sept!

delta_bravo

I remember reading "How to survive your first year teaching" by Sue Cowley. I can't say it really helped me at all. I would brush up on your subject. Get the textbook and see what its like.

shakasauras

Hey guys -

This might be a stupid question, but if you do the PGDE in UCD is one subject of greater value than the other? As in, do you major in one and minor in the other?

I've gotten this question from a few schools that I've called about teaching practice, and instinctively went with one subject over the other.

When we register in August do we choose a subject which holds greater importance over the second subject?

Confused!!!!

Also - how's everyone getting on with teaching placements?