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

Backfire

iv got my garda vetting form filled up and sent, got it yesterday in the post from UCC.

But i have not received any forms with regards to school timetables from UCC, just to confirm is this the case for everyone else going to UCC?

All that i have to show so far, is just a standarised letter from my school stating that I will undertaking the teaching practise in that school.

Nari85

I recieved the Garda vetting yesterday but nothing else.

electoralshock

Nari85 wrote: »

I recieved the Garda vetting yesterday but nothing else.

Going to NUIG, thats all I have too. So first things first I suppose!

cnoc15

Hi all,

Got accepted to UCD and am so very relieved and excited! Have been substituting for the last year and got a placement in the school , just have to get the forms signed now.

Has anyone from UCD recieved anything yet? I have heard nothing since I accepted the offer/paid the deposit , and just want to get the actual acceptance letter in my hand so I can start looking at grants etc ( as apart from the odd day paid substitution I reckon there will be no time for another job) .

I also see the 2nd round offers are out today so best of luck to everyone waiting on them!

UnLuckyAgain

cnoc15 wrote: »

Hi all,

Got accepted to UCD and am so very relieved and excited! Have been substituting for the last year and got a placement in the school , just have to get the forms signed now.

Has anyone from UCD recieved anything yet? I have heard nothing since I accepted the offer/paid the deposit , and just want to get the actual acceptance letter in my hand so I can start looking at grants etc ( as apart from the odd day paid substitution I reckon there will be no time for another job) .

I also see the 2nd round offers are out today so best of luck to everyone waiting on them!

Congrats, i've been accepted to UCD also and am still waiting to receive any forms. From the past few posts, NUIG and UCC have received some forms in the past few days so hopefully we'll hear something soon. While you wait though, you can download the Teaching Placement Details Form from the UCD PGDE webpage.

cnoc15

Congratulations to you also!

I have got that downloaded and posted in already - just eager to get started. Gave up my job last year to get teaching experience / be sure it was what I wanted to had a lot riding on getting accepted. Also that bit older ( 26) and out of college a good while so brushing up on my English and History as we speak!

Irishpud

Hi I just missed out on the HDip by a point and Im hoping to get some teaching experience which helped this year for points but I heard they were getting rid of that next year. Is that true?

UnLuckyAgain

Irishpud wrote: »

Hi I just missed out on the HDip by a point and Im hoping to get some teaching experience which helped this year for points but I heard they were getting rid of that next year. Is that true?

Teaching experience no longer provides candidates with points for entry to the PGDE, they did away with it after 2010's intake, so this year's entrants could not use any teaching hours to gain points.

So yes, points-wise, teaching hours will not help you.

delta_bravo

Irishpud wrote: »

Hi I just missed out on the HDip by a point and Im hoping to get some teaching experience which helped this year for points but I heard they were getting rid of that next year. Is that true?

You can get points by having done work relating to your subject. No school will take you on for experience unless you have a very in demand subject (Irish or Maths might get you some sub work)


Points for relevant Professional Experience
Applicants for the PGDE may have professional experience related to their proposed teaching subjects, or professional experience in working with young people. In recognition of the value of these experiences, some additional points can be awarded. However, to ensure verifiability, points can only be awarded for paid employment which can be verified through appropriate documentation. To claim additional points you will normally need to provide a letter from your employer showing the start and end dates, the salary and the description of the role, and you should be prepared to provide tax records to support this if required.
Points are only awarded for professional experience which is deemed relevant. The two main categories of experience which are considered relevant are (i) experience of professional work (normally at graduate level) related to the teaching subject, and (ii) experience of working with young people in a role sufficiently related to teaching. In each case the experience must be over a sustained period and must be of a sufficiently high level to merit the allocation of additional points.
Points are awarded in two categories:
Full-time paid professional experience. If the experience is deemed relevant, one point is awarded per year of employment, up to a maximum of 5 points.
Part-time paid professional experience. If the experience is deemed relevant, one point is awarded per year of employment, up to a maximum of 2 points.
Students may make a claim for points in either or both of these categories, and may be awarded up to a maximum of 7 points in total.

Irishpud

UnLuckyAgain wrote: »

Teaching experience no longer provides candidates with points for entry to the PGDE, they did away with it after 2010's intake, so this year's entrants could not use any teaching hours to gain points.

So yes, points-wise, teaching hours will not help you.

that's a shame thanks for the response

jnkoh89vy01uqt

Congrats on everyone who got a place this year!I was offered a place in ucd which I accepted but Ive now been offered my first choice which is Maynooth. I already paid the deposit to UCD so now Im not sure what to do.Im assuming theres no chance of me getting that deposit back.Does anybody know which may be the better choice,UCD or Maynooth??

Benicetomonty

Alexandria Mammoth Sinusitis wrote: »

Congrats on everyone who got a place this year!I was offered a place in ucd which I accepted but Ive now been offered my first choice which is Maynooth. I already paid the deposit to UCD so now Im not sure what to do.Im assuming theres no chance of me getting that deposit back.Does anybody know which may be the better choice,UCD or Maynooth??

Maynooth generally regarded as the most intensive Dip...whether that means 'better' is up for considerable debate Different structure to the week between the 2 also, Maynooth is lectures Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday with TP on Monday and Friday, whereas UCD is morning teaching and afternoon lectures on most days during the week (open to correction there)..in summation, Maynooth harder, UCD more inconvenient, especially if you don't live nearby. And who does :P

katg27

lducd wrote: »

oh thank god i'm not the only one, every school i've applied to seems to have filled their quota very fast, it's hard trying to find one while working and trying to not let your boss know your going back to college!! dno7239 i'll keep my fingers crossed for the both of us!! best of luck!!

ha ha i know that feeling...finding it hard not to let slip in work what i'm doing and its very hard to get things done but keep going you'll find something soon...keep ringing the schools!!! best of luck!

katg27

electoralshock wrote: »

Going to NUIG, thats all I have too. So first things first I suppose!

me too, havent received anything else yet!!

jnkoh89vy01uqt

Benicetomonty wrote: »

Maynooth generally regarded as the most intensive Dip...whether that means 'better' is up for considerable debate Different structure to the week between the 2 also, Maynooth is lectures Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday with TP on Monday and Friday, whereas UCD is morning teaching and afternoon lectures on most days during the week (open to correction there)..in summation, Maynooth harder, UCD more inconvenient, especially if you don't live nearby. And who does :P

Ah I see,kul thanks,yea I live quite near maynooth and the idea of having college three days and school the other 2 is a lot more appealing than rushing from school to college everyday! I guess Ill have to write off that deposit I paid to UCD,you dont suppose theres any chance of me getting it back,given that I got offered something else in the second round?wishful thinking?ha

katg27

ed3 wrote: »

hey im just finishing up on the PGDE in NUIG at the moment (finish thurs!!)
It has been a busy year, but i do not think it was anyway near as busy as many people said it would be. I recommend really staying on top of your assignments, get them in early and start on the next one!

I picked Biology and Chemistry for my subjects, but my degree only recognised Biology as my teaching subject. When doing a Science subject on the course you will spend your time with the other science students as well as all the chem/phy/biol students do a science methodology.

There were HUGE issues this year on the course....the organisation was unbelievably poor and the head of the course changes hand 3 times during the year! We still are awaiting results from assignments handed up at the start of Feb!! I believe that Mary Fleming is back running the show so the coming year will be extremely organised!

Some people didnt have their teaching practice sorted when they arrived in sept so dont worry about it if you cannot get anything.

Oh and by the way you will be sick of the word "Reflection" by the end of the course :):)

Best of luck to all!!!

hi a massive congrats for nearly finishing!!! glad to hear a positive outlook..i was hoping my organisational skills would help me through!! I do hope the teething problems are over but i guess we will just have to roll with it either way!! thanx for your help!!

joaneire

ed3 wrote: »

hey im just finishing up on the PGDE in NUIG at the moment (finish thurs!!)

ME TOO! EEK! The only thing I can add to this thread is...God be with you all! It's a REALLY tough year, but if you're going into teaching out of pure interest and love of teaching then you'll be sound. But even then, you're morals/beliefs/philosophies/respect for humankind will be tested! I might sound slightly dramatic but I didn't believe anyone when I was hearing all the negatives this time last year. Only when you're in the throws of it do you really understand! The year flies though, that's the only thing I'll say. Feels like yesterday I was sending off Garda vetting and all that malarky. Now I have a final assignment to hand in and that's it FOREVER. You'll never want to hear the word reflection again, so true. They make you reflect on everything! Ed3's advice is solid: keep on top of the work. I've heard horror stories from people in my group who didn't keep on top of it then ended up with a mountain of work to do. Having already done a BA and an MA, I can safely say that the amount of assignments/projects to be completed in this course is INSANE. They're talking now about extending it to 2 years, which I completely agree with. If you have a part-time job, you may forget about it!

All that said, it's so worth it, if you're in it for the love of teaching! but the way things are gone, people aren't getting into teaching for the money/easy hours/June, July and August, anymore cause those perks and benefits aren't there anymore. Yeah the summer holidays are there but having done 13 weeks teaching practice, I can see that it's well deserved! The govt. are going to start cracking down on teachers soon as well, there'll be a requirement for lesson plans and schemes of work all the time so the holidays will be well deserved!

Just keep the chin up, don't lose sight of the eventual goal, and just remember: it'll be over before you know it!

joaneire

katg27 wrote: »

hello cazhater..am goin to NUIG too!! keep hearing its very tough and there was alot of teething problems last year but hopefully they'll be sorted this year!!
Got my teaching placement yesterday am delighted and the school seems great!! I hope we get something soon..am goin to start going over the curriculum now and planning some lessons! exciting!!

This made me laugh...a lot, and out loud! Try and hold on to that enthusiasm cazhater, the course will try and destroy it, along with your soul!

BTW for anyone going to NUI Galway, fight to the death if they aren't doing things right. Ed3 was right when he said there was mayhem; apparently a few of heads in the School of Education were told off rightly by the president of the college, and the head of the department and head of the course were removed from their positions. Make sure your class reps are aware of the positions they're taking; it's a postgrad course which is costing a fortune, make sure you have someone who will lead you into battle. Anna Coffey is a LEGEND. If you need anything at all, contact her, the woman is a saint. Manuela Heinz (head of TP) is also a genius. It was her first year in the role this year and she was amazing. It was madness with the disorganisation, but the staff really appreciate how hard the course is, and they'll try and protect you as much as they can. There's a lot of inconsistency among lecturers/supervisors but there's always a head man/woman who you can go to about it. Don't be afraid to ask for extensions, if you really need it and you don't ask for it, then there's a good chance you'll have a mental breakdown! Also, if its on offer, do the Drama in the Classroom workshop - best craic ever, and education. Apparently, learning IS fun!

Toto Wolfcastle

The NUIG PGDE was disorganised when I did it in 2007/2008 as well. As far as I can remember, we didn't get a full timetable until after Christmas.

lmf

I currently work for an investment bank for the last 5 and a half years and have quite a respectable wage. Although I don't hate my job as such, I really would not like to see myself here in another 5 years. I recently took part in the voluntary 'Junior Achievement' programmme where I taught 6th class boys for 1 hour per week for 6 weeks I thoroughly enjoyed this and realised this is where I would love to be - in a classroom.
I am thinking of taking up my honours Irish in Sept (only got a D1 first time round) and sitting the Leaving Cert in June 2012. I would then have to apply for the HDIP which would cost me I guess anything up to 10k in fees. So the funding is the main concern for me but I wouldbe willing to take out a loan for this and save until then. What do people think - am I off my head to leave a secure job?? If I qualified in say 2013/2014, would there even be many permanent jobs out there?

katg27

wow lots of negativity out there!! gonna keep looking at the bigger picture!!! i'm sure the year will be worth it and i survived my degree which was mental busy so i'm sure we can all do this too!!! not gonna get bogged down with the details..it has to be done and thats it!!! :D

katg27

lmf wrote: »

I currently work for an investment bank for the last 5 and a half years and have quite a respectable wage. Although I don't hate my job as such, I really would not like to see myself here in another 5 years. I recently took part in the voluntary 'Junior Achievement' programmme where I taught 6th class boys for 1 hour per week for 6 weeks I thoroughly enjoyed this and realised this is where I would love to be - in a classroom.
I am thinking of taking up my honours Irish in Sept (only got a D1 first time round) and sitting the Leaving Cert in June 2012. I would then have to apply for the HDIP which would cost me I guess anything up to 10k in fees. So the funding is the main concern for me but I wouldbe willing to take out a loan for this and save until then. What do people think - am I off my head to leave a secure job?? If I qualified in say 2013/2014, would there even be many permanent jobs out there?

I went through the same thing..i am doing the PGDE this year and i am leaving a perfectly good permanent position to do it! I came to the conclusion that a permanent job isnt everything and if you really want to do something you have to go for it!! It is awful worrying about money and the job situation but you wont be loosing anything really, you could always go back to your old profession if you wanted! For me i had to try or else i would always regret it!!! I hope it works out, its worth a try!! and hey everyone ha sto be a little crazy sometimes!!

lmf

Thanks katg27 for the words of encouragement! Getting the Irish done is the first hurdle so the rest of it is a long way off, but I think i'll go for it. I've been thinking about it for too long to let it go now! Good luck with your course.

postgrad89

EmmaJane wrote: »

Hi, thanks for that, will have a look at this years. Planning to do TP at home (Clare) so just trying to avoid rent if at all possible! If I have to I'll just get somewhere for first couple months, after Christmas the longest in college is a couple weeks at a time. Do you know if there were many this year doing RE as their degree teaching subject? Think I might be in the minority.

I don't think many people did RE as their degree teaching subject but I'd say it will be of benefit to you if you are in the minority. The lecturers are really good it's not like a degree year they actually make u feel like they care. I think the most common subject was English, there was loads for that.

joaneire

lmf wrote: »

I currently work for an investment bank for the last 5 and a half years and have quite a respectable wage. Although I don't hate my job as such, I really would not like to see myself here in another 5 years. I recently took part in the voluntary 'Junior Achievement' programmme where I taught 6th class boys for 1 hour per week for 6 weeks I thoroughly enjoyed this and realised this is where I would love to be - in a classroom.
I am thinking of taking up my honours Irish in Sept (only got a D1 first time round) and sitting the Leaving Cert in June 2012. I would then have to apply for the HDIP which would cost me I guess anything up to 10k in fees. So the funding is the main concern for me but I wouldbe willing to take out a loan for this and save until then. What do people think - am I off my head to leave a secure job?? If I qualified in say 2013/2014, would there even be many permanent jobs out there?

Katg is right..if it's something that you really want to do then you should do it. There is no such thing as permanency in teaching now, but if you're not tied to Ireland then you'll get a teaching job no problem, and if you are, you'll get maternity leave, or yearly contracts. As I said already, it's not as bad as everyone thinks it is. A lot of people who did the dip in NUIG last year and who applied for jobs actually got them. There were 7 dip students last year in the school where I did the dip this year, and all of them got jobs, albeit they were scattered around the country. There is also a lot to be said for life experience i.e. your experience in the banking industry, so don't take it all to be bad. If you're really considering it, then I'd say go for it! The fees were around 6300 this year, and I wouldn't think they'll go up either.

katg27

lmf wrote: »

Thanks katg27 for the words of encouragement! Getting the Irish done is the first hurdle so the rest of it is a long way off, but I think i'll go for it. I've been thinking about it for too long to let it go now! Good luck with your course.

Best of luck with it all!!!

EmmaJane

postgrad89 wrote: »

I don't think many people did RE as their degree teaching subject but I'd say it will be of benefit to you if you are in the minority. The lecturers are really good it's not like a degree year they actually make u feel like they care. I think the most common subject was English, there was loads for that.

Thanks for that, though I was very lucky in that my department in col was very small and all the lecturers were great, you got to know most of them pretty well. I was just curious as to how many with a theology/biblical degree go on to the pgde, as I don't know anyone from in or around my year that did it. This might be a silly question, but are all the lecturers in the degree teaching subjects previous teachers/lecturers in that subject?

postgrad89

EmmaJane wrote: »

Thanks for that, though I was very lucky in that my department in col was very small and all the lecturers were great, you got to know most of them pretty well. I was just curious as to how many with a theology/biblical degree go on to the pgde, as I don't know anyone from in or around my year that did it. This might be a silly question, but are all the lecturers in the degree teaching subjects previous teachers/lecturers in that subject?

I don't know if every one of them are but most of them are. mind you, there are some really young lecturers there so it does beg the question of if they were actual teachers how did they find the time to do everything and that they didn't stick with teaching for long!

ed3

joaneire wrote: »

Ed3 was right when he said there was mayhem; apparently a few of heads in the School of Education were told off rightly by the president of the college, and the head of the department and head of the course were removed from their positions. Make sure your class reps are aware of the positions they're taking; Anna Coffey is a LEGEND. If you need anything at all, contact her, the woman is a saint. Manuela Heinz (head of TP) is also a genius.

hehe Ed3 is a girl
I didnt head that a few heads were told off and removed from their positions....not really shocked to be honest! there are major improvements to be make in that course and firstly they need to cut back on numbers.

Didnt think the class reps did much but organise nights out and hoodies with 2011-2012 on them instead of 2010-2011!! to be honest they were far too busy to have even taken on the job!

Anna Coffey was great, she really knew her stuff and should be prob running the course!!! [SNIP]
Finished the course this evening and have all my stuff handed in :):)
It is an extremely busy year...KEEP ON TOP OF ALL YOUR ASSIGNMENTS and LESSON PLANS during teaching practice and you will be fine!!

Congrats joaneire !!!

Toto Wolfcastle

Just a quick reminder that naming lecturers, particularly when talking about them in a negative light, is not allowed. Thank you.