Programme Outline
Autumn Semester
EN5001:Preparation for Teaching Practice 1
The nature of teaching and learning; definition of terms; the role of the teacher, pupils as receivers and makers of meanings; models of planning; pre ‘ paring schemes of work and lesson plans, organising varieties of learning experiences; classroom interaction and management; control and discipline in schools; assessment of pupil outcomes; mixed ability teaching; the primary school curriculum; computers in the classroom; resource based learning; multi-media for learning; teacher self-appraisal; critical reflection.
EN5011: Preparation for Teaching Practice 2
Adolescence; adolescent learning; individual differences; skill learning and skill acquisition; personality factors in learning and achievement; motivation and motivational factors in learning at adolescence; personality characteristics of effective teachers; guidance and counselling in schools; group culture and group structure in the classroom; social perception and social expectation, and their impact on behaviour in the classroom; models of curriculum planning and their uses in evaluation of student learning.
MU5001: Pedagogy
Junior and Leaving Certificate cycle syllabi, structures of subject knowledge, innovation in the classroom, practice room, concert hall, language laboratory, curriculum development, the justification for the inclusion of the subject on the curriculum, mixed ability teaching, alternative approaches to assessment; varieties of teaching and learning styles, classroom, laboratory, concert hall organisation, music technology in the school curriculum, international perspectives, cross-curriculum aspects.
MU5011: Practical Skills of Music
Skills related to the facilitation and production in the school setting of ensemble music, choral singing, school bands, orchestras, percussion and recorder groups, traditional Irish, popular and world musics; dance, theatre, improvisation, accompaniment, conducting, harmony, counterpoint, composition, melodic and rhythmic writing and recognition.
TP50011: Teaching Practices 1
Pre teaching practice visit to school, pre teaching practice tutorial with tutors; preparatory planning; school placement with induction period; tutorial and assessment visits; post teaching practice tutorial.
Spring Semester
EN5002: Curriculum Studies
Definition of curriculum; curriculum as selection from culture based on ideologies, philosophical analysis of values, knowledge, interests; core curriculum; curriculum and the economy, national curriculum; models of curriculum design, curriculum planning at school level; effective schools; de-schooling; curriculum innovation; the school as context for innovation; curriculum evaluation, action research; whole school review, the reflective school; modes of assessment.
HE5012: Education Policy Issues
Patterns of demand and provision, secondary and tertiary education; the role of various interests, particularly religious, political and occupational groups in the control and management of educational institutions; the impact of occupational groups and social change on curriculum; the reform and reorganisation of schooling and higher education, particularly in the period after 1957; social class and gender issues in education are examined in relation to current Irish educational policy.
EN5022: School-Based Enquiry (Professional Practice)
Students are expected to engage in reflective practice involving classroom-based inquiry as part of their professional formation during Teaching Practice placement. Following Teaching Practice, short case studies drawn from professional experience during teaching practice are considered in the light of sociological, philosophical, historical and curricular perspectives. Issues raised will include teaching effectiveness, the quality of student learning, the classroom as an environment for personal development, equity in the classroom.
MD5512: Irish World Academy of Music and Dance Spring Elective
This module offers students the opportunity to pursue self-directed learning of an academic or performance-based project, under the guidance of the course director and an elective supervisor. The student may wish to use the elective to pursue more specialised study in his / her area of specialisation, or to access the other areas of expertise available at the centre (these currently include Ethnomusicology, Ethnochoreology, Music Education, Community Music, Chant, Ritual Studies, Music Therapy, Irish Traditional Music, Classical String Performance, Irish Traditional Dance Performance, Contemporary Dance Performance and other specialist research interests of faculty and doctoral researchers at the centre).
TP5002: Teaching Practices 2
Pre teaching practice visit to school, pre teaching practice tutorial with tutors; preparatory planning; school placement with induction period; tutorial and assessment visits; post teaching practice tutorial.