How to Apply
Accepting a place on the UCD PDE
Please read all sections carefully before finalizing your arrangements for entry to the Professional Diploma in Education (PDE) at UCD.
A Letter of Terms concerning your admission to the programme.
Information and form for Garda Vetting procedures – to be completed and returned by 1st June 2012.
UCD Student Record Information form which you must complete and return by 29th June 2012.
A Teaching Placement Details Form which you will need to have completed and signed by you and the school, and returned as soon as possible - in person or by post - to the School of Education at UCD, but not later than 29th June 2012.
The following documents must be completed and returned to:
School of Education
Room 0.09 Roebuck Castle
University College Dublin
Belfield
Dublin 4
1. Student Record Information Form Return by 1st June 2012
2. Garda Vetting Application Form: Return by 1st June 2012
When UCD are notified of your acceptance of a place on the programme you will be sent a copy of this form directly to
your postal address.
3. Teaching Placement Details Form: Return by 29th June 2012
Teaching Placement Details Form
ADMISSION TO THE PROFESSIONAL DIPLOMA IN EDUCATION, 2012- 2013
We understand that you have been sent by the Postgraduate Application Centre (PAC) an offer of a place on the Professional Diploma in Education course in UCD for 2011-2012 commencing on Monday 22 August 2011. If you are accepting your place on the course in UCD, you should follow the instructions given to you by the PAC. Your acceptance of your place must be made to PAC, not to UCD. There are a number of details relating to the terms of admission to the programme which now require your attention.
Teaching Placement Requirements
The School of Education has a number of requirements concerning the amount of time you teach, the nature of the class group(s) and the subject area(s) that you teach, and the physical conditions in which you work. It is your responsibility to ensure that these requirements are brought to the attention of the school with which you negotiate your placement. In addition, we require formal indication from an appropriate school that you have negotiated a placement there. A Teaching Placement Details Form is included for that purpose: it should be completed and returned by you to the School of Education, Roebuck Castle, UCD, Belfield, Dublin 4, by 29 June, 2012 at the latest.
Teaching Practice & School Experience. This is the term used to refer to the work you do while in your placement school or in relation to your placement. In general, you are required to teach a minimum number of hours per week across the academic year to satisfy – jointly – the requirements of the Teaching Council (the group from whom you are likely to seek recognition as a qualified teacher subsequent to completing the PDE) and the University. At present this stands at 4 hours 30 minutes per week: 140 hours (minimum) across the PDE placement. However, students are expected to be in schools for approximately 200 hours over the course of the year in order to be engaged in structured observation and benefit from a full immersion in the school life.
A number of conditions govern the nature of a placement that is acceptable from the university perspective. These may be summarised as follows:
- Schools in which students do their teaching must be in the vicinity of Dublin city (i.e. within 25 kilometres radius of UCD).
- Your teaching load should comprise not less than 4 hours 30 minutes and not more than 8 hours of actual class teaching each week, spread over the school year.
- You should ensure that you have 5 class periods per week in your first special methods subject, and at least two class periods per week in your second special methods subject.
- Single “stand–alone” classes with any class group are not eligible for supervision purposes or to be counted for teaching practice, ie. PDE students must have two or more classes per week with any class group.
- All classes must have at least twelve pupils.
- You are strongly advised against taking examination and Transition Year classes as part of your practice placement.
- You must ensure in advance that you will be able to leave your school so as to arrive at the university by 2.00pm on weekdays, and be able to remain in the university for the full afternoon, on weekdays, throughout the academic session.
- Teaching practice must take place in a post-primary school. Teaching in third-level colleges, teaching after 6.00 pm, or teaching in certain private institutions is not acceptable for PDE purposes.
- You are responsible for negotiating and arranging your own Teaching Placement with the Principal of a suitable placement school.
- You are also responsible for ensuring the return of the Teaching Placement Details Form - duly completed and signed by the School Principal, confirming the arrangement you have agreed.
Should you fall short on any of these requirements, the University reserves the right to reconsider your place on the PDE programme.
Post Primary schools within the UCD catchment area vary greatly in their nature, in their interest in taking students and in their readiness and willingness to support students once hours are offered. We do not recommend particular schools: it is left open to you, the student, to find and negotiate access to a school which matches your needs and seems to offer a reasonable deal in terms of placement support. Schools must be within a 25 km radius of UCD.
There are, however, a number of things that you might enquire about or look out for when you visit a school to seek hours. In the final analysis, the decision whether to take hours or not from any specific school must be your own. However, there are several questions that you can usefully ask yourself when faced with choosing a school.
What Should I look for in a Placement School?
First and foremost, does the school meet all the baseline requirements: Is it within 25 km of UCD? Can I be absolutely certain that I can make the 2.00 pm deadline for arrival at UCD every day from there? Do the classes on offer meet the size and nature of the requirements? Am I being offered a reasonable teaching load and the opportunity to develop a good teaching relationship with the groups that I will be teaching?
If the answer is Yes to all of these, then the situation is promising. If No to any of the above, you need to think further about the placement in question.
Points about Placement Class-groups
UCD suggests that early- to mid-morning classes are best for placement purposes and that you request sufficient contact with each class-group to have the chance to build a good teaching relationship with the group as the year progresses. Ideally, you should have four or five periods per week with each class that you teach – even if this means taking them once or twice for your second subject as well as your first special methods subject. This will help make it possible for you to build a strong teaching relationship with your pupils. Teaching Practice hours must be obtained in both Special Methods subjects. It is also helpful if you are allocated class-groups from different school years. This greatly increases the experiences that the placement can provide. If a school offers you only one contact period per week with each of a large number of class-groups, seek alternatives.
Special requirements for Science
All UCD students taking a science area as one of their teaching subjects (and in particular Physics) will need to negotiate regular access to teaching laboratory space and whatever science teaching resources the school holds. Every Science student can expect to be ‘supervised’ – assessed on teaching performance - while teaching in a laboratory context. This applies whether Science is your first special methods or second subject. Where Science is your first subject, you can expect more than one laboratory supervision. In the case where Science is your second subject, you can expect to be visited in the laboratory at least once. If you cannot negotiate this access, it is unlikely that you will be able to take a science subject for methodology in the PDE.
When will I need to start teaching …
Student Teachers who don’t know the school and who do not have at least a rudimentary sense of the do’s and don’ts of the classroom can cause difficulties for themselves and for teaching colleagues. When you speak with the school, ask specifically if it would be possible to hold-off taking charge of classes until the first two weeks of the course at the university is complete (that is, by the beginning of the week of 5th September). Our experience in recent years would suggest that schools which use the mornings of these two weeks to allow structured observation, ‘shadowing’ of specific teachers, and other school-induction activities have found that this is far better in the longer term for both the student teacher and their pupils.
… and when will I be able to stop?
It may seem a lifetime away, but you also need at this point to enquire into the school’s expectations about when you will stop teaching your classes. Practice in this regard also varies widely from school to school. Do not expect, for example, that your commitments at the school match closely your full-term at University. It is highly likely that they will not. You should establish clearly at this point what the school sees as your duty with regard to teaching into and beyond May 2013. Do not assume that you will be released to study for the week prior to your PDE Examinations: this is not necessarily so. Rather it is something that you must negotiate with your Principal at the outset of the placement. And do not assume that your responsibilities end with the last day of University exams; schools often require Student Teachers to see-out the teaching year, (something we recommend). You should advise yourself fully on all of this before committing to a placement. You should also request a copy of the school calendar at the beginning of the year as well as a copy for your Supervisor and one for your Tutor.
Support in your work at school
Most student teachers are assigned to one or two ‘co-operating teachers’ for the duration of their time at a school. These are usually the teacher(s) of the main class groups that the student takes or a well-established member of the school staff who deals with professional development issues more generally in the school. You can expect that your co-operating teachers will visit your class on a number of occasions to observe your teaching. It is highly recommended that you observe their own teaching or the teaching of colleagues. We strongly advise that you ask for this kind of assistance. Students should endeavour to arrange opportunities to observe their co-operating teachers, or other experienced colleagues throughout the entire year. Indeed, it is worth enquiring about the likely co-operating teacher when you visit the school. It is better still to meet them and speak with them on their expectations about the possible placement. A supportive co-operating teacher is a major advantage on a placement.
Placement support is also provided by UCD ‘Supervisors’ - experienced practitioners and/or University-based staff – who will help you prepare for teaching practice and get the best you can from it. You will have regular visits from your supervisors and there are usually 7 across the year. You will also have a supervisory visit from your University Tutor who will assess general teaching and learning approaches.
A closing comment
Many schools treat the allocation of PDE teaching hours as a job interview. You will be asked to come in to the school to discuss the possibility of hours; respond as you would to an invitation to interview in any other context.
- Do your homework on the school; location, size, composition, ethos, etc.
- Make the most of the interview situation: ask as well as answer questions. Use some of the prompts given above to initiate discussion. Don’t accept more teaching hours than you can deal with, ie. more than 8 hours per week.
- Make a decision in reasonable time to either accept or pass-up any subsequent offer of hours. (Others may be waiting to take the option.).
- As soon as possible let the school know your decision by phone (one way or the other) and then follow up in writing.
- Bring the Teaching Placement Details Form to the school having completed Part One, and request that the Principal complete and sign Part Two and it is your responsibility to ensure that it is sent to the School of Education, Room 0.09 Roebuck Castle, University College Dublin, Belfield, Dublin 4, by 30 June 2011.
- When you accept hours, be sure to contact any other schools that may be waiting to hear from you and let them know that you are no longer searching for a placement.
Diligent attendance & participation
The PDE at UCD is a full-time, highly intensive programme of study. Applicants who are currently registered for another course must have completed that course before they will be permitted to register for the Professional Diploma in Education or - as for example, in the case of ongoing PhD work - must make suitable formal arrangements with their Department or institution for full-time release covering the duration of the PDE programme. Work commitments beyond those of the PDE - whether paid or unpaid - are strongly discouraged. This Course is demanding in the extreme. Please give yourself every chance of getting the best from the opportunity it presents.
Registration
All students are required to register online to the PDE course. This can be done from mid-August onwards. Go to www.ucd.ie and log onto UCD Connect. Your username is your UCD student number if you are a UCD graduate, or your PAC application number. Your password is your date of birth, ddmmyy format. Click on the “My Records” tab and then the link to the Student Information System (SIS). You will then have a page headed Terms of Usage which you will be required to agree to by pressing Continue when you will come to a page where you should click Enter Registration Process after which you will be brought through the process of registration.
Fees and Grants
There is a fee to undertake the course, but this will not be set until late July. The only local funding available for PDE students is by means of a local authority grant under the usual conditions. If you are applying for local authority funding you should submit with your application your offer letter from the Professional Application Centre and proof of payment of your deposit to PAC to accept your place.
Closing note
An offer of a place on the UCD Professional Diploma in Education and acceptance onto the programme does not imply or guarantee degree recognition or registration as a post primary teacher. The recognition of graduates’ qualifications for registration is a matter for the Teaching Council from whom further information may be obtained on www.teachingcouncil.ie, or by email at info@teachingcouncil.ie. Please note that if you have not yet completed your primary degree examinations, your admission remains subject to a successful outcome in that examination. Students who are graduating in summer 2011 from universities and colleges other than UCD, must furnish a final original transcript of their degree. Please bring this with you and hand it into Room 0.09 Roebuck Castle, on the first day of the induction course, or as soon as possible thereafter. Registration on the PDE will be conditional on a satisfactory report of the student’s application to the Garda Vetting Unit being received by the University. Finally, you should present yourself in your Teaching Placement school at the time and on the morning agreed with your Principal, and be in attendance to check in to UCD on :
Monday 20 August 2012 at 1.00 pm
When you have formally accepted your place through PAC more detailed information will be sent directly to you regarding the commencement of the course in July 2012.
