Prospective students are responsible for arranging their own school placements (within a 160KM radius of Maynooth University). PME students (year 1) along with their weekly placements will also undertake a three week block placement in January. Teaching, Learning, Assessment and Curriculum /The Teacher as a Critically Reflective Practitioner The central focus of these modules is on enabling the student to develop a repertoire of pedagogical skills and to adopt a professional, self-analytical and reflective approach to classroom practice. This is aimed at deepening the student’s understanding of the processes of teaching and learning, of assessment, of education, of pupils and their psycho-social development, of schools within their social context and of the structure and development of the system within which they work. Among the research sources that inform these modules are pedagogical and curriculum studies, the history and structure of education, educational psychology, sociology of education and the philosophy of education. Teaching/Learning Seminars in Subject Methods These consist of seminars/lectures/workshops devoted to the methodology teaching and learning of school subjects.

Entry to the PME programme is determined in the first instance by the candidate’s primary degree with a minimum 2.2 grade. The degree must be a recognised and relevant undergraduate programme as determined by the Teaching Council. Details of the Teaching Council’s criteria for registration as a secondary school teacher are available at: http://www.teachingcouncil.ie/en/Publications/Registration/Curricular-Subject-Requirements-after-January-2017.pdf Applicants are strongly advised to check that the modules of their primary degree meet these requirements prior to making an application.