Primary

PL07: Creativity and Creative Writing (Primary)

Course Outline

Fighting Words engages with schools and teachers across the island of Ireland offering creative writing workshops and projects from twenty-three locations. The organisation provides creative writing sessions in these centres, in schools, on-line, and convenes young writing groups, playwriting and scriptwriting groups, and summer camps for children and young people. In addition Fighting Words runs a programme at DCU focussed on teacher education, research, CPD and school outreach projects. 

This course is for primary and post-primary school teachers and aims to provide an introduction to the participative and creative methodologies used by Fighting Words, including experiencing a Fighting Words workshop first hand. The course will focus on supporting teachers to use creative education and creative writing in their own classrooms, looking at different subject areas and integrated approaches. Participants will look at the educational research and impact data on creative writing for children and young people, and the resources and supports available to teachers.

In addition the course will cover the range of creative activities and opportunities available to students and teachers from Fighting Words, including creative writing projects organised to support teachers who want to write creatively themselves. 
 

Profile of Course Leaders

Nora Nic Con Ultaigh is a representative of the creative writing centre 'Fighting Words' in DCU. She is an arts-in-education practitioner with over 20 years of experience. In 2004 she established Cups and Crowns Educational Theatre Company with two fellow graduates from the MA in Drama and Theatre Arts in NUIG. She also worked as a Post-Primary teacher of English, French and CSPE for 10 years. She currently works as a Regional Coordinator and Creative Associate on the Creative Schools programme. She has a passionate interest in creativity in education and in fostering youth voice within a rights-based model.

PL09: Maths and Art connecting learning, supporting curriculum developments

Course Outline

This course aims to share developments from our experiences with communities of practice in teaching art and maths through the exploration and creation of patterns. Our work is concerned with meaningful integration and supporting curricula for the future. The course presents practical applications of art and maths explorations for the primary classroom. Drawing on original sources of inspiration, we connect with the natural environment and exemplify rich holistic learning possibilities within structured approaches to teaching.

The first online meeting will include exemplars of approaches to art creation focused on print as a medium. We look at the intersections of maths learning through art creation, and the explicit sharing of understanding of terms/ concepts such as transformation.

The second workshop is on Campus. Teachers experience the techniques previously presented and this offers an opportunity to explore and connect their creative and mathematical awareness. The participants then have time to trial the new approaches in their classrooms, in time for our final session.

The final session is online. It is participatory and discursive and explores how these experiences could be 'mined' for even deeper understanding of shape and space in maths and art.

Profile of Course Leader

Dr Siún Nic Mhuirí is a lecturer in mathematics education in Dublin City University. She is the lead on the Maths4All project, maths4all.ie, which aims to support mathematics teaching through the provision of high-quality activities and professional learning communities. She has contributed to curriculum change through her commissioned research for the NCCA, including the development of the mathematical modeling section of the Draft Primary Mathematics Toolkit.

Andrea Cleary is a lecturer, an Artist and Art Educator in DCU IOE. Andrea has an interest in sustainable practices in art making and wellbeing through art making. Andrea has a particular interest in connecting learning through 'doing', taking a process-led approach to collaboration, socially engaged practice and developing professional learning through arts engagement.

PL12 & PL16: Child Protection and Safeguarding for DLP's and DDLP's

Course Outline

This course will review your main responsibilities in the context of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary and Post-primary schools. Participants will revise key procedures related to their responsibilities as a mandated person and a DLP. Content will include recording and reporting requirements for a DLP, the child protection oversight report as well as consideration of Child Protection and Safeguarding Inspections requirements undertaken by the Department of Education Schools Inspectorate.

Profile of Course Leader

Paul Knox is a former primary school teacher, principal and PDST advisor in the area of SPHE which included Child Protection. He is an Assistant Professor in SPHE in the Institute of Education, DCU.

PL14 & PL20: Child Protection and Safeguarding for Primary School Teachers

Course Outline

This course will review your main responsibilities in the context of the Child Protection Procedures for Primary schools. Participants will revise key content related to signs and symptoms of abuse, handling a disclosure, and making a written record. Content will include responsibilities related to mandated rereporting, the threshold of harm and mandated assisting.  The course will offer participants an opportunity to revise key responsibilities and reflect on their knowledge and understanding of child protection and safeguarding. 

Profile of Course Leader

Paul Knox is a former primary school teacher, principal and PDST advisor in the area of SPHE which included Child Protection. He is an Assistant Professor in SPHE in the Institute of Education, DCU.

PL18: Understanding, Living and Leading the Ethos in a Catholic School

Course Outline

Ethos, so what? All schools necessarily and implicitly espouse a vision of the human person and give expression to a particular ethos by their choices, actions, and priorities. This course brings participants into conversation with the role of ethos in Catholic schools. It speaks to ethos not as some abstract or aspirational concept, but as something that is lived out and acted upon in school communities. Participants will explore the question of ethos and patronage as it is encountered today in Irish education at primary and post-primary level. It highlights the distinctiveness of a Catholic ethos and the manner in which it is encountered in the day-to-day life of a Catholic school. From this short-course, participants will deepen their understanding of how the ethos underpins, contributes, and enhances the teaching and learning across the all the curriculum areas in a Catholic school and, as a result, enhance their capacity to effectively lead in this important aspect of the teaching and learning offered by a Catholic school in a pluralist Ireland.

Profile of Course Leader

Dr David Kennedy (BA; MA; PhD; SFHEA) is Assistant Professor of Religious Education in the School of Human Development at DCU, Institute of Education. He has worked extensively with national management and patronage/trusteeship bodies in Catholic Education in the Republic of Ireland in the area of ethos development at primary and post-primary level.

PL19: Teaching the new Primary Mathematics Curriculum

Course Outline

The new primary mathematics curriculum was released in September 2023 and in the school year 2024/25, schools will work to put it into practice. This interactive online course, co-presented by DCU lecturer and practising teacher, aims to explore the recommended pedagogies of the new primary mathematics curriculum and invites teachers to engage in collaborative inquiry into the implications for their teaching. Each week, we will focus on a selection of recommended practices such as the use of cognitively-demanding tasks, mathematical modeling, math talk, playful approaches and the development of productive disposition. The importance of these practices will be explored with reference to relevant literature and to video examples from Irish classrooms. Participants will be encouraged to reflect on the video examples and on their own practice. They will work collaboratively on mathematics tasks and selecting and adapting tasks for teaching. They will be encouraged to trial ideas in their own classrooms and report on their experience in later sessions.

Profile of Course Leader

Dr. Siún Nic Mhuirí is a lecturer in mathematics education in Dublin City University. She is the lead on the Maths4All project, maths4all.ie, which aims to support mathematics teaching through the provision of high-quality activities and professional learning communities. She has contributed to curriculum change through her commissioned research for the NCCA, including the development of the mathematical modeling section of the Draft Primary Mathematics Toolkit.

PL22: Introduction to legal issues for teachers

Course Outline

This course, which will take place over two evenings, offers primary and post-primary teachers the opportunity to reflect on legal issues relevant to the school context. It will allow participants to become familiar with legislation and case law pertinent to a range of aspects of school life which will inform and enhance their practice.
Indicative areas the course will address:

• The duty of care
• Supervision of students
• Child Protection
• Data Protection and Copyright

Profile of Course Leader

Ciara is a practising barrister with a special interest in education law and particular expertise in child law. She has authored, tutored, and assessed modules on the post-graduate Diploma/MA degree programme ‘Education and the Law’ in St Angela’s College, Sligo. She lectures widely on legal issues relevant to schools, delivering training and talks to Management Bodies, Boards of Management, Senior Management, Teachers, and other school personnel.