Doing my degree in St Mary’s has been a wonderful experience that has equipped me well for a career in teaching. I have made lifelong friends, expanded my horizons and I like to think I have thrown myself wholeheartedly into the St Mary’s community which has provided me with many opportunities
Subject Study – Physical Education
Physical Education (PE) is concerned with the development of the individual’s participation in movement culture to enrich the quality of human life. All modules seek to integrate theoretical and practical work in subject application classes where students work with children from local primary schools in a range of curriculum areas.
Learning objectives in the PE courses are defined in terms of personal, social and motor skills, together with reflective competences needed for satisfying lifelong participation. The practical studies content is thematically organised over the first three years so that all five areas of the PE curriculum are fully investigated so that competence and confidence in the subject matter is well-developed.
- Swimming (survival and stroke production)
- Dance (folk, popular, and creative)
- Games (various forms of invasion, net/wall, and fielding games)
- Athletics (running, jumping, and throwing)
- Gymnastics (floor and apparatus work)
Through ‘SATS’ (subject application and transferable skills), all PE courses are designed to integrate theoretical and practical work with children’s engagement in physical activity. Lessons are planned for and taught to groups of school children in different settings.
Education Studies
This aspect of the programme enables the development of the professional knowledge and understanding underpinning successful teaching. The modules address a wide range of topics such as: philosophical perspectives on learning and teaching; child development and psychology; the curriculum in schools; Safeguarding and Children’s Rights; the social aspects of schooling; principles of effective teaching and learning; issues pertaining to diversity and inclusion; and the education of children who experience Special Educational Needs.
Professional Development and School Experience
This element helps students connect theories with real-life experiences by encouraging them to think about and learn from what they do. Each year, students are asked to demonstrate increasing levels of proficiency in the classroom in line with the GTCNI teaching competence framework. Students are provided with opportunities to teach children of varying ages and abilities in a range of different contexts. There are also opportunities for students to choose options through which they may gain experience of teaching in the nursery and/or special school sectors. Students must be successful in School Experience each year in order to proceed to the next stage of the course.
Key Skills
There is a strong emphasis across the BEd Programme on the areas of Literacy, Numeracy, and Using ICT, along with the practical application and development of these areas to practice during School Experience.
Curriculum Studies
Modules within this strand of the programme involve the study of teaching strategies and modes of learning for all areas of the Northern Ireland Curriculum.
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