Courses Archive

In this webinar, the presenters will discuss the ‘how’, ‘what’ and ‘why’ of the science of reading and highlight the importance of aligning reading instruction to the large body of evidence available on how children learn to read.

Presenters:

Gene Mehigan (PhD) 

Gene Mehigan is Principal Lecturer at Marino Institute of Education, with leadership responsibilities for English and Continuing Professional Development. As Head of the English Department his lecturing responsibilities include the teaching of English methods to undergraduate and post graduate students. His research interests are in the teaching of reading, education provision in disadvantaged settings and in teacher education. Much of his early research into the teaching of reading was carried out while working as a learning support and special needs teacher in Darndale Junior School. More recently his research has focused on the impact of the revised curriculum on teaching reading in the early years in primary school. In 1994 Gene was commissioned by the INTO to head up a team to design courses for teachers in Learning Difficulties in Literacy and has since adapted this material for online provision. Prior to joining the staff at Marino he worked as coordinator of the Common Inservice Remedial Course in Church of Ireland College Rathmines and the Primary Curriculum Support Programme. A past president of the Association of Remedial Teachers of Ireland (ARTI) he is currently a member of the Project Team on Child Literacy and Social Inclusion for the National Economic and Social Forum. He is also a steering committee member for a number of National Programmes including the National Pilot Project for Teacher Induction (NPPTI), Reading Recovery and An Scrúdú le hAghaidh Cáilíochta sa Ghaeilge (S.C.G). In recent years he has worked with the World Bank as a Government advisor to the Department of State for Education in The Gambia on the development of a sector wide approach for the reform of literacy education.

Jennifer O' Sullivan 

Jennifer has been lecturing in literacy in Marino Institute of Education since 2012. She qualified as a primary teacher in 2003 (DCU, St Patrick’s College), completed an MEd (Literacy) in 2008 (DCU, St Patrick’s College), and was awarded a PhD in education (phonemic awareness and early reading development) from Trinity College Dublin in 2019. During her time teaching, Jennifer also worked as an associate and facilitator with the National Induction Programme for Teachers (NIPT). She currently sits on MIE’s Academic Council.

Patrick Burke

Patrick is a Lecturer in Education and member of the English Language and Literacy team. He originally graduated with a degree in Education and Psychology from MIC/UL, after which he worked as a classroom teacher and post-holder in a diverse primary school in Dublin. He went on to study for a Master of Education degree in Reading/Literacy at Frostburg State University (MD, USA). During this time he was an International Fellow in the Children’s Literature Centre, where he collaborated on a number of initiatives to develop a love for reading among young people in the local area. He subsequently worked as an advisor with the Professional Development Service for Teachers (PDST), which involved the design and delivery of CPD in Gaeilge and English nationally. Patrick is involved in a number of professional and research-based projects in literacy education. Most recently, this included membership of the NCCA development group for the Primary Language Curriculum (3rd-6th class). He is currently undertaking doctoral studies on the subject of disciplinary literacy, under the supervision of Dr Eithne Kennedy, DCU. 

Study Skills for Students with AEN:

1.      Introduction (5 minutes)

2.      Pre-study Organisation: Timetables, Checklists, Organisation of Self (Online/In Person), Helpful Apps and Subject Specific  Strategies (15 minutes)

3.      In Person Study Strategies - Retrieval Practice Strategies (15 minutes)

4.      Social and Emotional Considerations and Strategies for Exam Stress in AEN Students (15 minutes)

5.      Questions and Conclusion (10 minutes)

Bio of Presenters: 

Claire Comerford

Claire completed a BSc in Education in University of Limerick, and qualified as a post primary school Biology and Chemistry Teacher. After spending a couple of years working as a mainstream teacher, Claire returned to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs in Dublin City University. Her special areas of expertise include Numeracy, Science, and Special Educational Needs. Claire created a Numeracy course which is now delivered to all first year students at Coláiste Bríde and has presented her work to the Department of Education at the National Numeracy and Literacy Forum . She worked part time with the PDST on the development of numeracy based resources last year and has presented to the JMB, OECD and NCCA on her work. She has also held the post of Attendance Coordinator in Coláiste Bríde, and has worked extensively with students displaying school avoidance tendencies.

Orla Coughlan

Orla graduated as a primary school teacher with a BSC Education from St. Patrick's College. She changed the direction of her career into post primary teaching later on with a Master of Arts (Music) from DCU and the subsequent Higher Diploma in Education from Trinity College. Orla followed this up with a Post Graduate Diploma in Special Educational Needs from CICE. She has presented at many seminars and conferences with groups such as the NCCA, OECD and JMB. Orla has also completed many professional development courses across all aspects of SEN, from ASDAN to Speech and Language. She has particular interests in literacy, speech and language development and music, and has experience working as a Special Educational Needs Coordinator in Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin.

Claire Doyle

Claire completed a Bachelor of Arts in Theology and Psychology and a Post Graduate Diploma in Education through D.C.U. She taught Religion as an exam subject, and Social Education to Leaving Certificate Applied students. Claire spent many years specifically teaching the Leaving Certificate Applied curriculum and acted as an examiner for the State Examinations Commission. Claire enjoyed connecting with students and went on to complete a Post Graduate Diploma in Guidance and Counselling through D.C.U. She coordinated the Guidance and Counselling Dept. in a DEIS Band 1 school. Claire is completing a Post Graduate Diploma in Play Therapy and is now working in a therapeutic role in Coláiste Bríde, Clondalkin She enjoys keeping up to date with CPD in both guidance and counselling, and therapeutic interventions. She has recently completed certificate qualifications in Applied Behaviour Analysis, Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and Trauma Therapy. Her particular areas of interest include creative interventions for students with anxiety, and helping students develop coping skills and emotional management skills.

In the last number of years from being in a variey of school environment I have seen how teaching and approaching non exam religion has had to be totally changed in terms of content, methodologies and approaches to conventional topics. This three night webinar will look at the following topics in three separate section of the senior cycle curriculum:

1. World Religions

2. Moral Decision Making

3. Issues of Justice and Peace

What You Will Learn 

● An understanding of dyscalculia and how it is defined

● How to identify learners with dyscalculia

● Understand the impact dyscalculia can have on learners

● Strategies to support learners in tandem with other learning difficulties

● Practical solutions you can implement immediately

*Recording will be available for 24hours after the webinar

Price: €15.00

Bio of Presenter: Judy Hornigold

Judy Hornigold is an educational consultant specialising in Maths and learners with dyscalculia and dyslexia. Her teaching career started in primary schools before she moved into teaching children with special needs. Judy delivers key notes, workshops and training in Dyscalculia, Dyslexia and Maths Mastery across the world, including New Zealand, Australia and Dubai. Judy co-founded the Dyscalculia Association in the UK in 2018.

Mind-mapping is a powerful learning tool for all subjects and at all levels.  Mind maps can help you plan and structure your writing, plan other projects and study effectively for exams.

This workshop will introduce an easy and free mind-mapping software (XMind) and look at ways you can use it to help in your studies.

The workshop is offered as part of the SOAR project for access to higher education through Munster Technological University – Kerry Campus

• Revision tasks, techniques and resources
• Planning and structuring the essay
• Focus on themes expressed through imagery and symbolism

 

What you will Learn

● A brief introduction to the three areas of diversity in ADHD: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity and how they interact with each other.

● Common causes of challenging behaviour, difficulties in learning.

● Challenging behaviour and ADHD – identifying when it is within the control of the learner and when it is not.

● Developmental processes in ADHD and what to expect in different age phases, including barriers to progressions and age/progression hotspots.

● ADHD, its links to other conditions and the ramifications of this.

● The effects of ADHD on Social Emotional and Mental Health, wellbeing and self – esteem.

● How to approximately calculate the attention span of a child with ADHD and related conditions.

● An overview of some of the resources available for helping with physical hyperactivity and evaluation of their effectiveness.

● ‘In through the eyes and out through the mouth’. Some effective interventions for learners with ADHD who may have a tendency to call out, interrupt and intrude (linked to short term memory difficulties).

● Using reward systems and special interests to help learners with ADHD with waiting times.

TEDx Speaker Andrew Whitehouse is a specialist in neurological diversity and provides interventions for professionals, parents and young people with Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia and related conditions. Andrew has a number of roles including training, strategies and therapies for education professionals in schools and colleges, observing learners in the learning environment and providing practical solutions to help them achieve their potential. Andrew provides short courses for Bishop Grosseteste University and the University of Lincoln and holds a number of UK and overseas contracts. Andrew has delivered three TEDx Talks including “From Disability to Superpowers” and has an extensive conference profile. Andrew is also a Forensic SEND Consultant and acts as an expert witness in SEND related court cases.

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Deep analysis of active approaches to the Paper Two Leaving Certificate Higher Level Maths

Active methodologies and approaches to some topics that can be found on paper two including

• Probability
• Statistics
• Trigonometry
• Area and Volume

 Bio of Presenter: Ann Wallace

Ann has been in her current school, Raheen College since October 2003. She has been teaching the higher level maths course for the past 16 years.

Initial degree was B.Sc in Environmental Science and she completed her  HDip Education in Maynooth. She also has a Grad Dip in SEN from Mary Immaculate college and in January 2015 she was awarded her Prof. Dip in Teaching of Mathematics from UL and NUIG.

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This Webinar is suitable for Teachers from 1st class to 6th class

The goal of this Webinar is to provide practical advice on using a problem-solving approach to teach the strand of Number. Siún and Patrick will use short video clips and examples of children's work, which were gathered as part of the Maths4All project, to help illustrate the potential of a problem-solving approach to teaching mathematics. The messages will be universal to all classes and examples from both junior and senior primary will be presented. 

SPEAKERS

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In this one hour webinar, Aoife will cover the following:

• Planning the Prescribed Poetry essay
• Structuring effective paragraphs
• Approaching the Unseen Poetry question

Presenter bio: Aoife O' Driscoll

Aoife teaches English in the Christian Brothers College in Cork city. Aoife has run the English website www.aoifesnotes.com for over ten years. She is the author of a number of LC and JC textbooks for educate.ie, including the the Excellence in English and Excellence in Texts series.

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Our Primary Principal's Support group continues Wednesday 23th March at 3.30pm. Please let us know in the registration form what issues you would like to discuss during this weeks meeting.  

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A Training Webinar on behalf of St Senan's Education Office in collaboration with Clare, Limerick and Tralee Education Centres.

Intended Audience: Primary School Principals and Chairpersons of Boards of Management

This training webinar will give an overview of the selection process including:
- Procedures that the BOM and Selection Board are required to follow
- Good practices prior to initiating the selection process
- Establishing selection criteria and a competency based interview
- Common scenarios
- Good interview practices
- Q & A

Panelists:
Marie Meskell; Principal of Presentation Primary School, Limerick
Denis Courtney, Retired Principal of St. John’S National School, Kenmare
Pat Hanrahan, St Senan's Education Office
Ray McInerney, Director Clare Education Centre

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Accurate assessment of children’s needs in mathematics is the first step in developing an effective intervention programme. In this webinar, special education teachers will acquire basic skills and knowledge in diagnostic assessment which they can apply easily and effectively to support the teaching and learning of maths to children with learning difficulties in their schools.

Bio

Dr. Stella Long is a Lecturer in Inclusive & Special Education in Mary Immaculate College, Limerick. Graduating from MIC with a Master’s Degree in Special Education, she completed her PhD in Trinity College Dublin. Her research focused on Professional Development for special education teachers with a specific focus on mathematics.  Stella has a particular interest and expertise in the teaching and learning of mathematics to pupils with Special Educational Needs/Learning Difficulties.  

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Developing a Critical Incident Response Plan: Workshop for Primary, Post Primary and Special Schools

A Critical Incident is any incident or sequence of events which overwhelms the normal coping mechanism of the school, such as the deaths of members of the school community. Most school communities experience some level of critical incident from time to time. The key is to plan and prepare in order to reduce the impact on all.

Aim of the workshop:

• To consider what constitutes a critical incident in various school settings.
• To share ideas on the promotion of a caring ethos of physical and psychological safety in a school which can lessen the impact of a critical incident, should it arise.
• To outline the purpose of the school’s Critical Incident Management Team
• To outline four steps in developing a critical incident response plan
• To consider appropriate responses in sample cases which have occurred in Irish schools and to share learnings and good practice from experiences of previous incidents.
• To identify key actions to be taken in the event of a CI
• To share resources to support students and staff following a CI

It is hoped that school staff who attend training will leave the workshop with a clear plan of the steps they need to take in order that their school will be in a strong position to deal with the significant challenges which a critical incident may bring in both the short- and long-term.

This workshop is aimed at school principals/deputy principals and/or members of the Schools Critical Incident Management Team or Student Support Team and will be delivered by psychologists from the National Educational Psychological Service (NEPS), Joan Heduan (Mullingar) and Orlaith Griffin (Tralee).  

If possible, please have a copy of ‘Responding to Critical Incidents – NEPS Guidelines and Resource Materials for Schools’ at hand during the presentation (available at the following link:  https://www.education.ie/en/Schools-Colleges/Services/National-Educational-Psychological-Service-NEPS-/Responding%20to%20Critical%20Incidents.pdf  )