2024 Summer Course – First Class Fundamentals In Association With Muinteoir Valerie

Learn Practical Strategies and Inclusion Techniques for 1st and 2nd Class Teachers

Course Approved By The Department Of Education And Skills

• 10 hours on-demand video material and 10 hours offline learning
• Online tutor moderation
• Downloadable articles and resources
• Access on mobile and desktop
• Department of Education and Skills-Accredited Summer Course Certificate 2023
• Full access to the course

First Class Fundamentals is a course developed in response to the needs of first class teachers in Irish primary school classrooms. With ten years of experience in a variety of classroom settings, Valerie Mullen has spent the majority of her career teaching first and second class. Through her online platforms, Muinteoir Valerie speaks to teachers every day about both the struggles and successes they face in their classrooms. This connection with fellow primary teachers has provided Valerie with great insight into the specific difficulties Irish teachers face in teaching this class level.

The objectives of this course are to provide practical, workable and effective strategies to support first class teachers in the teaching of literacy and numeracy, provide support in terms of managing behaviour in the classroom without relying on behaviour management tools, and recommend practical strategies for the inclusion of children with additional needs in the mainstream classroom. This course will also support teachers in wider classroom management and systems.

Teachers will be provided with theoretical and practical support strategies and methodologies to help them in their teaching of this specific age group. They will also be provided with ideas for teaching through play, and active hands-on teaching approaches, as well as ideas for assessment of, for and as learning. A variety of teaching styles and approaches will be encouraged and explored to ensure all learning styles are catered for in the classroom. Teaching in a playful, integrated manner will be encouraged throughout the course.

There will be a module in this course on inclusion in the mainstream classroom. Having worked in an ASD class in the past, and seeing the importance of integration and reverse integration, this area is of huge importance to Valerie. Differentiation will also play an important role in the course, as teachers are provided with practical ideas for implementing differentiation in a busy classroom.

This course is ten hours of audio content, visual content and assessment in total, and there are ten hours of recommended reading and resources for you to further develop your own learning.