Siobhan McKenna – Maths Teacher

I am currently studying for a Masters of Education in Professional Practice with PGDE at University of Glasgow. This is an online course lasting a year and a half with only a few tutorial days in the year at the university. The course is mainly conducted online and tutorials can either be carried out on Skype, by telephone, or face-to-face; this facilitates full-time work as well as independent study.

I completed the first module of the course, Decision Making and Enquiry Skills, during my probation year and am now in the midst of writing my dissertation. My proposal for my dissertation during the first module of the course involved competitiveness within the classroom. However, upon beginning my dissertation in October, I realised that this was no longer relevant to my practice and I am now focussing on Numeracy Across the Curriculum. Having now read a lot of literature on Maths and Numeracy, it turns out that our curriculum is very similar, with regard to numeracy, to that of Australia. I have also been in touch with university lecturers in Australia to find out more about their curriculum and how they support staff who are non-Maths specialists.

My focus is something which I clearly enjoy as a Maths teacher but I feel it will also benefit my practice in the future as I will gain a greater insight into where Maths is used in other areas of the school.

If anyone is thinking of completing a similar course, feel free to come and speak to me for any advice you may want on taking on a Masters level qualification whilst working full-time.

If all goes well, I should graduate from this course in December of this year so I will keep you posted on my progress. 🙂