GALWAY-MAYO INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY Follow on Studies and Research Paula Gormley, Offaly
I studied to become a teacher in GMIT Letterfrack, which is situated in a small, vibrant village at the foot of Connemara National Park. I graduated from the Bachelor of Science (Honours) in Design and Technology Education in 2011. The first two years of the course are in Letterfrack and focus on design, technical and practical skills. You are also introduced
to theories on educational practice. In addition in years one and two, preparation for teaching practice is undertaken. This includes micro-teaching (preparing and giving a lesson to children from the local school), preparing lesson plans, making classroom resources and even teaching your own class! The facilities in Letterfrack are remarkable, from the computer labs to the bench room and the micro teaching lab.
The final two years are based in the main GMIT campus in Galway city. In these two years you embark on two separate teaching practice blocks. Principles of Education, Advanced Graphics, and Building Structure and Technology are just some of the other modules studied in the final two years. The Dissertation in fourth year is also an important module which allows students have the opportunity to research a topic that is important to them in the area of education and the technical subjects.
Personally, I really enjoyed this course. As there are such a small number of students you have the opportunity to make really good friends and get more one to one time with lecturers, which is especially useful when it comes to continuous assessment and exams. I would recommend this programme to anyone who has an interest in becoming a teacher in the technical subjects.
Since graduating I have been working full time. I find teaching most rewarding. I owe this success to my lecturers for giving me all the help they did and providing me with the tools to pass on my love for the technical subjects to my students.
All students have the option of a obtaining an honours degree in their chosen area of specialisation. Having completed four years successfully, applicants can apply for Level 9 masters degrees or graduate diplomas in areas related to their field of study in GMIT or other third level institutions. Graduates of honours degree programmes in Furniture & Wood Technology and Furniture Design & Manufacture have the option of applying for a Professional Diploma in Education which qualifies graduates to teach technology- related subjects at secondary level. Graduates may also choose to take on research Masters in an area of their own interest.
Placements – the world is at your feet
There is a lot of emphasis placed on industry links at GMIT Letterfrack. In the third year of all programmes there is a module which involves the students spending a block on industry placement. In the Design & Technology Education programme this involves teaching practice in secondary schools, while on the Furniture & Wood Technology and Furniture Design & Manufacture programmes this involves a twenty week block of work placement. This placement involves students working with a company in the furniture industry and takes place in the second term of third year.
Placements offer an excellent opportunity for students to gain invaluable first-hand experience of working in the furniture industry and placement companies can vary from large manufacturers to small workshops. Work is not confined to Ireland though - in 2011 work placements took place in America, England, the Czech Republic and Zambia. GMIT Letterfrack continues to create links around the world in order to offer students exciting real life opportunities. Many placements also lead to job opportunities for students once their studies are completed.
Studying overseas for part of the academic year is also becoming more popular with students and GMIT has links with colleges in Europe and beyond. In 2010, GMIT Letterfrack signed a learning agreement with Virginia Tech in the USA. This collaboration offers exciting opportunities, including the exchange of students at both undergraduate and postgraduate level.
Donal Conheady (current student) B. Sc. (Honours) in Design & Technology Education
My name is Donal Conheady, I’m 21 years of age and I’m now in third year. I used to love Technical Graphics and Woodwork in school so I applied for this programme. I have completed two years of my course in Letterfrack and I am now in attendance at GMIT
Dublin Rd in Galway city for my third year. The first two years of the course, based in Letterfrack, were very practically orientated. We completed a number of interesting projects and did modules covering teaching techniques and teaching practice preparation.
In September of third year, I had my first six-week teaching practice in a school in Co. Clare. This gave me the opportunity to sample my prospective future career and it really put in context all the material studied in college. Teaching practice was such a challenge, yet I got great satisfaction from the response I got from students and teachers in the secondary school. I am delighted that I chose this programme and I look forward to my final year and eventually fulfilling my ambition of becoming a teacher.
Stephen Pallin, BSc in Furniture Design and Manufacture During Stephen’s time as a student he demonstrated considerable flair in the areas of applied technology associated with the design and making of fine furniture. Inspired by renowned furniture maker James Krenov and using the quality principles and attention to detail embodied in Krenov’s philosophy; Stephen applied this to his knowledge of information technology and CAD/CAM manufacturing systems. For his Work Placement module, Stephen worked in Weeke in Germany, one of the largest producers of high end, CNC wood production machinery in Europe. He worked in their client demonstration showroom where he delivered on software training, machine demonstrations and specific client projects, and even managed to take up some German language classes en route!
On his return to Ireland he has reverted back to bespoke furniture making and has secured an internship with the highest profiled designer/maker of commissioned furniture in Ireland, Joseph Walsh Studio.
Martin Rowan, BSc in Furniture and Wood Technology Martin carried out his placement at McNally & Finlay Ltd, a manufacturer of domestic furniture based in Monaghan. Martin was involved in several challenging projects in his position as Research and Development Engineer in the Wood Laboratory department of the company. Projects included solving tolerancing problems on a new CNC machine, testing jointing systems to establish the most appropriate system for panel production, designing and fabricating a matrix panel to provide even distribution of vacuum suction across the CNC table and testing of end-user finishes to be applied to a new range of panel-based furniture products
Martin is now completing his honours degree programme in Letterfrack. 181
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