Castletroy College, Limerick City, was awarded €5,000 to collaborate with the University of Limerick, and six schools*, to create an agreed framework for student teachers on school placement. This project aimed to create a partnership model involving teachers, student teachers, schools and teacher educators, to maintain and improve teaching standards and support Treoraí as mentors of student teachers on school placement.
*List of collaborating schools:
- Kilkee Community College
- Killaloe Community College
- Colaiste Mhuire Askeaton
- Ennis Community College
- Raheenwood Community National School
- Limerick Community Special School
School’s reflection
As part of the Féilte Bursary Scheme, we developed a collaborative and sustainable School-University Partnership between the School of Education (UL) and Limerick and Clare ETB. This project aimed to foster collaboration and communication within a school-university partnership, supporting both student teachers and treoraithe. Future-proofing a comprehensive framework for school placements, that ensures clear expectations and development while respecting the unique cultures and experiences of individual schools, is the long-term goal.
Professional Learning Event
Internationally, cooperating teachers are acknowledged as pivotal in shaping student teachers’ experiences of school placement. Cooperating teachers have the capacity to facilitate student teachers’ integration into the profession through daily interactions and mentorship. With respect to this and to initiate a partnership of professional learning, we organised a professional learning event, hosted at Limerick Education Centre, for principals and treoraithe, a highlight of the project. The aim of the event was to collaboratively devise a clear action plan and upskill teachers on mentoring practices. The event provided a forum for meaningful professional dialogue about the needs of student teachers and treoraithe, the complexity of learning to teach, as well as impactful ways that a treoraí can ‘guide’ student teachers. The outcome was an agreement from teachers to engage in regular professional conversations, observe student teachers, and provide constructive feedback.
Digital resource
The creation and inclusion of a shared digital space, using a website and Padlet, acted as a point of communication as well as cooperation and allowed the treoraithe to share their experiences. The Padlet also provided a space to share relevant resources to support the teachers. It was important that CTs had a space to share their previous experiences and give voice to any concerns or areas of difficulty that they could foresee, for school leaders to hear such concerns and offer support but also, for us as their HEI partners, to find ways to address those needs in terms of supports and CPD. This exchange on the Padlet highlighted the benefits of collaboration and in time will create a foundation for a Professional Learning Community. Teachers reflected positively on the process of observing and providing feedback to student teachers, and noted the improvements they observed in student teachers’ approaches to teaching and learning. One treoraí commented how
‘The student teacher has really taken on the feedback…he is growing in confidence and is enjoying the experience of teaching more’
Challenges
However, the project was not without its challenges. The most notable barrier was the limited time available for teachers to fulfil project expectations, such as time to engage with the digital space, time to engage with the supports offered and time to mentor student teachers:
‘The number one issue over the process is time. Schools are always busy regardless but trying to meet with the student to engage in a meaningful feedback session is difficult’
From our perspective, this project has emphasised the need for structured supports to enable schools to participate in school placement more effectively. Supporting treoraithe as mentors, strengthening school-university partnerships, and ensuring equity in student teacher experiences require dedicated resources and structured frameworks.
Future planning
Looking ahead, and given the partner schools’ eagerness to stay involved, the project will expand to include more teachers across participating schools and in time, increase the number of schools. Next steps include the establishment of a formal memorandum of understanding between UL and LCETB, clearly defining roles and expectations.