Meet our Graduates

Louise Creaven | PME Graduate

I completed the PME in 2020, fulfilling my dream to become a secondary school teacher and to share my passion for both my teaching subjects of Gaeilge and Geography. The PME is well structured and prepares all student teachers to the highest degree for the complexities of the modern classroom and school environment. School placement really gives you a sense of the day to day ongoings of a school and allows you to become involved in various aspects of school life. Coming from a strong sporting background, I found it extremely rewarding to get involved with the extra-curricular activities offered at school. To be somewhat a part of seeing students reach their full capabilities is rewarding and makes teaching all the more worthwhile. I truly benefitted from my time at NUI Galway. The staff of the School of Education are enthusiastic and supportive in every aspect of the programme. The people who I have met along my journey in becoming a teacher have undoubtedly shaped my professional development. I would highly recommend the PME at NUI Galway.

Tino Tenda Nzvaura | Graduate

I always wanted to be a teacher and was very excited to get into the PME course. I found the course really well organized and structured. What I enjoyed most was putting theory into practice in the classroom – the excitement of seeing students learn and progress. The course really helped me to understand the learning process. We were encouraged to try out different approaches and I learnt how to engage different students through lesson hooks and a wide range of subject-specific methodologies. I would definitely recommend the PME programme at NUIG – for me it has been very influential, not only professionally but also personally. If you come into this course you will learn a lot about yourself. You’ll be challenged to come out of your shell and you will do things you might have never done before. I would definitely recommend the PME programme at NUI Galway.

Daniela Donghi | Graduate, PME

I finished the PME at NUI Galway in 2018. I really enjoyed the course. It is a very well-balanced mix of practical and theoretical subjects, which provides future teachers with the skills needed to be successful in the classroom. I very much benefited from the time spent in teaching practice, since it helped me build confidence and develop the ability to tackle the daily challenges of the teaching profession. In our second year we were also involved in action research, which I particularly enjoyed since it made me appreciate the importance of research in education. Lecturers and tutors are enthusiastic, passionate, and very helpful. They encourage group work and peer feedback, which are crucial in the actual teaching setting. I was awarded the NUI Scholarship in Education 2018, and I believe that this would have never been possible without the supportive and inspiring words of the team of the School of Education. Finally, I also made new friends in college and in teaching practice, whom I am looking forward to working with in the near future!

Luke O'Donnell | PME Graduate

NUI Galway’s PME course is a teacher training programme first and foremost, but it’s a far cry from boot camp. PME candidates are in schools within six weeks of commencing studies and this kind of professional immersion is invaluable. You mightn’t know if you’ll be any good at teaching at that stage, but you’ll know if it’s not your caper. From the sixth week to the last, the programme focuses on preparing new teachers to perform in class as close to ‘career-teacher’ calibre as possible. Theirs is a philosophy of care, completion, quality and achievement, much more than deadlines and sanctions. It’s an infectious philosophy which always encouraged me to produce quality material, whether in the classroom or on campus. When you find yourself looking forward to placement tutor visits, you’re either a couple of paperclips short of a pencil case or you’re on the right track. I firmly believe teaching to be a noble profession with no shortage of perks and I shall recall fondly my own experience at NUI Galway among them.

Mary Ann Melville | Graduate

My PME experience has been both challenging and very rewarding. I decided to review my career path, and this led me to the PME programme in NUIG. The course was very engaging and focused on a very practical approach to teaching and learning. This practical approach to learning helps build a very student focused programme. The course is built around supporting “us” the teachers of tomorrow, to promote and build students’ abilities and interests in our subjects within the classroom. There is a strong emphasis on collaborative learning. The lecturers are extremely supportive and are always available to alleviate any worries that may arise. I have three children and sometimes, especially in the beginning, I felt overwhelmed. However, I always felt supported by the lecturers. The support and encouragement I received from them helped me to complete the course. The relationships formed throughout the course are very rewarding. I have enjoyed the course immensely and would highly recommend the course to anyone who is thinking of a change in career, you won’t regret it!

Alan Kinsella | Principal, Dominican College, Galway

We have taken PME students from the School of Education (SOE) NUIG since 2014. Our experience of the programme & the students we have taken has, for the most part, been excellent. We are selective in terms of taking students & interview each applicant to ensure they will be a good match for our school and that we will be a good match for them. We have found the PME students to be very well prepared for their work, particularly the Year 2 students & have found them to be an asset to the school in terms of their classroom work, & to the extras they have brought such as their involvement in leading extra-curricular activities & assisting in the school when required. The support we have received from the university staff has been excellent. On the rare occasions when we have had any concerns about a PME student, we have found the SOE staff to be very supportive of both the school & the student with a focus on improvement. They have worked with the school to ensure that we are satisfied with the quality of teaching & learning taking place in the classroom, while also providing as much assistance and guidance as needed to ensure that the student benefits from their placement experience.

Nuala O'Halloran | PME Co-ordinator, Saint Joseph's College, 'The Bish', Galway

The links between NUI Galway and the 'Bish' are very strong. The Bish has for many years been in the top five feeder schools to the university. In the Bish we take care of our NUI Galway PME students as we see them as a wonderful addition to our staff and school community. To ensure a high standard of teaching and learning, our school has a full-time PME co-ordinator who selects suitable student teachers with management, and co-ordinates their year in our school. Each PME student is assigned a mentor teacher who supports them, observes their teaching and gives feedback on their progress. Mentor teachers also get an opportunity to give feedback to NUI Galway tutors when they visit the school. Thanks to the two-year PME programme, our school benefits from skills and ideas PME2 student teachers acquire in their first year teaching elsewhere. PME students get involved in all areas of Bish life—establishing lunchtime homework clubs, coaching teams, team teaching, upskilling our teachers at lunchtime on the latest educational technology tools, and so on. We are proud to be involved at the start of their career path and many of the NUIG PMEs have become permanent members of our staff.

Javier Ruiz Gomez | PME Graduate

I completed the PME at NUI Galway in 2020. It has been an enjoyable learning process which has led me to a job right away. I am the type of person that enjoys talking about history and literature, and the PME has allowed me to do this in a creative manner. The course has the perfect balance between theory and teaching practice, and it has never lost its goal: training the teachers of tomorrow. The lecturers are experts in their fields and they were always willing to help us every step of the way, supporting students’ professional development as well as their wellbeing. On the PME you will meet and connect with new people from across the country and further afield, and you will likely stay in touch with many of them after you graduate. NUI Galway PME students have always being envied by students from other colleges because instead of focusing on tons of paperwork we focused on the quality of teaching and the learning of our students. Choosing NUI Galway's PME has provided me with a strong foundation to transition to a full-time teaching career, "and that [as Robert Frost would have said] has made all the difference.