As a very successful PDA Conference concludes in Galway, PDA executive are delighted to announce that next year’s conference will be hosted by the Principals and Deputies of MLSETB and will be held in the spectacular surrounds of Westport at the Knockranny House Hotel We look forward to seeing you there. Save the dates Wednesday 20th-Friday 22nd November 2024. More information in due course at www.pda.ie
PDA Annual Conference at the Galway Bay Hotel got underway this evening with an entertaining, enlightening address delivered by Jarlath Burns. Thursday’s speakers promise to deliver thought provoking presentations on Bullying, AI, and Teacher Emotions. Full conference schedule available here
PDA welcome Michael Gillespie to Annual Conference. Accompanied by TUI President, David Waters, issues concerning Principals and Deputies will be discussed at a forum on Thursday afternoon. Full Conference schedule available here
At PDA Annual Conference Ciara O’Donnell will outline key areas in Leading Professional Learning. Ciara has worked in the area of teacher education for seventeen years holding a number of senior leadership positions with responsibility for curriculum, DEIS, school leadership, professional development policy, research and design. Her research exploring the secondment of teachers to teacher education which has been presented nationally and internationally has resulted in her evidenced based programme for aspiring and developing teacher educators “Becoming and Developing as a Teacher Educator”
Friday promises to be, yet again, an informative, thought provoking day at PDA Annual Conference. Dr. Johanna Fitzgerald and John Kearney will co-present to delegates on the challenges of, and steps to lead the inclusive school in the context of changing policy.
Dr. Johanna Fitzgerald was recently appointed as the National Inclusion, Special Education and Research Coordinator with ETBI and is seconded from her previous role as Head of the Department of Educational Psychology, Inclusive and Special Education in
Mary Immaculate College. She is tasked with leading research-informed effective policy and practice in inclusive special education across the ETB sector in post primary Community Colleges and Community National Schools.
February of this year saw the appointment of Mr. John Kearney as the new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Council for Special Education (NCSE). John has a deep-rooted passion for special education and as leader of the NCSE is eager to continue developing effective stakeholder relationships in supporting the collective implementation of the vision, goals and strategy of an inclusive education system for children with special educational needs.
At PDA Annual Conference Paul Fields (ETBI) will facilitate a Panel Discussion featuring Dr. Mona O’Moore, Dr. Keith Quille and Dr Steve Lane all of whom will have earlier addressed delegates on the topics of:-Bullying/Cinealtas; Artificial Intelligence – Implications for PP & FE, and Teacher emotions in the classroom and their Implications for students
At PDA Conference Dr. Steve Lane will address delegates on Thursday 16th on the topic of Teacher emotions in the classroom and their Implications for students. This session delves into classroom dynamics though the lens of Polyvagal Theory. It highlights that as educators, our nervous systems fundamentally influence classroom behaviours and learning outcomes. Steve is an experienced educator with a career spanning over four decades. After graduating from St. Patrick’s Training College Drumcondra in 1979, he served as a teacher and principal in a DEIS primary school until 2014.
For six years, he worked with the Department of Education and Skills as a strategic change facilitator and managed an EU YouthStart project aimed at supporting marginalized youth in schools. He earned an M.Ed (Hons) in 2006 and completed his doctoral research in 2021, which centred on well-being promotion in schools.
Bullying/Cinealtas- Dr. Mona O’Moore will present at PDA Annual Conference 15th-17th November.
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Dr Keith Quille is a Senior Lecturer at the School of Enterprise
Computing and Digital Transformation at TU Dublin. Before TU
Dublin, Keith was a PLC and second-level teacher for almost a decade.
Keith was recently an Expert on the development of the European
Commission Guidelines on the use of AI and Data in Education and
Training, and his PhD was in using artificial intelligence (AI) to
predict students at risk of failing or dropping out of introductory
programming courses.
Save the dates! PDA Annual Conferences once again promises to be an enlightening, thought-provoking event as well as an opportunity for Principals and Deputies to learn from the sharing of each others lived experiences. Conference Schedule, registration, accommodation etc available at this link https://pda.ie/
Hear Jarlath Burns speak on Wednesday 15th, Jarlath has been involved in education for 34 years and his last ten years has been as principal of St. Paul’s Bessbrook, which is seen as a beacon of education in the North.