Education

The MA Education Tutor Team are delighted to welcome you to the University of Aberdeen and we look forward to working with you during your studies. We hope you find the information included within this welcome page helpful and answers any emerging questions you or your family may have before starting in September.

Your induction to the MA Education programme will commence on the week beginning 16 September 2024. Across the University, this is ‘Welcome Week’ for all new students starting at the University of Aberdeen. The university has a range of events organised for new students to attend, which includes the Students' Union's annual ‘Activities Fayres’ on King's Campus.

During Welcome Week, the School of Education have organised a series of events for new MA1 Education students to attend to support starting your learning journey at university. Details about these events can be found below.

Monday 16th September 2024

MA1 Induction Lecture: 10am – 11am in MR051 (MacRobert Building)

This is the first session of your university studies where information about the MA Education programme, timetable and wider university groups will be shared with you.

MA1 Community Building Workshop: 1pm – 3pm in the MacRobert Building

This is a mandatory session for all new MA1 students to support their induction to the MA Education programme. This session will provide a range of interactive experiences to get to know other students and work with our MA4 student teachers. We advise that you bring along a digital device to this session as well as some paper and pens.

Tuesday 17th September 2024

MA1 Support at University Lecture: 10am – 11am in MR051 (MacRobert Building)

This lecture aims to provide you with necessary information about how to access different forms of support while undertaking your studies on the MA Education programme. During this lecture, you will hear from a range of guest speakers and key organisations with regards to the different forms of support available to our students.

MA1 Preparing for your studies Workshop: 12pm – 1.30pm in MR051 (MacRobert Building)

This workshop aims to provide you with some useful tips and guidance as you prepare to start your academic studies. This session will be interactive. We advise that you bring along a notepad and a pen.

MA1 Library Induction: 2pm – 4pm – Sir Duncan Rice Library

The School of Education have partnered with staff in the Sir Duncan Rice Library to plan and prepare an introductory learning session for new students. This session will be active, providing lots of opportunities to meet new peers who are also studying on the MA Education programme. You will also have an opportunity to look at the Teaching Resource Centre which contains a variety of materials for use when on school experience placements.

To find out more information about the MA Education programme, please click on the link below to access a copy of our Induction Handbook. This contains a series of information about key contacts and education courses.

Throughout your time on the MA Education programme, you will have lots of opportunities to work with many different members of academic and professional service staff. Please see below for some key people who will be supporting you in your MA1 learning journey.

Meet the team

	Gordon Stewart MA Education, Programme Director
	Ingrid Stanyer MA1 Year Lead, School of Education Inclusion Co-ordinator
	John Mynott Head of Initial Teacher Education
	Marc Mcnaughton MA Administrator
	Tracy Collier School of Education Technician

Programme contacts

BA in Professional Development
Email: bapd@abdn.ac.uk

BA in Childhood Practice
Email: bacp@abdn.ac.uk

Teaching Qualification in Further Education
Email: tqfe@abdn.ac.uk

Counselling Skills
Email: csk@abdn.ac.uk

As part of your studies, you will be required to complete a variety of readings and reflective tasks throughout the year to support your growing understanding of teaching and learning. In MA1, there are 2 core texts which are used across different courses. These can also be accessed from the University Library. At times, staff may also direct you to other pieces of reading to be completed. 

Blackwell’s, the University Bookshop, have worked with the School of Education to organise a book bundle which is available to order at discounted price, cheaper than anywhere else online for this course. The bundle is available for FREE UK delivery or to pre-order for collection from the shop at the start of term.

Included in the MA1 bundle are:

• Learning to Teach in the Primary School
• Learning Theories in Childhood

There are 2 different ways to order:

• If local to the shop already, you can reserve online and they will contact you by e-mail to tell you when your order is ready for collection.
• If looking for free UK home delivery or want to pre-order for collection at the start of term, please contact the shop by email (aberdeen@blackwell.co.uk) with a delivery address (if applicable) and daytime telephone number. Blackwell’s will organise payment over the phone. This bundle is not available for sale online and is exclusive to Blackwell’s Aberdeen.

If you have any questions at all, please contact the shop by e-mail and they will be more than happy to help. They are currently open Monday to Friday 12pm – 4pm, but from early August they will be returning to normal term hours of 9am – 5pm Monday to Friday.

Reading lists for individual courses will be available through MyAberdeen later in the summer. In the meantime, you can engage with critical reading and writing skills and learn more about the University at our award-winning Toolkit website.

Across the year, your engagement in your academic studies will be assessed in many different ways. Course assessments vary between courses and may include

• academic essays/ reports
• group/ individual presentations
• participation in tutorial discussions
• School Experience Observations

Every course will provide you with specific information about the course assessment. This information is included within individual course guides at the start of term.

Please also note that attendance at course lectures and tutorials is closely monitored by staff. Should your attendance drop without good cause, this may result in you attending a meeting with the Course Co-ordinator and Programme Director.

In addition to your 2 core Education Courses in Semester 1 (September – December), you will also undertake 2 elective courses as well. At the University of Aberdeen, there are a wide range of electives choices available for you to select as part of your studies. Information about choosing electives will be sent out to you by the university before you start your studies in September. 

Within the School of Education, we offer a range of electives choices. These have been created to support your professional knowledge, understanding and pedagogical skills as emerging teachers.

New Course Electives

Please click on the link below to find out more about the School of Education electives which are available this year. Further information about course content and assessments can be located on the Course Catalogue.

School of Education Electives Advertisement 2024-2025

Starting university can be both a daunting but exciting time for you and your families. Please see below for some feedback from last year’s MA1 Student Teachers about their time on the programme.

“I’ve really enjoyed my time on MA1. The range of tutorials and time on school experience has helped me learn more about becoming an effective primary school teacher.”
 

“In MA1, I really enjoyed the Early Years module. It really helped me find out more about child development which I have had very little experience of when I was on work experience in S6.”
 

“Having a School Experience placement in MA1 was a really good part of the course. It allowed me to find out more about the role of being a teacher and have an opportunity to work with different children in the class. My Supporter Teacher was very enthusiastic and gave me lots of advice to help me in my studies.”
 

“All the Tutors in the School of Education are very friendly and approachable. Any questions or queries are always well and answered.”
 

“My Tutors were very pleasant and were always eager to assist when I needed help.”  
 

“I have found the whole MA1 course to be very engaging and rewarding. It can be challenging at times, but it pushes you to be the best teacher you can be.”
 

“I would definitely say the staff at the School of Education are a big highlight of the University of Aberdeen.”
 

“I can’t compare to any other universities, but I already feel that studying at UoA will shape me into a strong educator with skills and ethics I may not have picked up at a different university.”

Please click on the link below to access a copy of the MA1 Timeline which contains a series of key dates regarding your studies.

• MA1 Timeline download

On behalf of the School of Education, welcome back to your studies! Students are required to attend the relevant induction sessions for their MA Year, even if you have previously been a student at the University of Aberdeen. All induction sessions and lectures will take place during the week commencing Monday 16 September 2024. This will allow you to learn more about your new courses, meet key people who work on the MA Education programme and enable you to feel as prepared as possible for the year ahead.

MA Year 2

• Induction Lecture – Thursday 19^th September - 1pm – 3pm in MR051
• MyAberdeen/ MyCurriculum Drop-in – Thursday 19^th September – 3pm – MR120A

MA Year 3

• Induction Lecture – Thursday 19^th September – 10am – 12pm in MR051

MA Year 4

• Induction Lecture – Monday 16^th September – 11am – 1pm in MR051

Preparation for Semester 1 Teaching

As you prepare for induction week and starting your Semester 1 courses, take time to familiarise yourself with the course areas available to you on MyAberdeen. Each course will share a course handbook and assessment guide that will be useful to read over. You will have self-study tasks to undertake prior to each teaching session. Prioritise time to complete this to feel as prepared as possible for your first teaching sessions of the new year.

Reading Lists

Reading lists will be made available from Course Co-ordinators ahead of your first week of teaching. Please make sure that you can access Primo. Each year group on MA Education outline a ‘Book Bundle’ with recommended texts for using across your courses. These can be purchased from Blackwell’s on campus or via their website.

The University of Aberdeen is a stunning campus, with may historic buildings and landmarks. These campus maps will help you find your way round King's Campus.

Alyson Young
Programme lead
alyson.young@abdn.ac.uk

Rhea Marnoch
Programme Administrator
pgde@abdn.ac.uk  

Lorna Stewart
Course Coordinator
Lorna.stewart@abdn.ac.uk

We are looking forward to welcoming you online to continue your learning journey with us.

The University of Aberdeen Orientation programme has been designed to take you through all of the essential information you will need for your student life. You can get started now by working through the interactive modules on MyAberdeen course: Getting started at the University of Aberdeen.

The programmes within the PGT and Pl portfolio are all unique and responsive to student needs, therefore they start at different dates and have different modes of delivery, please see MyAberdeen for the specifics for your programme.

Dr Charlaine Simpson
Head of Postgraduate Taught and Professional Learning
Charlaine.Simpson@abdn.ac.uk

Administrator
Rosemond Cochrane
Rosemond.cochrane@abdn.ac.uk

Dr Peter Mtika
PGR Co-ordinator

Administrator for Research
Email: soe-research@abdn.ac.uk

We are looking forward to welcoming you to campus to start your research journey with us. As a Postgraduate Research student you will have the opportunity to attend a University wide induction in addition to your school induction.

The University of Aberdeen Orientation programme has been designed to take you through all of the essential information you will need for your student life. You can get started now by working through the interactive modules.

There are a series of modules that you can work through before you arrive. Once you have registered you can access the remaining modules and complete your mandatory training programme through your bespoke PGR training platform on our virtual learning environment.

There will be a school welcome event for Postgraduate Research students. This will provide an opportunity to meet Postgraduate coordinators and PhD supervisors. There will also be time to answer any questions you may have. Further details regarding the welcome event will follow in due course.

As a PGR student you may have the opportunity to audit Master‘s courses to augment your research training. Please discuss this with your supervisor and check out the postgraduate taught pages above.

The PGR School also offers a comprehensive training programme to support your research journey.

The PGR School training and development programme offers academic, professional, and personal development through a number of training workshops, resources and opportunities, all intended to support the PGR community at the University of Aberdeen.

Find out more here.