National University of Ireland, Maynooth

Maynooth University is a wonderful place to learn. The teaching is excellent, delivered by leading international researchers who are committed and connected to their students. We have a strong campus community with a student-centred and collegial ethos.

At Maynooth University School of Education, we are concerned with the study of education.  Education is one of the most fundamental and important activities in any society.  We support an energetic, dynamic, interdisciplinary research culture. We have strong and vibrant traditions of teaching and research with particular expertise in the development of innovative pedagogies; the promotion of social justice, equality and inclusion; and in nurturing the developing person by supporting resilience and wellbeing. Our research focuses on the educational experiences of individuals throughout the life-course, incorporating all education sectors from early childhood education, through to primary, second level, higher and further education.

The Education Department is at the forefront of undergraduate and postgraduate teacher education, leadership, and guidance and counseling in Ireland, and many past students of the Department hold strategic positions in the education sector. Our academic staff have formed collaborations with researchers and educational practitioners across the globe. We have also developed numerous partnerships with key educational stakeholders at national and local levels. Our researchers draw on a range of research designs and methodologies including action research, narrative inquiry, qualitative and quantitative research, documentary analysis, ethnographic and arts-based approaches.

Dr Majella Dempsey, PI on the project is the course leader for the Bachelor of Science with Education and the Bachelor of Mathematics with Education programmes in Maynooth University. She was central to the development of both courses and lectures on Curriculum development, Research methods, Teaching, Learning and Assessment. She completed her doctoral research in Trinity College Dublin on the impact of a key skills approach to teaching and learning in secondary education.  At the heart of all her research interests is the role of pedagogy in teaching, learning, assessment and curriculum. 
Prior to joining Maynooth University, Majella worked as an Education Officer in the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA). She was a member of the Junior Science Support Service (JSSS) working with science teachers on the introduction of the revised curriculum, and, prior to that worked as a science and mathematics teacher.

Dr Ann O’Shea has a PhD in Mathematics from the University of Notre Dame Indiana and has been a member of the Department of Mathematics and Statistics at Maynooth University since 1992.  She set up and has been Director of the Mathematics Support Centre there from 2007-2016 and she is also director of the MSc in Mathematics for Education course, which is aimed at out-of-field mathematics teachers. She began her research career by working in the area of Complex Analysis and currently her research interests lie in Mathematics Education at undergraduate level. Ongoing research projects include: investigating concept formation; the role of technology in formative assessment; task design; measuring the effectiveness of mathematics support.

Niamh Burke was the research assistant for the FaSMEd Ireland Team. She was responsible for designing class materials, collecting data, and conducting professional development with teachers along with her FaSMEd colleagues. At present Niamh is completing her doctoral research in Maynooth University on formative assessment implementation in second level science classrooms. Her doctoral research has received funding from the National Council for Curriculum and Assessment (NCCA) under their Assessment Research and Development Programme. Her research interests include assessment, pedagogy and science and mathematics education. She is a qualified second level biology and mathematics teacher currently working in a second level school in the Dublin area and is also employed as a mathematics tutor at the Maths Support Centre at Maynooth University.