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 11th September 2023. 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 Welcome Week in Old Aberdeen. 

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

Monday 11 September 2023

MA1 Induction Lecture – 10am – 12pm - Venue 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. All students are required to attend.

Tuesday 12 September 2023

MA1 ‘New Beginnings’ Session – 1pm – 4pm Venue TBC  

(Library Induction, ICT Set-up and Escape from MacRobert Challenge)

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. For this session, you may want to bring along a digital device as well as paper and pens.

To find out more information about the MA Education programme, please review our Induction Handbook, which contains a series of information about key contacts and education courses.

Year 2-4 Induction

MA Year 2 Students

Thursday 14 September 2023 – 1pm – 3pm in MR051 (MacRobert Building)

MA Year 3 Students

Thursday 14 September 2023– 10am – 12pm in MR051 (MacRobert Building)

MA Year 4 Students

Monday 11 September 2023 – 1pm – 3pm in MR051 (MacRobert Building)

Please review your timeline, which will give you helpful information about the weeks during which you will have on-campus teaching, placement and holiday.

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.

Gordon Stewart

MA Education, Programme Director

Ingrid Stanyer

MA1 Year Lead

Katrina Foy

School of Education Disabilities Co-ordinator

John Mynott

Head of Initial Teacher Education

Marc Mcnaughton

MA Administrator

Tracy Collier

School of Education Technician

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 the different courses. These can 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 also 3 highly recommended texts which would support your studies in MA1. These are not core texts, but have been included on the web link should you wish to undertake some additional reading.

1ST YEAR PRIMARY EDUCATION : MA Education (Hons)

There are 2 different ways to order:

• If local to the shop already, you can reserve online and they will contact you by email 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 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 Blackwells 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 Saturday from  9am – 5pm.

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 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 which can be found below.

New Course Elective 2023-2024

This year, we are delighted to announce that the School of Education will be launching a new elective course which is exclusive to Primary Education Students only. This elective is a 30 credit course and is designed to support student teacher skills in active listening and responding. Spaces on this elective are limited. To sign up for this elective, please choose C0101C (Monday and Tuesday) on My Timetable.

“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.”

The University of Aberdeen is a stunning campus, with may historic buildings and landmarks. This campus map will help you find your way round Kings Campus.

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

Access your induction information here.

Find out your year 1 timetable by downloading this Word document.

Lorna Stewart
Programme lead
lorna.stewart@abdn.ac.uk

Rhea Marnoch
Programme Administrator
pgde@abdn.ac.uk  

Alyson Young
School Experience Lead
alyson.young@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.