
Dr. Ann Marie Farrell
Ann Marie Farrell is Assistant Professor in the School of Inclusive and Special Education in the Institute of Education, DCU. She has taught across the Irish education system (primary, post-primary and special school sectors) in multiple teaching roles (infant single and multi-grade classes, special classes, learning support and subject teacher). In 1995, she introduced the Leaving Certificate Applied Programme to the special school in which she worked as one of 45 pilot schools; the first special school in the country to adopt this programme - a groundbreaking curricular innovation in the special school sector. She joined the Special Education Department, St.Patrick’s College in 2001 and has been a member of the School of Inclusive and Special Education, DCU since 2016.
Ann Marie teaches across multiple programmes in the IoE, focusing on inclusive pedagogy, special and inclusive education, universal design for learning and other related themes. She has supervised numerous student’s research projects and has engaged extensively in research projects in the field of Special and Inclusive Education. She is also a leader in the field of Higher Education, actively engaging in formal and informal professional learning, culminating in her doctorate which focused on assessment in the Higher Education Sector. She regularly contributes to professional development events nationally and internationally. She is co-founder of the Pedagogy for Higher Education Large Classes (PHELC) Symposium which provides a forum for teachers of very large class cohorts globally to share practice and research in this challenging aspect of teaching practice. She is a member of the recently established DCU Centre for Inclusive Pedagogy.
Research Interests
Special and Inclusive Education in primary, post-primary and special schools: Provision for students with special needs in second-level (post-primary) schools; students' perceptions of educational provision; teaching strategies for inclusion; role of special schools and classes; history of special and/or inclusive education development.
Initial Teacher Education: Preparation of student teachers for inclusive pedagogy and collaborative practice; pedagogical practice of teacher educators.
Higher Education Pedagogy and Practice: participation, engagement, teaching and learning in the large class setting; co-teaching in the university setting; curriculum and programme development; using technology to enhance teaching and learning; developing collaborative practice at university level; assessment in higher education.
Teaching Interests
Teaching Interests:
I teach on a range of modules across a range of programmes - levels 8, 9 and 10:
- Bachelor of Education Degree (Primary)
- Professional Masters in Education (Primary)
- Graduate Diploma in Inclusive and Special Education (GDISE)
- Masters in Special Educational Needs (MSEN)
- Masters in Education (Special and Inclusive Education Strand)
I have a particular interest in:
Special and Inclusive Education
- Inclusive planning and teaching practices
- Transitions for students with special educational needs
- Post-primary programmes and curricula
- History, Geography and Science Education for pupils with SEN
Teaching in Higher Education
- Collaboration amongst teacher educators
- Teaching methods and practices in the large class setting
- Student engagement and digital technology in the large class setting
- Curriculum/Programme development
- Assessment
CV
External Positions
- Lecturer, St Patrick's College01/09/2001 – 30/09/2016
