PMEP106 Professional Studies: Numeracy and Mathematical Understanding Continuous Assessment Brief 2026

PMEP106 Continuous Assessment Brief

Learning Outcomes

In completing the assessment task, students are required to demonstrate their     ability to:

1. Critically analyse, evaluate and engage with the theoretical, philosophical and research-based conceptual   principles     of       numeracy     and    mathematical understanding, and the primary Mathematics curriculum. Demonstrate understanding of the importance of pedagogically sound mathematical ideas and the variety of ways these ideas can be applied, represented and demonstrated.
2. Synthesise the professional knowledge, pedagogical skills and competences required to be an effective, caring primary teacher with the pedagogical and digital skills and dispositions to employ a pupil-centred and inclusive approach to the structured development of number concepts.
3. Critically evaluate the factors that promote and hinder effective teaching and learning across all strands.
4. Demonstrate, through critical inquiry, a strong working knowledge of the fundamentals of mathematics, the key pedagogies of the PMC and an openness to and familiarity with mathematisation and its related processes.

Assessment Methodology

This module is assessed in two parts (each worth 50%). Students are required to complete both Part 1 and Part 2 to demonstrate their achievement of the learning outcomes for the Professional Studies Module: Numeracy and Mathematical Understanding. In Part 2 students will choose one of three topics to focus on. Submission must be undertaken by Academic Essay and through the medium of English.

Marking Scheme

Submission Date:  3pm Wednesday June 10^th, 2026

Professional Studies: Numeracy and Mathematical Understanding Assignment Brief

Part 1. Academic Essay 1250 +/-10% (50%)

Choose three of the most important ideas or concepts from the 106 on-demand content, stating the session(s) you are drawing upon. Clearly outline why these resonate with you and justify your selections. Critically discuss how your chosen ideas or concepts impact on mathematical teaching, learning and pupil experience in the mainstream classroom setting.   

Part 2. Academic Essay 1250 +/-10% (50%)

Choose ONE of the following  topics:  

TOPIC A: Elements and Processes 

‘The Primary Mathematics Curriculum identifies four key elements or learning processes that children will engage in as they learn mathematics. These can be understood as the skills of mathematics and are fundamental to the development of mathematical proficiency’ (PME106 Session 1, Elements). Critically discuss the place of these elements and processes in effective mathematics learning in Number at Stage 1, Junior or Senior Infants level (PME106 Sessions 3 and 4).

TOPIC B: Inclusion 

‘Mathematics is everywhere and for everyone’ (PME106 Session 1, Rationale). Describe and critically discuss what this inclusion might look like in the context of teaching and learning Measures in Stage 2, Rang 1 or Rang 2 (PME106 Session 5).

TOPIC C: Aims

‘The overarching aim of the Primary Mathematics Curriculum is the Development of Mathematical Proficiency’ (PME106 Session 1, Aims). Discuss and critically analyse the implications of this overarching aim in the context of children’s mathematics as they complete Stage 4 (Sixth Class) in primary school.

Submission must be undertaken by Academic Essay and through the medium of English

In the completion of this assignment, you are required to refer to at least ten sources. These should include the Primary Mathematics Curriculum (2023), curriculum support materials, academic and professional sources.  

This assignment should also draw upon 106 webinars, your F2F day experience and learning from previous modules. The essay should be uploaded as a PDF using the provided template. 

Please adhere to the following when completing the assessment:

• Word count for Academic Essay Part 1 1250 words (+/- 10%), and Part 2 1250 words excluding reference list, and the word count should be shown at the foot of the assignment.
• You must adhere to the Hibernia College adapted Harvard Referencing Guide and to Hibernia College Academic Writing Style Guide when completing this task. Use Arial or Calibri font style, 12 point font size and 1.5 line spacing.

Assessment Guidelines

Uploading and Submission Instructions

You should consult the general information on the MyHELMS Assessments page regarding assessments, uploading and submission before reading these specific instructions.

Upload Requirements:

• Upload directions for Academic Essay:

Use the template for completion of Academic Essay. Upon completion, upload as a PDF using the following naming conventions: PMEP_106 _Maths_12345678.pdf, where ‘12345678’ is replaced with your student number

Filenames

As mentioned above, assessment documents should be titled PMEP_106 _Maths_12345678.pdf where ‘12345678’ is replaced with your own student number.

It is the responsibility of the student to ensure that all work is accessible. In the event of an assessor being unable to open a submission or part thereof (e.g. link inaccessible or expired, password protected material, shortcut uploaded) a zero will apply. It is imperative that students start the upload process in a timely manner (take note that this may take several hours and that students should allow for this possibility).

Referencing

Please ensure that you adhere to the Hibernia College referencing guides (quick and main guides) when referencing reading sources. These guides are based on a specific version of the Harvard system as used by the College.

The references should come at the end.

All work submitted to meet course requirements at Hibernia College is expected to be a student’s own work. A student should be careful to distinguish between ideas, which are his/her own, and those, which have been derived from other sources e.g. journals and books.

For any queries on Academic Integrity, please visit the Hibernia College Academic Integrity homepage.

Turnitin text-matching

In order to allow the Turnitin text-matching tool time to process your work and produce an analysis report, you should endeavour to upload your work to MyHELMS well before the deadline. You should take some time to review the report and make any changes to your work you deem necessary before re-uploading before the deadline and making your formal submission. See the Making submissions area of the Assessments page on MyHELMS, as well as the Academic Writing Toolkit, for more information about using Turnitin.

Generative Artificial Intelligence (GenAI)

• Plagiarism is strictly prohibited. Students must ensure that all work submitted is their own and that all sources are properly cited.
• Use of AI-generated content (e.g., ChatGPT, generative AI tools) is not permitted. Any assessment found to contain AI-generated material will be subject to investigation under academic misconduct policies.

For further details, refer to the Hibernia College Academic Integrity Policy https://home.hiberniacollege.com/registrars-office/academic-integrity/

Uploading to MyHELMS

Please note that it is the student’s responsibility to ensure that assignments are successfully uploaded and submitted into MyHELMS by the specified deadline.

Navigate to the Assessments page on MyHELMS, locate the section dedicated to this module and click the assignment link to begin the uploading process.

Contact the Student Helpdesk if you encounter technical difficulties in uploading your assessment.

Penalties

• If you do not submit your assessment by 3pm on the due date, you can make a late submission in the week following this i.e., by 3pm on the following Wednesday. If you make a late submission, a 10% penalty will be applied to your grade for this assessment.
• Failure to adhere to the specified word limits as specified in the assignment brief.
  • Part 1 – Word count limit 1250 (+/- 10%) Minimum word count is 1125 words and maximum word count limit 1375 words.
  • Part 2 – Word count limit 1250 (+/- 10%) Minimum word count is 1125 words and maximum word count limit 1375 words.
• Incorrect Document Upload: If a student uploads the wrong document or an inaccessible file, a zero mark will be applied, and the student will be required to repeat this assessment.
• Non-submission will receive a mark of zero and the student will be required to repeat this assessment.
• This will result in a delay in the issuing of results and may affect your course completion date and graduation.

Important: Where a student has to repeat an assignment due to non-submission or a failure, the module result will be capped at a pass grade overall.

End of Continuous Assessment Brief