Introduction

Many are experts on teaching in the sense of having been taught. Becoming an expert on the art of teaching and creating favourable conditions for learning is quite different. There is no single recipe for crossing this gap. Consequently, all who teach in a classroom must be willing to explore and test new methods during their training period. To become a teacher requires hard work, freedom from preconceptions and a thirst for professional challenges

Target Group and Admission Requirements

General admission requirements or accreditation for prior experiential learning; a minimum of 35 ECTS credits and a grade 3 or above score in mathematics and Norwegian.

Aim of the Programme

The study programme is based on the 4-year National Curriculum for General Teacher Education programmes, 2003. The General Teacher Education programme is an educational project with children and adolescents which opens opportunities for positive actions and significant improvements. The general teacher student is a future cultural worker who learns both from a subject and about a subject.

The programme is designed to increase professional pride and identity.

Professional education

The General Teacher Education study programme is a professional education which combines the study of subject areas, pedagogical theory, and teaching practice under supervision in an approved school. Knowledge of one’s field of specialisation is a primary requirement of the programme. Professional teaching is realised both through understanding the subject areas and by acquiring insight through actual practice in teaching the subjects.

The core of the study programme consists of five areas of education which are developed in the training school: subject and didactic expertise are developed through the study of the subject areas; social skills are developed through communication and empathy; change and development skills are developed by adapting to a constantly-evolving field of education; and professional ethics are developed through encountering and interacting with the professional diversity of views at both institutions of learning.

The subject, pedagogy, will provide students with an understanding of how children learn and develop. It covers general didactics, basic teaching and learning methods, the teacher as leader and the social role of schools.

In the subject courses, students will develop solid academic knowledge, which is a prerequisite for effective teaching and learning.
Subject didactics in all subjects builds a bridge between the academic subject area and how the subject is taught in schools

All the study programme’s subject areas address the Knowledge Promotion Curriculum and the relationship between academic subjects, college subjects and school subjects; and elucidate the changes in professional roles, basic skills and values in the teaching profession.

The period of practical training consists of 20 weeks and has a separate teaching plan.

Further Education opportunities

The study programme provides ample opportunity for further study at Master’s degree level.
In the fourth year of the programme (4ALU) students may select courses which form part of the first year of Master’s programme, if they have completed sufficient specialisation courses earlier. Telemark University College offers the following Master’s degree programmes: MA Art & Design Education; MA Physical Education, Sport & Outdoor Life Studies; MA Cultural Studies; MSc Environmental Health; and MA Traditional Arts. Several more programmes are in the planning stages.

Curriculum and structure

Obligatory Courses Code Course title Credits O/V *) Credits pr. semester   S1(A) S2(V) S3(A) S4(V) 30MAT1 Mathematics 1 30.00 O 10 10 10   30NORSK1 Norwegian I 30.00 O 15 15     30PD110 Pedagogy 30.00 O 5 5 10 10 10GLSM The Fundamentals of Reading, Writing and Mathematics 10.00 O       10 20KRL Christianity, Religion and Ethics 20.00 O     10 10 DRA OBL Drama as a Method 0.00 O         Total: 30 30 30 30 *) O - Mandatory course, V - Optional course

Optional Courses Year 3 & 4 Code Course title Credits O/V *) Credits pr. semester   30DRA Drama 1 30.00 V 30EN1 English 1 30.00 V 30IKT1 ICT in Education 30.00 V 30KROPP1 Physical Education 1 30.00 V 30KH Art and Handicrafts 1 30.00 V 30KH2 Art and Handicrafts 2 30.00 V 30MATOGH Food and Health 30.00 V 15MAT21 Mathematics 2 Module 1 Function Theory 15.00 V 15MAT22 Mathematics 2, module 2 Statistics and Probability Theory 15.00 V 15MAT3 1 Mathematics 3 module 1 Number Theory and Didactics 15.00 V 15MAT3 2 Mathematics 3 module 2 Geometry, Vector Calculation and Linear Algebra 15.00 V 30MUS1 Musikk 1 30.00 V 30NAT1 Natural Sciences 1 30.00 V 30NAT2 Natural Sciences 2 30.00 V 30NORSK2 Norwegian 2 30.00 V 30SF1 Social Studies 1 – Focusing on Norway and the Middle East 30.00 V 30SF2 Social Studies 2 – Focusing on Norway and Europe 30.00 V Total: *) O - Mandatory course, V - Optional course

Elective Courses Year 3 & 4 In the third (3ALU) and fourth year (4ALU) of the study programme students select new subjects which they plan to teach in the primary or lower secondary school, or they may build further on obligatory subjects. In the elective part of the programme at least 60 ECTS must be chosen from obligatory subjects in the primary or lower secondary school; the rest may be chosen from subjects that are relevant to the subject areas taught in schools. The selection of 60 ECTS courses will provide future teachers with professional expertise for teaching the respective subjects at all levels in primary and lower secondary schools. Some courses are taught at the Notodden campus, and others at the Porsgrunn campus. Certain courses are only offered if sufficient applicants enrol.

The General Teacher education study programme is a 4-year full-time study of 240 ECTS credits. Of these, 120 ECTS credits are obligatory subjects and 120 ECTS credits represent elective courses. Of the elective courses, at least 60 ECTS credits should involve primary/lower-secondary school subjects. The obligatory subjects are The Fundamentals, of Reading, Writing and Arithmetic (the ‘3 Rs’); Christianity, Religion and Ethics; Mathematics; Norwegian and Pedagogy.

Certification to teach in the primary and lower-secondary schools will be awarded after 4 years of full-time study. Students will be given a thorough introduction to basic ethical approaches, research-methodological approaches and scientific theory equivalent to 10 ECTS credits. Obligatory lectures will be given in these topics.

Students will complete a Bachelor’s Thesis (10 ECTS) during their third year of study, which constitutes part of one of the third-year elective subjects.

Multi-disciplinary elective courses

The study programme includes obligatory multidisciplinary topics which are examined in the professional courses. The training school and the university college will elaborate on these topics, which, in conjunction with the course curricula, constitute The Faculty of Art, Folk Culture and Teacher Education’s professional profile.

Professional themes in the first three years of the study programme (1-3 ALU):

Subject didactics	Equal Opportunity
Pupil evaluation	Teaching materials evaluation
Professional writing/R&D	Adapted teaching
ICT and learning	Professional ethics

Professional topics at Faculty of Art, Folk Culture and Teacher Education, organisation

and section/subject/faculty responsible for organisation

Professional courses	Main responsibility	Organisation
1st year
The library and learning	Course 1st year/library	Course/theme day 1st semester/practical experience
Drama as a method	Drama	Course 1st year
First aid/lifesaving	Physical education	Course 1st year
Intoxication issues	Faculty	Theme day 1st year
The school in the local community/traffic safety instruction	Pedagogy	Practice project 1st year
Language and learning	1st year subjects	Multi-subject theme work/project 1st year
2nd year
Multicultural school/Sami courses/ Internationalisation	Faculty/2nd year subjects	Multi-subject theme work/ Practice seminar 2nd year
Cooperation with parents	Faculty	Theme day/practice course 2nd year
School management; Education Act	Pedagogy/practice school	Course unit Pedagogy, Practice seminar
Bullying	Pedagogy	Course unit in pedagogy/lecture
3rd year
Children in crisis	Faculty	Theme day
Pupil evaluation/pupil counselling	Multi-subject/practice school	Practice seminar 3rd year
Environment/resources management	Social sciences	Lecture 3rd year

Teaching and Learning Methods

Each student group is allocated a contact-teacher who has a supervisory responsibility. The contact-teacher and the teaching-practice mentor will have regular meetings, which will contribute to the quality assurance of the programme.

The programme’s teaching and learning methods relate to both single and multi-discipline subjects and an important aim of the programme is to stimulate critical reflection. The teaching and learning methods include:

• Polyphony
• Narration
• Specialisation

Polyphony in this context may be interpreted as “multiple meaning”. Education depends on the ability to focus interest. The programme will stimulate the student’s ability to be taken aback and consequently dare to express with his/her own voice. An important goal therefore is to challenge students by creating a learning environment that stimulates dialogue.

Programme subjects are composed of knowledge and skills which are different, and which are also dependent on other subjects. Each year-level organises therefore at least 1 multi-subject theme/ project work of 1-2 weeks duration. This work will be followed up by a documentation exercise and assessed through an oral presentation to fellow students.

Much of the time allocated to the programme subjects is spent on reading and working with theory, tools and texts. 60 ECTS courses comprise a study-year of 1500 hours; 1 ECTS comprises 25 hours’ study. The subject teacher’s and teaching-practice mentor’s role is to support students in their studies so that they gradually become familiar with the diversity of the profession. Teaching will alternate between lectures, seminars, group work and individual supervision at the campus, in the training school, and online via Classfronter. Students will identify their learning aims and participate in learning counselling. Students will actively work with teaching assignments and supervision at the training school.

The study programme uses Classfronter, which complements the teaching on campus and the training school. Students must have a laptop computer equipped for wireless access. Digital literacy is a fundamental skill that will be practised in all subjects.

Internationalisation

The study programme provides students with the possibility of taking 30 ECTS (one semester) at an educational institution abroad, for instance during the sixth semester.

The Faculty of Art, Folk Culture and Teacher Education has reached agreements with institutions in Scandinavia and Europe through the exchange programmes Socrates/Erasmus and Nordplus. The agreements cover all subject areas. The student may obtain a scholarship to study abroad from one to twelve months. The principle of time parity applies, i.e. the time spent studying abroad is equivalent to the time that would have been spent in the Norwegian institution.

In order to participate in this programme students must have successfully completed one year of full time studies at the university college level.

Visiting students on exchange programmes at The Faculty of Art, Folk Culture and Teacher Education will be offered an introduction course in Norwegian (50 hours).

Theory and Practical Training

The programme offers the student many opportunities of studying various subjects, meeting supervisors and using various “teaching-voices”. This will provide them with a good foundation for reflecting upon the relationship between theory and practice.

The obligatory teaching practice has a duration of 20 weeks distributed over three years. Teaching practice in the fourth year includes a subject didactics’ component.

The teaching practice and subject teaching will strengthen the student’s ability to interpret and reflect upon their own classroom teaching and also the teaching of others. The teaching practice may run over consecutive weeks, or it may be organised according to a flexible plan. The training school and the university college will contribute to students developing skills that will enable them to master the various duties and responsibilities that are apportioned to a qualified teacher.

The teaching practice includes projects related to specific professional themes – for instance, fundamental reading, writing and arithmetic skills in the primary school; the school “take over” during the second year and language and learning during the first year.

Teaching practice plan

Year of study	Autumn	Spring	Flexible	Total number of weeks
1	2	5	1	8
2	3	2 + 2	1	8
3	2	4		4

Assessment Methods

An important aspect of the professional focus of the programme is to impart the joy of teaching, as well as individual written work, which forms a basis for both continuous and final assessment. The work portfolio will document the student’s development throughout the course of the programme and may include various types of work which the student must complete before he/she can be finally assessed. The presentation portfolio contains those documents which have been formally evaluated as part of the final assessment. Please refer to the respective curricula for the portfolio requirements. At the Faculty of Art, Folk Culture and Teacher Education at least 40% of the assessment is continuous assessment.

The programme includes various forms of documentation such as digital work portfolios created individually or in groups; oral presentations; dramatisations; demonstrations; and exhibitions. Various forms of feedback will provide students with training in justifying, mediating and documenting their work. The programme’s teaching, learning and assessment methods will contribute to the student being able to use the period of teaching practice to try out new theories, learn to work independently and in groups, and achieve progression in his/her studies.

Quality and suitability

In order to assure the quality of the study programme the following measures will be implemented:

Individual teaching plans will be drawn up, and there will be individual and group supervision, evaluation of the studies in an academic affairs committee, planning and assessment in the year-levels and seminar groups, meetings with representatives and external evaluation of the study programme at least once every five years.

The student can expect that the faculty will:

• Provide information on course material and academic expectations.
• Provides relevant teaching, supervision and examinations that correspond to the curriculum.
• Organise varied types of examinations.
• Provide objective and fair assessment.
• Organise learning supervision.

The faculty expect that the student will:

• Organise their time effectively, read the necessary course literature and be well prepared for lectures and other learning activities.
• Complete assignments and comment on the assignments of other students.
• Cooperate with other students and participate actively in the teaching.
• Be active in academic discussions and use Classfronter effectively.
• Participate in learning counselling and identify their learning aims.

The suitability assessment is included as part of the total assessment of the student’s professional and personal aptitude and pedagogical skills which will enable him/her to function as a teacher. Continuous assessment of suitability will be carried out throughout the whole of the study programme (cf. Regulations for Suitability Assessment, July 2003).

Minor adjustments may occur during the academic year, subject to the decision of the Dean