Course Description

In pre-school teacher education, Natural Sciences and Environmental Issues contributes to the acquisition of competence to be used in pedagogic work with children in day-care centres and schools, including organised after-school programmes. The subject matter of Natural Sciences and Environmental Issues takes into consideration children of different age groups and children from various cultural backgrounds and traditions, as well as children with special needs.

Natural sciences activities provide direct contact with nature and natural phenomena. They also form a good basis for developing ideas, language and arithmetic skills. Specific experiences linked to natural sciences topics may also provide all-round stimulation of the senses and stimulate children’s curiosity, desire to discover, creativity and motor skills.

Children’s relationship to nature is an important part of their upbringing and development. Attitudes towards environmental protection and nature conservation are founded in childhood. In order to develop closeness and a sense of safety and joy in relation to nature and to the local environment, it is important to have positive natural experiences. In turn, this may lead to a desire to preserve and protect nature and the environment.

It is also important to regard natural sciences as part of common knowledge in an ever more complicated and technologically driven society. In day-care centres, simple experiments related to everyday phenomena may spark an interest in natural sciences at an early age.

The course includes knowledge of natural sciences and didactic and methodological approaches to natural sciences in schools and day-care centres. Each major course unit includes examples of course components. Didactics are addressed in each target area.

Assessment Methods

Portfolio assignments

During the academic year students must submit two portfolios assignments that will receive graded marks; together, they count for 40% of the final grade. In addition, students are required to submit one portfolio assignment that will be assessed pass/fail. Students are required to receive approval of their portfolio assignments at least one month before the date of the examination in order to be allowed to sit the final examination.

Final examination

Four-hour individual final examination that is assessed on a graded scale, which counts for 60% of the final grade.

The course yields a single grade, graded from A to F, where A is the highest and E is the lowest passing grade. In order to achieve a final passing grade students must achieve a passing grade in each part of the assessment.

For further information, please refer to Telemark University College’s Examination Regulation.

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