Learning outcome

After successfully completing the course, the candidate will have achieved the following learning outcomes defined in terms of knowledge, skills and general competence.

Knowledge

The candidate has knowledge of:

• The youngest kindergarten children’s behaviour and their learning through play and social interaction with other children and adults
• The quality criteria of interactions between children and adults
• New research relevant to young children and aesthetics
• Children’s musical development and expressions
• Musical elements and activities
• How to facilitate musical expressions and impressions in varied ways
• The body, space, instruments and improvisation in play, and staged interactions with children
• Children’s participation in staged encounters
• Performative aesthetics.
  

Skills

The candidate can:

• Interact and communicate with young children
• Critically reflect on educational work with the youngest children in the kindergarten
• Plan, implement and evaluate the kindergarten’s day-to-day operation on the basis of the National Curriculum’s (R11) content and tasks
• Master playing relevant instrument(s), songs and using audio sources that are appropriate in the kindergarten
• Lead musical activities with young children, and make music along with children
• Organise the kindergarten’s sound environment
• Use space, body, instruments and improvisation skilfully in staged collaboration with young children
• Plan, implement and evaluate creative and exploratory activities with young children
• Organise children’s participation in aesthetic activities.

General competence

The candidate can:

• Facilitate children’s aesthetic needs
• Adopt a reflective attitude to the role of the professional as caregiver, educator and culture disseminator
• Assess and use current research in their pedagogical work
• Establish the conditions for children’s musical development and expression
• Organise musical expressions and impressions in varied ways
• Develop their own musical competence
• Make use of the arts for young children, and research about art and children
• Reflect upon and assess their role in relation to the child’s aesthetic development
• Develop their own dramatic skills.

Course Description

The course will provide a foundation for the student to reflect on their own role as caregiver, educator and culture disseminator. It will focus on the quality of professional competence. Students will gain experience leading aesthetic and creative processes with young children. The course will provide students with an understanding of the relationship between young children’s behaviour and their aesthetic expressions. This will prepare students for the educational challenges and opportunities that present themselves when working with aesthetic subjects and young children.

The course will focus on songs and games as a way of communicating with young children. Students will also work with space, body, voice and dramatic devices as key components in creative activities and processes with young children.

Teaching and Learning Methods

Through creative work and reflection, the course will provide students with an understanding of the relationship between theory and practice.

The course includes lectures, discussions, field trips, group work and workshops.

The student must spend time on their own practice and work with practical skills in music and drama

Workshop days and study-days are mandatory.

Assessment Methods

Coursework requirements:

• A staged interaction with young children

The coursework requirement must receive a passing mark in order to receive a final passing mark for the course.

• Theoretical, individual written examination, weighted 40%.
• Practical group examination, weighted 60%

A single letter grade (A to F) will be entered on the diploma, where A represents the highest and E the lowest passing grade. Each element of the course must be completed with a passing mark in order for the student to achieve a passing mark in the course. Please refer to the Telemark University College Examination Regulations for further information.

The course is subject to minor changes.

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