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:

• How education, care and play are all part of pedagogical work
• Children’s comprehensive, all-round development up to the age of six
• Language development, and linguistic awareness and its development
• Children’s dramatic play and aesthetic learning processes
• National and international research and development relevant to the teaching profession in kindergartens
• Digital tools in kindergartens and their educational use.

Skills

The candidate can:

• Facilitate children’s play, wonder and all-round development
• Analyse, plan, implement, document and reflect on educational activities, based on local conditions and needs
• Facilitate activities that strengthen children’s language development
• Have a professional approach to improvisation in play, learning and dissemination
• Reflect critically on their own teaching practice and make adjustments to this under guidance.
  

General competence

The candidate is:

• Able to express themselves professionally, both in writing and orally
• Able to ensure child participation and sense of mastery
• Aware of how important good language development is for a child’s quality of life
• Aware of the aesthetic dimension of child development, play, and learning
• Able to demonstrate change and development expertise by participating in development and innovation in the kindergarten.
  

Course Description

The knowledge area BULL 1 consists of four main areas which are interconnected and build on one another.

Main area 1. Introduction to the study program
Key topics include an overview of the study program, the knowledge area and its subjects, curricula, and the kindergarten as an educational institution. In addition, we will focus on the role of the student and the relevance of the expression, “The writing student”.

Main area 2. Children’s development and education
This area covers the child’s abilities, needs, education and all-round development. Motivation and mastery, participation, well-being and play are all key concepts. We emphasize children’s dramatic play, their desire to learn, curiosity, improvisation and their interest in discovering things. There is also a special focus on language development.

Main area 3. The kindergarten’s content and responsibilities
In this area, themes are related to content, planning, implementation, and documentation of work in the kindergarten. The area focuses on socialization and identity creation through play, wonder, learning, and care. In addition, education will be emphasized. Language, rhyme and rhythm are also explored here. Alongside this, we focus on the indoor and outdoor learning arenas in kindergartens, and professional ethics, including the environment and children’s participation.

Main area 4. Pedagogical leadership
In this area, we discuss the management and development of educational work, pedagogical reflection, facilitation of children’s play, and aesthetic learning processes. The management of processes related to care, play, wonder and learning are explored. Working with communication, language and text is a key part of this. In addition, we focus on supervision, personnel work, the management of interaction and collaboration, and cooperation with the home and other partners. Topics related to diversity, multiculturalism and multilingual children are also covered here.

Teaching and Learning Methods

The BULL course emphasizes student-centred teaching and learning methods; the student will plan, implement, evaluate, document and interact with others. The teaching methods are varied and adapted to differing topics within the knowledge area. Cooperation, understanding of the relationship between theory and practice, understanding of others’ values and the ability to be critical of their own positions, are all explored via the methods used. Practical training, lectures, discussions, field trips, seminars and group work are examples of methods that students will use.

There are special requirements associated with the practical training; please refer to the practical training notes for information on these. Students will be given professional assignments during the course of the study program. Such assignments will be presented as oral presentations in plenary or as academic texts, and considered as coursework requirements in the knowledge area. The assignments that are graded and included in the overall assessment of the course are described below under ‘Assessment methods’, as well as in the semester plans. Also, other details in connection with the organization of the course will be given in the semester plans.

The parts of the course instruction that are mandatory are described in the semester plans.

Assessment Methods

The course includes both written and oral assessment and the final course grade for BULL 1 is based on:

• Oral presentation in groups
• Individual written examination (six hours), weighted 100%

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