Course Objectives

Norwegian studies concern identity, culture, education and our relationship to the present and past. The course will help students situate themselves in a larger, multicultural setting.

Students will acquire subject skills, understanding and general competence, as specified below:

Modules 1 and 2

Students will be able to:

• Organise, implement and evaluate teaching in Norwegian language classes at various levels in grades 1-7 in primary schools, and justify their professional choices.
• Develop independent and professionally reflective attitudes towards the study of the Norwegian language, in which the education of the pupils will be stressed.
• Develop their own writing skills within an academic and factual prose tradition and be able to describe the relationship between writing and learning.
• Demonstrate skills in making oral presentations.
• Assess different types of Norwegian teaching materials based on certain criteria.
• Facilitate adaptive education at all levels.
• Facilitate special tuition in Norwegian for language minority pupils.

Module 1

Students will:

• Acquire knowledge regarding the importance of reading, writing and oral storytelling for pupils’ development and learning.
• Acquire knowledge of the characteristics of oral, written and composite texts in various genres and media.
• Be able to facilitate pupils’ reading of various types of texts, and develop their joy in reading and good reading and writing strategies.
• Be able to analyse and interpret various types of texts and mediate literature in a variety of ways, for instance by using drama methods.
• Study texts in Danish, Swedish, Sámi and foreign texts in translation, as well as texts that examine a multicultural society.
• Learn to facilitate and encourage pupils to use varied oral language.
• Be able to use IT-based tools in Norwegian teaching and create and evaluate electronic composite texts.

Course Description

The Norwegian course covers many different topics aimed at pupils in grades 1-7 in primary schools. These topics will in varying degrees be linked to an aesthetic dimension, for example in the form of working with picture books, composite texts, drama activities, drawing and writing arts. Students will gain knowledge of how practical and aesthetic teaching and learning methods can be used in the subject. They will develop a good understanding of the relationship between the subject, didactics and teaching practice.

Module 1 (15 ECTS credits) - Oral, written and composite texts. This module is taught in the autumn semester in the first year.

The module emphasises work on oral, written and composite texts. Using rhetorical and drama methods, students will acquire tools to work with targeted planning of pupils’ work within oral and written genres.

Further reading instruction will be emphasised in this module with a focus on reading and learning strategies and different ways of encouraging pupils to continue reading on their own. Attention will also be given to how students can work with reading comprehension for pupils who have Norwegian as a second language.

Much emphasis will be given to the importance of literature for the development of written language skills in children and as a contribution to identity development. Therefore, work with children’s poetry, picture books and other children’s literature is essential. Non-fiction for children is also important. The choice of literature and approach will be characterized by a multi-cultural perspective.

Students will be introduced to the analysis and assessment of pupils’ texts in various genres and media. In the work with children’s text creation, emphasis will be given to aesthetic approaches, such as using drawings and digital tools, and interpreting images. The course emphasises the analysis of aesthetic effects and interactions in composite texts, such as in textbooks, digital texts and in the theatre.

The course utilises research; for instance, by using research-based knowledge. In addition, students will apply theoretical and methodological principles when writing their assignments. The course in Norwegian is a textual subject; consequently, students will also receive an introduction to the basic theory of interpretation (hermeneutics).

Learning Methods

The course is taught over two semesters with exams after the first and second semesters. The whole course of studies in Norwegian comprises 30 ECTS credits. The workload is similar in each of the two semesters. Modules 1 and 2 are related to each other.

The teaching and learning methods are varied and include: joint lectures, seminars, tutoring in groups, writing groups, short courses, use of Fronter and individual counselling, for instance, in the form of learning dialogues. The learning dialogue (between the subject teacher, teaching practice mentor and student) will encourage the student’s awareness of what he/she has learned and needs to learn in order to become a good Norwegian teacher; it will focus on the student’s progress related to the set objectives of the subject.

The above also applies to students who follow a web-based course. However, lectures in this case will be given in real time online. Workshops on campus and communication between teaching staff and students online will function as important meeting places. Discussion groups with shared documents will be organised, and subject material will be posted. The online course will obviously focus more on the use of digital tools in promoting learning within the academic framework of the subject Norwegian.

In the subject Norwegian, it is important for students to write and produce texts. They will keep their assignments and texts in a digital work portfolio. The aim of the portfolio work is so students will be able to work on their texts revising them over a period of time.

The semester plan will be handed out at the beginning of each semester; the semester plan is a binding document that specifies the content of the course, mandatory requirements and information concerning the practical implementation of the course.

During the academic year students will also be given a number of assignments related to the teaching practice.

Assessment Methods

The course includes continuous and final assessment.

Assessment in module 1 consists of two compulsory stages. These must be passed in order to be registered for the examination and obtain final assessment. The stages are assessed on a pass / fail basis.

Stage 1: Submission of portfolio texts (individual and group texts). Students will receive feedback from the teachers on some of the texts; feedback on other texts will be given by the student’s co-students. The work portfolio must contain a specified number of texts before students will be permitted to take the examination in the first and second semesters (modules 1 and 2). The portfolio should contain an equal number of texts written in Nynorsk and Bokmål.

Stage 2: Mandatory seminar in oral narrative presentation (module 1).

The final assessment for Module 1 will be an individual oral examination. This examination focuses on subjects from the curriculum; from texts in the portfolio and / or an unknown text. Further clarification will be given at the start of the course. The examination will be evaluated with a grade from A to E, which will be entered on the diploma.

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