LNHB314 Advanced course in Nature, Health and Movement (Autumn 2015–Spring 2016)

The course is connected to the following study programs

Elective specialisation course in the Bachelor programme in pre-school education, full-time. Nature, Health and Physical Activity is an area of specialisation in the programme that emphasises outdoor subjects and is based on Nature, Health and Physical Activity from the first year of study.

Prerequisites

All courses and teaching practice from the first and second year of study in the Bachelor programme in pre-school education, full-time must be passed.

Lecture Semester

Fifth and sixth semester (autumn and spring).

The course, formally, is taken over two semesters, but the majority of the teaching and exams takes place in the autumn semester. The student must complete and pass the compulsory excursions/ coursework requirements set in the spring semester before he/she is awarded the ECT credits.

The student's learning outcomes after completing the course

The objective is to provide students with supplementary knowledge and competence in order to meet the requirements and expectatio0ns stipulated in the National Guidelines for Kindergarten Teacher Education in the nature, health and physical activity field.

After completing the course, the candidate has knowledge about:

• the importance of nature experiences
• ecology, meteorology, geology, astronomy, common plants, fungi and animals
• local, regional and global environmental topics and sustainable development
• children and nature
• the importance of diet and physical games for health and development
• making food outdoors over a fire using a camp stove
• physical games in different surroundings and in different seasons
• physical games and diet in a multicultural society
• simple outdoor pursuits in different types of nature in all seasons
• safety when climbing
• orientation, planning routes, packing and leaving nature as you found it on trips in different seasons
• subject didactics and educational development work

After completing the course, the candidate has the following skills:

• is capable of stimulating children's games, creativity, physical play, curiosity and joy of nature
• is capable of stimulating children to enjoy simple outdoor pursuits in different types of nature in all seasons
• is capable of ensuring safe conduct when climbing with and without children
• is capable of taking responsibility for children's physical, mental and social health
• is capable of communicating nature knowledge to children
• is capable of using local natural resources to prepare educational activities on a day-to-day basis in kindergarten
• is capable of initiating educational development work on the topics children - physical activity - nature

After completing the course, the candidate has the following general competence:
Children show an early interest in nature and natural phenomena. Their curiosity and interest depend on the children's own experience and observations. Nature experiences are therefore very important in order to preserve, nurture and stimulate this interest. The most important attitudes to nature and environmental protection are formed early on. If children have positive experiences in nature as a result of, among other things, the candidate's ability to communicate, stimulate and create arenas for curiosity and learning, they will also later in life be interested in preserving the values nature has given them.

Content

The course is divided into three parts:

• Nature, health and physical activity (autumn semester)
• Winter activities course (spring semester)
• Spring activities (spring semester)

Each part concludes with a coursework requirement and all three parts must be passed in order for the student to be awarded a grade in the Nature, Health and Physical Activity course.

Teaching is based on practical activities/topics. The theoretical part of the course will underpin the practical work. One condition for ensuring that the stipulated objectives are achieved, is that emphasis is placed on an interaction between the theoretical and the practical part of the course. This will provide students with overall theoretical and practical competence. The course shall be activity-based and experience-oriented. Students are expected to play an active role in the course and to gradually take more responsibility for their own learning, for example through leading group work, introducing discussions, presenting their own work etc.

Topics that are covered:

• The environment and children in nature
• Flora and fauna in different seasons and environments
• Basic knowledge about interaction in nature
• Environmental challenges and our place in nature
• Seasonal variations relating to ecology and climate
• Basic geology, meteorology and astronomy, and how to use this in kindergarten
• Basic outdoor pursuits
• Climbing
• Physical activity, diet and health in a multicultural society
• Outdoor games in different environments in different seasons
• The structure and function of the human body
• Different perspectives on the body, the physical characteristics of toddlers, and the body's phenomenology
• Subject didactics in kindergarten

Practical knowledge:

• To enjoy nature safely in all seasons with and without children, and have good knowledge about orientation, clothing, route planning, packing and leaving nature as you found it.
• Food and health from a public health perspective
• Adaptation of activities for children in different learning environments in different seasons
• Climbing leading up to the Brattkort climbing test

Forms of teaching and learning

The work methods in the course are characterised by practical activities. Teaching is organised as outdoor activities and overnight stays in different natural environments in different seasons, field work in different biotopes, use of nature as part of the motor sensory development, active work on nature and environmental protection, and exploitation and use of natural resources. Activities are planned in which children and adults take part in developing a health-promoting and sustainable environment in kindergartens and schools.
Students must use ICT as a tool in connection with different work assignments in the course. Students shall also be familiar with the services the library offers.

Excursions

• Late summer: Four-day kayaking/canoeing trip in Haldenmarka: outdoor pursuits, spending the night outdoors, kayaking/canoeing, orientation, biotope work in water and the forest, astronomy
• Winter: Five-day excursion in the mountains: winter activities, skiing and snow course, sleeping in a snow cave, winter ecology, animal tracks and signs, games in and on the snow, first-aid in the winter
  
• Spring/early summer: Three-day excursion in the archipelago: kayaking/canoeing, activities at sea and on the beach, fishing, biotope work on the shore, making food from the sea.

In addition, other parts of the teaching will take place outdoors in the university college's local environment. There will also be some overnight trips in Østfold/Akershus counties. The students must therefore expect to spend at least 13 days away from home (the last day of an excursion is not included, as we will return home at the normal time). All excursions are compulsory. Each student must cover their own travel and accommodation expenses. More information is available from the university college.

Workload

The expected workload in the course is at least 35 hours per week including teaching.

Practical training/internship

Pre-school teacher students and kindergarten teacher students must complete compulsory teaching practice. Students in the kindergarten teacher programme have 10 days' teaching practice, and pre-school teacher students in the part-time programme have 20 days.

Coursework requirements - conditions for taking the exam

1. Compulsory participation in teaching. At least 80% attendance. If a student's attendance is less than 70%, he/she must repeat the whole course the following year.
2. A portfolio consisting of two individual assignments and six group assignments. All group activities relating to group assignments are compulsory.
3. Passed specialisation practice in the autumn semester
4. Participation in excursions. In the event of absence, the excursion must be taken again:

- Participate in late summer activities (autumn semester)
- Participate in winter activities (spring semester)
- Participate in spring activities (spring semester)

If one of the course requirements is not approved, the student has one opportunity to rectify this.

All required coursework must be approved before the student can take the exam.

Examination

The final assessment consists of several parts: a practical-oral exam in the autumn semester and two exams in the spring semester

Part 1 (autumn semester)
Individual oral exam. Duration: 25-30 minutes. No aids permitted.
The subject teacher asks the questions, but the external examiner can ask additional questions. The exam is based on the coursework requirements and the syllabus. The exam is assessed by an internal and external examiner. Letter grades on a scale from A to F are used, with A being the highest grade and E the poorest pass grade. F means that the exam has been failed.

Part 2 (spring semester)
Group assignment related to winter activities. The group assignment shall be prepared in accordance with specified criteria and be submitted within a stipulated deadline. The group assignment is assessed by an internal examiner and a Pass/Fail grade is awarded.

Part 3 (spring semester)
Group assignment related to spring activities. The group assignment shall be prepared in accordance with specified criteria and be submitted within a stipulated deadline. The group assignment is assessed by an internal examiner and a Pass/Fail grade is awarded.

If the student fails one of the parts, he/she can take this exam again. All parts must be passed in order for the course to be passed. An overall grade will be awarded for the course using grades from A to F.

Course evaluation

Feedback from our students is decisive in order for us to be able to offer the best possible courses and study programmes. The following forms of evaluation are used:

- midway evaluation
- continuous evaluation
- final evaluation

The results are considered by

- the grade level leader at a meeting of grade level leaders
- the programme coordinator at a programme committee meeting

Literature

The list was last updated on 23 June 2015.

Lundhaug, T.& Neegaard, H.R. 2013 Friluftsliv og uteliv i barnehagen. Cappelen Damm Akademisk

Misund, S: "Jeg vil mestre". Sebu forlag, 1996.

Nordbakke, Roy: Fugler. HiØ, 1994.

Nordbakke, Roy: Norske økosystemer. HiØ, 1998.

Nordbakke, Roy: Vinterøkologi. HiØ, 2003.

Nordbakke, Roy: Vær og klima. HiØ, 2003.

Nordbakke, Roy: Stjernehimmelen. HiØ, 2003.

Handouts from the teacher.