| CODE | EPE1009 | ||||||||
| TITLE | Young Children Exploring their Physical and Human Environment | ||||||||
| UM LEVEL | 01 - Year 1 in Modular Undergraduate Course | ||||||||
| MQF LEVEL | 5 | ||||||||
| ECTS CREDITS | 6 | ||||||||
| DEPARTMENT | Early Childhood and Primary Education | ||||||||
| DESCRIPTION | This study-unit prepares future early years’ educators to organize activities which engage young children with the world: the natural i.e. nature and how the world works; and the human world i.e. society and its history. It promotes awareness of how children are naturally curious about the world around them, mainly scientific phenomena and historical artifacts. Children ask about the rainbow, colours, water etc. and inquire about how the natural world works. They are also interested in and like to hear stories about how humans live or lived through contemporary and historical buildings, and other artifacts which reflect society today and in the past. This unit introduces different pedagogical approaches which can be used with young children in informal settings. In the case of learning about the natural world, it covers pedagogies based on the process of exploration and Inquiry on different aspect of scientific phenomena making up the physical, chemical and biological world. It also tackles how children engage with nature and inquiry-based learning about how different natural phenomena. It provides examples of inquiry situations which can be created for children under the age of 5, and how these situations can serve to help young children to develop their inquiry skills in science. The unit also presents pedagogies on how to engage young children in genuine historical learning activities, from which they can construct their own views of human life and society in the present and past. It considers ways of promoting young children's interactions and inquiries about historical artifacts as well as provides examples of how these can be organized in practice with respect to children under the age of five years. Study-Unit Aims: The study-unit aims: - to introduce inquiry-based learning as a pedagogy to explore scientific phenomena which can be implemented with young children under the age of 5 through informal settings; - to present models of pedagogical learning for planning, developing and implementing good pedagogies on teaching about historical aspects of society in the past and present world to young pupils. Learning Outcomes: 1. Knowledge & Understanding By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: Scientific Perspective - describe the key aspects of inquiry with respect to young children inquiring about scientific phenomena in the world around them; - identify the scientific principles behind phenomena which young children can inquire through first-hand experience. Historical Perspective - describe pedagogical approaches on teaching of historical aspects related to the society today and the past. 2. Skills By the end of the study-unit the student will be able to: Scientific Perspective - create informal situations where young children get engaged in inquiring about different scientific phenomena in the world around them; - sustain conversations with young children to promote children's reflection on the observations they make when inquiring about how particular scientific phenomena work. Historical Perspective - create resources and teaching materials which direct, manage and support pupils' learning with regard: 1. analysing historical sources; 2. understanding change in time, that is, the 'then' and 'now' concepts; 3. understanding sequence and chronology; 4. help promote good the key questions which are fundamental to children's learning of the world around them; 5. basic mapskills. Main Text/s and any supplementary readings: Main Texts: Readings from different journals will be provided by lecturer. Supplementary Readings: - Tunnicliffe S.D., (2015), Starting Inquiry-based Science in the Early Years: Look, talk, think and do, London:David Foulton - Tunnicliffe, S.D., (2013), Talking and Doing Science in the Early Years: A practical guide for ages 2-7, London: David Foulton - Beeley K, (2012), Science in the Early Years Foundation Stage: Hundreds of Ideas for Science-based Learning in the Early Years (Practitioners' Guides), London: Bloomsbury Publishin plc - Brunton, P & Thorton, L, (2009), Science in the Early Years: Building Firm Foundations from Birth to Five, London: Sage Education. |
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| STUDY-UNIT TYPE | Lecture, Independent Study and Practical | ||||||||
| METHOD OF ASSESSMENT |
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| LECTURER/S | Suzanne Gatt Giselle Theuma Yosanne Vella |
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The University makes every effort to ensure that the published Courses Plans, Programmes of Study and Study-Unit information are complete and up-to-date at the time of publication. The University reserves the right to make changes in case errors are detected after publication.
The availability of optional units may be subject to timetabling constraints. Units not attracting a sufficient number of registrations may be withdrawn without notice. It should be noted that all the information in the description above applies to study-units available during the academic year 2023/4. It may be subject to change in subsequent years. |
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