Child-oriented Activity in Early Childhood Education and Care (10 op)

Tavoitteet

Opiskelija osaa
- kuvata lapsen kasvun, kehityksen ja oppimisen teoreettisia lähtökohtia ja osaa hyödyntää niitä tukevia menetelmiä lapsen tarpeiden mukaisesti
- soveltaa varhaiskasvatuksen pedagogista ymmärrystä ja sosiaalipedagogista työotetta toiminnassaan
- hyödyntää pedagogisen dokumentoinnin mahdollisuuksia lapsilähtöisessä toiminnassa
- suunnitella, toteuttaa ja arvioida pedagogista, luovaa, eheyttävää, ilmiöpohjaista toimintaa

Oppimateriaali ja suositeltava kirjallisuus

- National Core Curriculum for Early Childhood Education and Care (2022): https://urly.fi/3vLb
- Convention on the Rights of the Child https://www.unicef.org/child-rights-convention/convention-text#
- Finnish Education Evaluation Centre (FINEEC / KARVI) https://karvi.fi/en/early-childhood-education/

Other materials and literature to be used are announced at the start of the course in the course's Canvas workspace.

All materials will be available online.

Toteutustapa

The course is part of the qualification of an early childhood education and care social pedagogue (varhaiskasvatuksen sosionomi).The lessons and workshops will take place online via Zoom. Attendance requirement at online lessons and workshops will be 80% / 100% to achieve the versatile theoretical and practical skills required for an early childhood education and care social pedagogue (varhaiskasvatuksen sosionomi).

The course includes individual, paired/ small group assignments, working life cooperation, home study and knowledge sharing seminars. Instructions for the assignments will be available at Canvas workspace a week before the course start. The course requires active participation and commitment to interactive studying. You will receive individual feedback for assignments from the teacher, and peer feedback may also be utilized.

The course includes three modules:

1) Child's growth, development and learning (4 cr)
2) Application of pedagogical and social pedagogical understanding (1 cr)
3) Planning, implementation and evaluation of a child-oriented project (5 cr)

Työelämäyhteistyö ja/tai TKI

The student has the opportunity to plan a creative, integrative and phenomenon-based project (5 cr) related to the course with a pair in an operating environment that suits them in cooperation with a work life partner.

Students obtain their project place themselves from a private or municipal early childhood
education services or an open early childhood education service, such as club activities, residents' and playgrounds, open daycare centers and open early childhood education activities. Students can also do the project at an internship or at their own workplace.

Toteutuksen tärkeät päivämäärät

The course starts on
22.10.2025 (14-17) online at Zoom. The first lesson is compulsory to everyone.

You will get the Zoom link and more information one week before the course starts (by email).

Other online lessons:
6.11.2025 (14-17)
13.11.2025 (14-17)
3.12.2025 Volunteer: SoSECE Erasmus seminar
4.12.2025 (14-17)
11.12.2025 (14-17) project presentations, compulsory

In addition to the online lessons you will have meetings with your study peers online (you can set up the dates and times by yourself in connection with the assignment due dates).

Based on the degree regulations (2024), the student accepted for the implementation is required to confirm their participation by showing activity at the start of the study in the following way:

In order to demonstrate activity, the student must be present at the first contact lesson or notify the teacher in charge of their absence to confirm their participation in the study. Registration will be rejected if the student does not report their absence at the start of the study or the reason for the absence cannot be considered justified. Another student can be taken in their place. The first contact lesson is 22.10.2025.

Kansainvälisyys toteutuksella

The study unit is suitable for exchange students.

Toteutuksen valinnaiset suoritustavat

1) RECOGNITION OF PRIOR LEARNING
Any competence that corresponds to the learning outcomes of the course can be included in it through recognition and accreditation of prior learning. The starting point is competence-based thinking: what matters is your competence itself, not how and where you acquired it. The procedures for the recognition and accreditation of prior learning are Recognition of prior studies and Demonstration of competence.

Where to start:
At first you would need to go carefully through the objectives, contents and assignments of the course to evaluate if there would be some entity / several entities where you already have know-how and competence? If yes, think how you can demonstrate your competence (e.g. earlier certificates, individual essay, short research or development project at your workplace, report, portfolio). Within one week of the start of the course contact the responsible teacher henna.jalasmaki@laurea.fi to arrange a Zoom meeting where we will discuss and identify your competence and agree on the method of demonstrating your competence.

OR

2) RECOGNITION OF WORK-BASED LEARNING
If you are working in ECEC at the same time that studying it would be possible to find an alternative way to complete the course or some part of it by recognizing what information and skills you can learn (or have already learned) at your workplace.

Where to start?
At first you would need to go carefully through the objectives, contents and assignments of the course to analyze if there would be some entity / several entities which you can learn at your work place?
If yes, think how you can learn those things in practice and how you can demonstrate your competence (e.g. essay, short research or development project at your workplace, report, portfolio).
Within one week of the start of the course contact the responsible teacher henna.jalasmaki@laurea.fi to arrange a Zoom meeting where we will discuss and identify your work situation, general and personal goals and agree on the method of learning and demonstrating your competence.

Opiskelijan ajankäyttö ja kuormitus

The scope of the course is 10 credits and means for the student 270 hours spent studying. It is important that you write down the due dates of the assignments in your calendar and reserve enough time to study the themes and issues. The course has both individual and group assignments and the modules rhythm the progress of the studies.

The structure of the course:
1) Child's growth, development and learning (4 cr)
2) Application of pedagogical and social pedagogical understanding (1 cr)
3) Planning, implementation and evaluation of a child-oriented project (5 cr)

In the third module of the course, it is good to reserve enough time for planning and implementing a child-oriented project.

Sisältö ja sen jaksotus

The course is completed online by participating in the Zoom online meetings according to the schedule of the course and completing tasks related to the course. Attendance requirement at online lessons and workshops will be 80% / 100% to achieve the versatile theoretical and practical skills required for an early childhood education social pedagogue. The first and the last lesson are compulsory. Participation in the lectures is recommenced because the assignments and tasks are related to the topics of the lecture.

The study course consists of three entities, which involve online meetings via zoom, independent work, online assignments and project work. The course uses the Canvas workspace for communication and assignment feedback. Instructions for the assignments will be available at Canvas workspace a week before the course start. The study requires activity and commitment to interactive learning. In online meetings, the possibility to use a camera and a microphone is required.

Arviointiasteikko

H-5

Lisätiedot

The study unit corresponds to the requirements of Bachelor's level education.

The prerequisite for participation is always that the possible competence prerequisites according to the curriculum (previous study or similar competence) are fulfilled. The student is responsible for taking into account the prerequisite conditions.

The quality of the study unit implementation has been assessed and the self-evaluation report is available for example in Canvas.