The programme is designed for people who want to study part time alongside employment. It can be completed in two years (four semesters). Teaching is both face to face and through distance learning, with mandatory attendance for face-to-face blocks.
Face-to-face blocks are twice per semester; otherwise study is very flexible. In the second year, students do placements at an upper secondary school under the guidance of mentor teachers. Attendance is compulsory for placements in schools.
Upon graduation from a teacher's program at an Icelandic university, a teacher must have a competency in Icelandic that corresponds to a minimum of C1 in the European Language Framework.
Here you can see the Language Framework of the Council of Europe.
Applicants have to fulfill legal provisions no. 95/2019 regarding subject studies in a vocational subject (letter of master's certification in a trade, vocational/industrial training, technological studies, engineering studies or other equivalent studies). A two-year training in the field is required for those with vocational training.
Applicants who have completed a qualification equivalent to Icelandic upper‑secondary school examination from a foreign school must also pass a special Icelandic entrance examination.
Students complete mandatory courses, 40 ECTS of which 6 ECTS are completed at the field of teaching. Furtermore students complete 20 ECTS of elective courses.
Check below to see how the programme is structured.
This programme does not offer specialisations.
The main objective of the course is to prepare students for reading, writing and communicating academic texts.
The course will cover various types of scholarly material and its representation. Students will familiarise themselves with different aspects of academic writing and learn to distinguish between different genres. Students will be trained in independent and critical reading of different texts. Copyright, plagiarism, and fake news will also be discussed.
Students will acquire skills in working with academic texts, such as abstracts and summaries and in using sources when writing their own texts. They will also receive instructions in making bibliographies and using citation systems. Students will also be trained to use source material in their own writing and to distinguish their own voice from the source.
The aim of the course is to enable students to create new knowledge about learning and teaching in trade schools. Participants increase their understanding of its uniqueness and critically examine their own attitudes towards what the learning and teaching these subjects entails.
CONTENT / SUBJECT MATTER:
Trends in theories and the practice of learning and teaching. How do people learn and how can a teacher help people learn? What is good teaching? Curricula and their creation, writing learning outcomes, creating lesson plans, learning assessment and the use of information technology in teaching. These subjects will be examined in the light of pedagogy, sociology, psychology and philosophy.
METHOD:
The course will be taught in a format called "HyFlex". This means that participants can choose whether to attend school, participate via teleconferencing in real time or listen to recordings and actively participate in the collaboration of participants online between regular meetings.
The course has two obligatory "whole day face to face sessions" where all participants work together for a whole day in the school premises in relation to the course content. Important decisions about the course will be made there, the participants get to know each other well and activities support their cooperation in the course. In this and allo real-time sessions we use methods that are useful in all teaching so that participants experience a variety og teaching methods that they can then use when planning their studies and teaching.
There are weekly face to face sessions the school premises with the possibility of online participation.
Between meetings and the whole day sessions, collaboration takes place on the course website, e.g. through written discussions on the course discussion threads.
I
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The module is organized as flipped classroom. Every other week students acquire information from videos and reading material. And every other week there will be real-time classroom or online activities. Students who are not able to participate in real-time activities will have to rely on self-study (journaling). Students can complete this module as distance learning.
Objective and course description
The object of this module is for students to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of policy planning, ideology, and support services for students with various learning needs in upper secondary schools.
The official education policy of inclusive education will be introduced together with the idea of universal design for learning, as well as laws and regulations that apply to students in upper secondary schools. In the module’s discussions, emphasis will be placed on the support services that secondary schools offer to students. The diversity of upper secondary school students will be discussed and explained how teachers can accommodate students on an individual basis. The participants in this module will also examine the causes and consequences of high drop-out rates in upper secondary schools.
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The course is an introduction to design and craft education: Design and woodwork, Textiles and design and Health promotion and home economics. Project ideas are adapted to different subjects of the course. Emphasis is placed on knowledge and skills aspects from idea to completion in all work components of the course. Students work on subjects that are suitable for school work and record work processes in photographs, drawings and in text form.
Aim: To learn traditional methods in silversmithing.
General Description: The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners. The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners.
Course Content:
Working Methods: Craft activities and lectures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher
This course will focus on Icelandic culture and literature in a broad understanding, as well as how both factor into language use and linguistic world of different subjects within the school system.
This will include a discussion of basic concepts of literary theory, discourse analysis and cultural studies, and a variety of methods and media in teaching will be introduced, which can increase understanding and interest among elementary school students in their own culture as well as other cultures.
Students will have the opportunity to read literary fiction from both past and present and put it into context with their own experiences as well as their future approach to teaching different school subjects.
A variety of texts will be discussed, both fiction as well as practical/didactic texts and recreational texts, with the goal that students realize and appreciate that language is the tool we use in all our daily lives and studies regardless of subject. The deep layers of meaning found in all manner of texts will be analyzed, and students will be given the proper tools to scrutinize texts in their surroundings in an independent and critical manner.
This course will focus on interweaving of different elementary school subjects and how Icelandic is the subject that binds all other subjects together, emphasizing the teacher’s role of teaching in Icelandic, rather than teaching Icelandic as a subject. For this reason a special focus will be placed on how Icelandic provides a base for the teaching of several other subjects, including social studies, mathematics, natural sciences, foreign languages, and not least art subjects, e.g. visual arts and drama.
This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars. This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
Literature: Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual and photocopies from the teacher.
In the course teacher students are introduced to the main goals of teaching mathematics in compulsory schools. The emphasis is both on content and the process of teaching and learning.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students will study how different approaches in teaching affect learning. Consideration is given to the role of the teacher and competances to be expected.
Students use ICT in their own learning and in connection with the teaching of mathematics.
This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures. This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The aim is to teach students how local woods can be used as a basis for craft and other school activities.
The course focuses on teaching students about using local woods as a basis for education and utilising wet wood for craft. It, also, shows students how knowledge of woods and woodland and knowledge from various subject areas can be link together, in order to make the woods a basis for educational activities. It, furthermore, deals with the possibilities linking together human beings and nature, within an educational context, in order to meet different needs of students.
Students in Design and Craft having exchange at schools will undertake specific projects in order to prepare them for their teacher training.
Computer games in education and teaching will be discussed, with a special emphasis on gaming worlds and online games and open online playgrounds and the connection of such games to education and leisure activities. Game culture will be examined, classification systems and characteristics of computer games, their importance in leisure culture and their connection to social issues. In particular, gender equality perspectives in video games and video game culture will be examined, as well as various issues, for example related to gender, addiction and/or gambling addiction. Tools will be used to build educational games/educational games and the possibilities of gamification in education will be discussed. Learning games in various types of computer environments will be discussed, such as 3D worlds on the Internet and games that use smart computers or phones.
How can the field of information and technology education be described, and what is meant when discussing innovation education or innovation in education? What is the reference to when discussing the information and knowledge society, information and technological literacy, digital content creation and multimedia, media literacy or pluralism, digital communication and learning communities, digital citizenship and participation in a democratic society, technology and programming suitable for children and young people, design thinking and entrepreneurship education, playing with ideas, problem-solving and collaborative creativity?
When did digital equipment first enter Icelandic primary schools, what has been the development since then and where is it heading? What obstacles and opportunities do technological advances in communication and schooling entail? What is also the history of innovation education in primary schools and how does it relate to ideas about new times, collaboration and solution-oriented working methods? What are the components of information technology, innovation and digital media in policy making and the curriculum and how are they related to other fields of study, key competences and basic aspects of education?
In this introductory course, we examine the above-mentioned topics in a domestic and international context while giving students the opportunity to work on practical and creative projects, test technical possibilities and digital tools that offer interesting opportunities in learning and teaching. Students improve their skills in this field and look to the practical possibilities in the field and the opportunities that lie in new technology for conceptual work, communication and professional development. Emphasis is placed on the formation of a strong learning community that takes an active part in the course, tackles challenges and shares ideas and experiences in lively educational camps and through digital dissemination online.
The primary focus of the course will be on teaching natural and social sciences and on how these subjects can be integrated through the Storyline approach. Special issues and tasks will be chosen within the natural and social sciences and integrated with other subject areas. Teaching materials, equipment, and the teaching environment that support learning and teaching will be explored, and appropriate assessment methods will be introduced and discussed. Students will learn to apply information technology tools and a creative approach in teaching and learning.
The teacher students strengthen their knowledge of selected mathematical topics, including number theory and geometry.
The course also treats numeration systems and basic arithmetic.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry-based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students reflect on how different approaches in teaching affect students understanding of mathematical concepts.
The course focuses on play and creative work with children involving digital devices and technology. Students review and discuss different sources on creative work digital technologies at the preschool and premium school level. They get acquainted with demonstrative examples of practice in selected schools and look for fruitful ways to apply information technologies and digital media in educational activities with young pupils. Students wrestle with animation, drawing and creative editing of photos with digital tools in relation to digital storytelling. Pioneers in programming designed for children are introduced as well as tools to create simple materials, stories and games with visual programming systems designed for young users. Students also get to try out a selection of digital devices and pedagogical technology sets designed for the young. Some of these activities involve making and artistic expressions in different materials. Students get to design and draw objects for laser cutting and 3-dimensional printing, as well reflect on entrepreneurship and inventive learning as pedagogial focus areas in education. They describe their efforts and experimental work with technical sets and equipment in pictures, videos and texts displayed on websites set up with templates of their own choice.
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about motion, forces, and energy to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as simple machines, motion, velocity, acceleration, force, inertia, mass, lows of motion, the gravitational forces, frictional forces, adding forces, work, power, various energy forms such as kinetic energy, gravitational energy, elastic energy, transformation of energy from one form to another, conservation of energy, useable energy, energy in nature, and energy in society. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
In the course, students will be introduced to the theories and tools that support cultivating creativity and innovation in the classroom. The course empowers participants to apply teaching methods that encourage curiosity, creativity and design thinking in their students. The basics of innovation education, design thinking, and challenge-based learning, will be discussed, as well as how these theories and methods can be used when teaching various age groups in diverse fields, e.g. related to art, technology and social studies. The course will review methods to promote entrepreneurial thinking, promote resilience, and encourage collaboration and teamwork in the classroom. The course will help participants gain an understanding of how innovation can become a central part of creative education.
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Course description in English:* The focus in this course will be on the Icelandic language and its variation, with a special emphasis on its use within the classroom without regard to the subject matter at hand. In addition, some attention will be given to the language and vocabulary of each school subject.
The students’ language will be in focus and how they acquired it. Varied language use among the students will be discussed and how it changes according to different situations, from informal use on social media to formal writing, which can be related to the registers teacher has to use when talking to their pupils in different situations. Students will get the opportunity to analyse their own language use and that of others with the help of the appropriate terminology.
The vocabulary and its three levels will be discussed, where the emphasis will be on the terminology and language use of different school subjects and how they should be taught, not least when it comes to pupils’ varied language abilities, both among pupils who have Icelandic as a first or second language.
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Thematic learning is a learning method in which students acquire certain knowledge and skills by working together, usually interdisciplinarily, on a specific project for a longer period of time than is generally the case in schools, where knowledge and skills are drawn from more than one subject. They seek answers to a complex question, find a solution to a problem (problem based learning), create or create something that tests their abilities and ingenuity. In this context, the learning environment, procedures and tools in thematic studies, teaching methods, such as consensus studies and democratic teaching, the organisation of thematic projects and students' project work are discussed. Various ways to arouse students' interest and work in a creative way in school work will be presented, e.g. in creative workshops, with computer games and game creation, or with the involvement of museums, and other educational and cultural institutions. The course discusses the integration of subjects and methods for integrating subjects through the use of information and communication technology, the role of teachers and students, the development of learning objectives, and their relationship to academic performance and assessment in integrated schooling.
Participants in this course plan the projects to be undertaken, how they organise their work and make lesson plans, and discuss how they use information and communication technology to gather, process and communicate it. It is imperative that participants are very interested in seeking answers each time, consider it important to solve a specific problem or create an original work.
Projects of this kind put a lot of pressure on collaboration, initiative, problem-solving and an open or multifaceted approach. At the same time, critical and creative thinking are very important. The projects that will be created could be, for example, a short film, a radio play, a film, a video game production, a web or a musical, and will be made available to the Icelandic public or, as the case may be, to netizens wherever they live.
Two projects will be carried out. Work on the first lasts for one to one and a half months, while the second lasts for two and a half to three months.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
The course focuses on practical professional communication, especially as it relates to prospective work in the fields of social pedagogy and youth work.
The students use several methods and media in their work, including drama, speech and digital media, analysing their own and others' ways of interacting in order to increase their communicative competence.
This course is about moral philosophy with emphasis on consequentialist and deontological theories, human rights and ethical concepts, e.g. autonomy, welfare, right to privacy, and human dignity. It also deals with the relationship between ethics and professionalism.
Special emphasis is on relating the theoretical knowledge with issues and dilemmas in the work of professionals who work with diverse groups in the society
The course aims at enhancing students ability to plan and prepare event with tools of project management. Emphasis is on collaboration and group projects so students should be more prepared for further studies, future jobs and diverse organisational participations. The course is mandatory for students in leisure studies and social education and aims at meeting the demand for skills in event and project management in the field of leisure, recreation and youth work. It´s also available for other students within the University of Iceland at their choice.
The course requires students active participation in discussions and assignments for building a good and supportive learning environment and success for all. We also focus on positive interactions and communications and responsibility of all students for their actions and study.
Subject matter
During the course, issues of organising event projects will be discussed. A main focus is on preparation, analysing, planning, performing and evaluationg events, fx. in the field of leisure, recreation and culture. Cases such as meetings, conferences, concerts, festivals, sports events, annual dates and festivals will be discussed and looked into. Discussion about law environment, regulations and safety issues and the role of events for leisure, recreation and travel along with educational and social meaning and influence of events.
How?
Lectures, discussions, assignments and field trips. In the course students work on their own event in groups, planning, preparing, performing and evaluating it, and also peer reviewing co-students plans and events and on line "reading-exams".
The course is for both distant students and on field students. Attendance is mandatory to 80% for on field students and for distance students in on field sessions.
Mininum grade og 5.0 is required for every assignment.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
Aim: To learn to design and make toys in a pedagogical context.
General Description: The main undertakings are to help student to develop their knowledge and skill to design educational toys and build it. Students learn to use simple cad, which enables them to draw up their own designs in a professional and easy manner. Students design and make educational toys for different age.
Ways of working: Teaching methods are based on lectures and practical work.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context. The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context.
The course is organized around three basic topics: (i) The human being as a rational, sentient and ethical being, (i) the aims of education and (iii) freedom and democracy. Among the philosophers and educational theorists discussed in the course are Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Dewey, Key, Neill and Freire.
Sociology of education is the subject matter of this course. Fundamental theoretical perspectives will be introduced and explored in the context of various themes and educational debates through time. Among themes are the role and purpose of education, different trends in parenting, the foundation of schools and school systems, the role of families and society, access to education, modernization and individualism, equality, and social mobility. An emphasis will be on combining historical and theoretical perspectives on upbringing and education, where distinctive features of education will be explored in the context of societal development. The focus will be on the Icelandic context, but in relation to development in neighbouring countries.
The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the developmental changes that occur from birth through adolescence.
Content:
The course will cover a broad range of developmental changes across different phases of childhood and adolescence, as well as theories that describe and explain them. Theories of cognitive, emotional, and social development, self-development, and moral development will be discussed. The approaches of behaviourism and ecological theory will also be highlighted. The origins and nature of individual differences, the continuity and discontinuity of development, and the plasticity of development will be discussed. The interaction between development and learning, motivation, parenting practices, culture, and different social environments will be addressed. A strong emphasis will be placed on understanding child development when working with children in applied settings.
Procedure:
The course will consist of lectures and recitations. Students will have a chance to discuss the course topics and deepen their understanding of the age group they plan to focus on during their studies and work.
Students will become competent in organizing outdoor education and outdoor activities for people of all ages in both summer and winter. The focus is on the one hand, enjoy nature, and to identify how nature can be a platform for upbringing and education (such as the focus on plants, animals or landscapes).
Emphasis is on the value of outdoor and adventure education and how it can be used as an important and successful tool in working with people, theories about outdoor education and experiential learning, group processes, personal and social growth and development. Focus is on connection to nature, group work and cooperation, team building and improving self-esteem and self-image. Also on practical matters, such as clothing, finding your way in the outdoors and environmental and safety issues.
Students are encouraged to use a reflective journal in the course for reflection, notes and ideas.
Students take one two-night journey 6.10.-8.10. and one overnight stay 11.11.-12.11, 2025.
Students have to pay all travel costs.
Course Assessment
To finish the course students need to:
- Plan, prepare and carrie out an outdoor learning project with peer-students.
- Write a chapter about defined subject in "a student book" on Outdoor Education.
- Reflection and self evaluation about the mutual trips / journeys and the course.
- Go on the mutual trips / journeys and attend classes.
- Distance students have to write summaries from lectures and participate in a class and/or web discussions.
- Reading exames.
5.0 is the minimum grade for each assignment.
Minimum attendanse is 80%
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about electricity and magnetism to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as electricity, charges, electrical forces, electric currents, magnets, magnetic force, interaction of electricity and magnetism, and production and utilization of electricity. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
The course covers the following aspects:
The main objective of the course is to prepare students for reading, writing and communicating academic texts.
The course will cover various types of scholarly material and its representation. Students will familiarise themselves with different aspects of academic writing and learn to distinguish between different genres. Students will be trained in independent and critical reading of different texts. Copyright, plagiarism, and fake news will also be discussed.
Students will acquire skills in working with academic texts, such as abstracts and summaries and in using sources when writing their own texts. They will also receive instructions in making bibliographies and using citation systems. Students will also be trained to use source material in their own writing and to distinguish their own voice from the source.
The aim of the course is to enable students to create new knowledge about learning and teaching in trade schools. Participants increase their understanding of its uniqueness and critically examine their own attitudes towards what the learning and teaching these subjects entails.
CONTENT / SUBJECT MATTER:
Trends in theories and the practice of learning and teaching. How do people learn and how can a teacher help people learn? What is good teaching? Curricula and their creation, writing learning outcomes, creating lesson plans, learning assessment and the use of information technology in teaching. These subjects will be examined in the light of pedagogy, sociology, psychology and philosophy.
METHOD:
The course will be taught in a format called "HyFlex". This means that participants can choose whether to attend school, participate via teleconferencing in real time or listen to recordings and actively participate in the collaboration of participants online between regular meetings.
The course has two obligatory "whole day face to face sessions" where all participants work together for a whole day in the school premises in relation to the course content. Important decisions about the course will be made there, the participants get to know each other well and activities support their cooperation in the course. In this and allo real-time sessions we use methods that are useful in all teaching so that participants experience a variety og teaching methods that they can then use when planning their studies and teaching.
There are weekly face to face sessions the school premises with the possibility of online participation.
Between meetings and the whole day sessions, collaboration takes place on the course website, e.g. through written discussions on the course discussion threads.
I
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The module is organized as flipped classroom. Every other week students acquire information from videos and reading material. And every other week there will be real-time classroom or online activities. Students who are not able to participate in real-time activities will have to rely on self-study (journaling). Students can complete this module as distance learning.
Objective and course description
The object of this module is for students to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of policy planning, ideology, and support services for students with various learning needs in upper secondary schools.
The official education policy of inclusive education will be introduced together with the idea of universal design for learning, as well as laws and regulations that apply to students in upper secondary schools. In the module’s discussions, emphasis will be placed on the support services that secondary schools offer to students. The diversity of upper secondary school students will be discussed and explained how teachers can accommodate students on an individual basis. The participants in this module will also examine the causes and consequences of high drop-out rates in upper secondary schools.
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The course is an introduction to design and craft education: Design and woodwork, Textiles and design and Health promotion and home economics. Project ideas are adapted to different subjects of the course. Emphasis is placed on knowledge and skills aspects from idea to completion in all work components of the course. Students work on subjects that are suitable for school work and record work processes in photographs, drawings and in text form.
Aim: To learn traditional methods in silversmithing.
General Description: The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners. The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners.
Course Content:
Working Methods: Craft activities and lectures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher
This course will focus on Icelandic culture and literature in a broad understanding, as well as how both factor into language use and linguistic world of different subjects within the school system.
This will include a discussion of basic concepts of literary theory, discourse analysis and cultural studies, and a variety of methods and media in teaching will be introduced, which can increase understanding and interest among elementary school students in their own culture as well as other cultures.
Students will have the opportunity to read literary fiction from both past and present and put it into context with their own experiences as well as their future approach to teaching different school subjects.
A variety of texts will be discussed, both fiction as well as practical/didactic texts and recreational texts, with the goal that students realize and appreciate that language is the tool we use in all our daily lives and studies regardless of subject. The deep layers of meaning found in all manner of texts will be analyzed, and students will be given the proper tools to scrutinize texts in their surroundings in an independent and critical manner.
This course will focus on interweaving of different elementary school subjects and how Icelandic is the subject that binds all other subjects together, emphasizing the teacher’s role of teaching in Icelandic, rather than teaching Icelandic as a subject. For this reason a special focus will be placed on how Icelandic provides a base for the teaching of several other subjects, including social studies, mathematics, natural sciences, foreign languages, and not least art subjects, e.g. visual arts and drama.
This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars. This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
Literature: Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual and photocopies from the teacher.
In the course teacher students are introduced to the main goals of teaching mathematics in compulsory schools. The emphasis is both on content and the process of teaching and learning.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students will study how different approaches in teaching affect learning. Consideration is given to the role of the teacher and competances to be expected.
Students use ICT in their own learning and in connection with the teaching of mathematics.
This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures. This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The aim is to teach students how local woods can be used as a basis for craft and other school activities.
The course focuses on teaching students about using local woods as a basis for education and utilising wet wood for craft. It, also, shows students how knowledge of woods and woodland and knowledge from various subject areas can be link together, in order to make the woods a basis for educational activities. It, furthermore, deals with the possibilities linking together human beings and nature, within an educational context, in order to meet different needs of students.
Students in Design and Craft having exchange at schools will undertake specific projects in order to prepare them for their teacher training.
Computer games in education and teaching will be discussed, with a special emphasis on gaming worlds and online games and open online playgrounds and the connection of such games to education and leisure activities. Game culture will be examined, classification systems and characteristics of computer games, their importance in leisure culture and their connection to social issues. In particular, gender equality perspectives in video games and video game culture will be examined, as well as various issues, for example related to gender, addiction and/or gambling addiction. Tools will be used to build educational games/educational games and the possibilities of gamification in education will be discussed. Learning games in various types of computer environments will be discussed, such as 3D worlds on the Internet and games that use smart computers or phones.
How can the field of information and technology education be described, and what is meant when discussing innovation education or innovation in education? What is the reference to when discussing the information and knowledge society, information and technological literacy, digital content creation and multimedia, media literacy or pluralism, digital communication and learning communities, digital citizenship and participation in a democratic society, technology and programming suitable for children and young people, design thinking and entrepreneurship education, playing with ideas, problem-solving and collaborative creativity?
When did digital equipment first enter Icelandic primary schools, what has been the development since then and where is it heading? What obstacles and opportunities do technological advances in communication and schooling entail? What is also the history of innovation education in primary schools and how does it relate to ideas about new times, collaboration and solution-oriented working methods? What are the components of information technology, innovation and digital media in policy making and the curriculum and how are they related to other fields of study, key competences and basic aspects of education?
In this introductory course, we examine the above-mentioned topics in a domestic and international context while giving students the opportunity to work on practical and creative projects, test technical possibilities and digital tools that offer interesting opportunities in learning and teaching. Students improve their skills in this field and look to the practical possibilities in the field and the opportunities that lie in new technology for conceptual work, communication and professional development. Emphasis is placed on the formation of a strong learning community that takes an active part in the course, tackles challenges and shares ideas and experiences in lively educational camps and through digital dissemination online.
The primary focus of the course will be on teaching natural and social sciences and on how these subjects can be integrated through the Storyline approach. Special issues and tasks will be chosen within the natural and social sciences and integrated with other subject areas. Teaching materials, equipment, and the teaching environment that support learning and teaching will be explored, and appropriate assessment methods will be introduced and discussed. Students will learn to apply information technology tools and a creative approach in teaching and learning.
The teacher students strengthen their knowledge of selected mathematical topics, including number theory and geometry.
The course also treats numeration systems and basic arithmetic.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry-based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students reflect on how different approaches in teaching affect students understanding of mathematical concepts.
The course focuses on play and creative work with children involving digital devices and technology. Students review and discuss different sources on creative work digital technologies at the preschool and premium school level. They get acquainted with demonstrative examples of practice in selected schools and look for fruitful ways to apply information technologies and digital media in educational activities with young pupils. Students wrestle with animation, drawing and creative editing of photos with digital tools in relation to digital storytelling. Pioneers in programming designed for children are introduced as well as tools to create simple materials, stories and games with visual programming systems designed for young users. Students also get to try out a selection of digital devices and pedagogical technology sets designed for the young. Some of these activities involve making and artistic expressions in different materials. Students get to design and draw objects for laser cutting and 3-dimensional printing, as well reflect on entrepreneurship and inventive learning as pedagogial focus areas in education. They describe their efforts and experimental work with technical sets and equipment in pictures, videos and texts displayed on websites set up with templates of their own choice.
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about motion, forces, and energy to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as simple machines, motion, velocity, acceleration, force, inertia, mass, lows of motion, the gravitational forces, frictional forces, adding forces, work, power, various energy forms such as kinetic energy, gravitational energy, elastic energy, transformation of energy from one form to another, conservation of energy, useable energy, energy in nature, and energy in society. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
In the course, students will be introduced to the theories and tools that support cultivating creativity and innovation in the classroom. The course empowers participants to apply teaching methods that encourage curiosity, creativity and design thinking in their students. The basics of innovation education, design thinking, and challenge-based learning, will be discussed, as well as how these theories and methods can be used when teaching various age groups in diverse fields, e.g. related to art, technology and social studies. The course will review methods to promote entrepreneurial thinking, promote resilience, and encourage collaboration and teamwork in the classroom. The course will help participants gain an understanding of how innovation can become a central part of creative education.
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Course description in English:* The focus in this course will be on the Icelandic language and its variation, with a special emphasis on its use within the classroom without regard to the subject matter at hand. In addition, some attention will be given to the language and vocabulary of each school subject.
The students’ language will be in focus and how they acquired it. Varied language use among the students will be discussed and how it changes according to different situations, from informal use on social media to formal writing, which can be related to the registers teacher has to use when talking to their pupils in different situations. Students will get the opportunity to analyse their own language use and that of others with the help of the appropriate terminology.
The vocabulary and its three levels will be discussed, where the emphasis will be on the terminology and language use of different school subjects and how they should be taught, not least when it comes to pupils’ varied language abilities, both among pupils who have Icelandic as a first or second language.
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Thematic learning is a learning method in which students acquire certain knowledge and skills by working together, usually interdisciplinarily, on a specific project for a longer period of time than is generally the case in schools, where knowledge and skills are drawn from more than one subject. They seek answers to a complex question, find a solution to a problem (problem based learning), create or create something that tests their abilities and ingenuity. In this context, the learning environment, procedures and tools in thematic studies, teaching methods, such as consensus studies and democratic teaching, the organisation of thematic projects and students' project work are discussed. Various ways to arouse students' interest and work in a creative way in school work will be presented, e.g. in creative workshops, with computer games and game creation, or with the involvement of museums, and other educational and cultural institutions. The course discusses the integration of subjects and methods for integrating subjects through the use of information and communication technology, the role of teachers and students, the development of learning objectives, and their relationship to academic performance and assessment in integrated schooling.
Participants in this course plan the projects to be undertaken, how they organise their work and make lesson plans, and discuss how they use information and communication technology to gather, process and communicate it. It is imperative that participants are very interested in seeking answers each time, consider it important to solve a specific problem or create an original work.
Projects of this kind put a lot of pressure on collaboration, initiative, problem-solving and an open or multifaceted approach. At the same time, critical and creative thinking are very important. The projects that will be created could be, for example, a short film, a radio play, a film, a video game production, a web or a musical, and will be made available to the Icelandic public or, as the case may be, to netizens wherever they live.
Two projects will be carried out. Work on the first lasts for one to one and a half months, while the second lasts for two and a half to three months.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
The course focuses on practical professional communication, especially as it relates to prospective work in the fields of social pedagogy and youth work.
The students use several methods and media in their work, including drama, speech and digital media, analysing their own and others' ways of interacting in order to increase their communicative competence.
This course is about moral philosophy with emphasis on consequentialist and deontological theories, human rights and ethical concepts, e.g. autonomy, welfare, right to privacy, and human dignity. It also deals with the relationship between ethics and professionalism.
Special emphasis is on relating the theoretical knowledge with issues and dilemmas in the work of professionals who work with diverse groups in the society
The course aims at enhancing students ability to plan and prepare event with tools of project management. Emphasis is on collaboration and group projects so students should be more prepared for further studies, future jobs and diverse organisational participations. The course is mandatory for students in leisure studies and social education and aims at meeting the demand for skills in event and project management in the field of leisure, recreation and youth work. It´s also available for other students within the University of Iceland at their choice.
The course requires students active participation in discussions and assignments for building a good and supportive learning environment and success for all. We also focus on positive interactions and communications and responsibility of all students for their actions and study.
Subject matter
During the course, issues of organising event projects will be discussed. A main focus is on preparation, analysing, planning, performing and evaluationg events, fx. in the field of leisure, recreation and culture. Cases such as meetings, conferences, concerts, festivals, sports events, annual dates and festivals will be discussed and looked into. Discussion about law environment, regulations and safety issues and the role of events for leisure, recreation and travel along with educational and social meaning and influence of events.
How?
Lectures, discussions, assignments and field trips. In the course students work on their own event in groups, planning, preparing, performing and evaluating it, and also peer reviewing co-students plans and events and on line "reading-exams".
The course is for both distant students and on field students. Attendance is mandatory to 80% for on field students and for distance students in on field sessions.
Mininum grade og 5.0 is required for every assignment.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
Aim: To learn to design and make toys in a pedagogical context.
General Description: The main undertakings are to help student to develop their knowledge and skill to design educational toys and build it. Students learn to use simple cad, which enables them to draw up their own designs in a professional and easy manner. Students design and make educational toys for different age.
Ways of working: Teaching methods are based on lectures and practical work.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context. The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context.
The course is organized around three basic topics: (i) The human being as a rational, sentient and ethical being, (i) the aims of education and (iii) freedom and democracy. Among the philosophers and educational theorists discussed in the course are Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Dewey, Key, Neill and Freire.
Sociology of education is the subject matter of this course. Fundamental theoretical perspectives will be introduced and explored in the context of various themes and educational debates through time. Among themes are the role and purpose of education, different trends in parenting, the foundation of schools and school systems, the role of families and society, access to education, modernization and individualism, equality, and social mobility. An emphasis will be on combining historical and theoretical perspectives on upbringing and education, where distinctive features of education will be explored in the context of societal development. The focus will be on the Icelandic context, but in relation to development in neighbouring countries.
The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the developmental changes that occur from birth through adolescence.
Content:
The course will cover a broad range of developmental changes across different phases of childhood and adolescence, as well as theories that describe and explain them. Theories of cognitive, emotional, and social development, self-development, and moral development will be discussed. The approaches of behaviourism and ecological theory will also be highlighted. The origins and nature of individual differences, the continuity and discontinuity of development, and the plasticity of development will be discussed. The interaction between development and learning, motivation, parenting practices, culture, and different social environments will be addressed. A strong emphasis will be placed on understanding child development when working with children in applied settings.
Procedure:
The course will consist of lectures and recitations. Students will have a chance to discuss the course topics and deepen their understanding of the age group they plan to focus on during their studies and work.
Students will become competent in organizing outdoor education and outdoor activities for people of all ages in both summer and winter. The focus is on the one hand, enjoy nature, and to identify how nature can be a platform for upbringing and education (such as the focus on plants, animals or landscapes).
Emphasis is on the value of outdoor and adventure education and how it can be used as an important and successful tool in working with people, theories about outdoor education and experiential learning, group processes, personal and social growth and development. Focus is on connection to nature, group work and cooperation, team building and improving self-esteem and self-image. Also on practical matters, such as clothing, finding your way in the outdoors and environmental and safety issues.
Students are encouraged to use a reflective journal in the course for reflection, notes and ideas.
Students take one two-night journey 6.10.-8.10. and one overnight stay 11.11.-12.11, 2025.
Students have to pay all travel costs.
Course Assessment
To finish the course students need to:
- Plan, prepare and carrie out an outdoor learning project with peer-students.
- Write a chapter about defined subject in "a student book" on Outdoor Education.
- Reflection and self evaluation about the mutual trips / journeys and the course.
- Go on the mutual trips / journeys and attend classes.
- Distance students have to write summaries from lectures and participate in a class and/or web discussions.
- Reading exames.
5.0 is the minimum grade for each assignment.
Minimum attendanse is 80%
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about electricity and magnetism to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as electricity, charges, electrical forces, electric currents, magnets, magnetic force, interaction of electricity and magnetism, and production and utilization of electricity. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
The course covers the following aspects:
The main objective of the course is to prepare students for reading, writing and communicating academic texts.
The course will cover various types of scholarly material and its representation. Students will familiarise themselves with different aspects of academic writing and learn to distinguish between different genres. Students will be trained in independent and critical reading of different texts. Copyright, plagiarism, and fake news will also be discussed.
Students will acquire skills in working with academic texts, such as abstracts and summaries and in using sources when writing their own texts. They will also receive instructions in making bibliographies and using citation systems. Students will also be trained to use source material in their own writing and to distinguish their own voice from the source.
The aim of the course is to enable students to create new knowledge about learning and teaching in trade schools. Participants increase their understanding of its uniqueness and critically examine their own attitudes towards what the learning and teaching these subjects entails.
CONTENT / SUBJECT MATTER:
Trends in theories and the practice of learning and teaching. How do people learn and how can a teacher help people learn? What is good teaching? Curricula and their creation, writing learning outcomes, creating lesson plans, learning assessment and the use of information technology in teaching. These subjects will be examined in the light of pedagogy, sociology, psychology and philosophy.
METHOD:
The course will be taught in a format called "HyFlex". This means that participants can choose whether to attend school, participate via teleconferencing in real time or listen to recordings and actively participate in the collaboration of participants online between regular meetings.
The course has two obligatory "whole day face to face sessions" where all participants work together for a whole day in the school premises in relation to the course content. Important decisions about the course will be made there, the participants get to know each other well and activities support their cooperation in the course. In this and allo real-time sessions we use methods that are useful in all teaching so that participants experience a variety og teaching methods that they can then use when planning their studies and teaching.
There are weekly face to face sessions the school premises with the possibility of online participation.
Between meetings and the whole day sessions, collaboration takes place on the course website, e.g. through written discussions on the course discussion threads.
I
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The module is organized as flipped classroom. Every other week students acquire information from videos and reading material. And every other week there will be real-time classroom or online activities. Students who are not able to participate in real-time activities will have to rely on self-study (journaling). Students can complete this module as distance learning.
Objective and course description
The object of this module is for students to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of policy planning, ideology, and support services for students with various learning needs in upper secondary schools.
The official education policy of inclusive education will be introduced together with the idea of universal design for learning, as well as laws and regulations that apply to students in upper secondary schools. In the module’s discussions, emphasis will be placed on the support services that secondary schools offer to students. The diversity of upper secondary school students will be discussed and explained how teachers can accommodate students on an individual basis. The participants in this module will also examine the causes and consequences of high drop-out rates in upper secondary schools.
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The course is an introduction to design and craft education: Design and woodwork, Textiles and design and Health promotion and home economics. Project ideas are adapted to different subjects of the course. Emphasis is placed on knowledge and skills aspects from idea to completion in all work components of the course. Students work on subjects that are suitable for school work and record work processes in photographs, drawings and in text form.
Aim: To learn traditional methods in silversmithing.
General Description: The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners. The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners.
Course Content:
Working Methods: Craft activities and lectures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher
This course will focus on Icelandic culture and literature in a broad understanding, as well as how both factor into language use and linguistic world of different subjects within the school system.
This will include a discussion of basic concepts of literary theory, discourse analysis and cultural studies, and a variety of methods and media in teaching will be introduced, which can increase understanding and interest among elementary school students in their own culture as well as other cultures.
Students will have the opportunity to read literary fiction from both past and present and put it into context with their own experiences as well as their future approach to teaching different school subjects.
A variety of texts will be discussed, both fiction as well as practical/didactic texts and recreational texts, with the goal that students realize and appreciate that language is the tool we use in all our daily lives and studies regardless of subject. The deep layers of meaning found in all manner of texts will be analyzed, and students will be given the proper tools to scrutinize texts in their surroundings in an independent and critical manner.
This course will focus on interweaving of different elementary school subjects and how Icelandic is the subject that binds all other subjects together, emphasizing the teacher’s role of teaching in Icelandic, rather than teaching Icelandic as a subject. For this reason a special focus will be placed on how Icelandic provides a base for the teaching of several other subjects, including social studies, mathematics, natural sciences, foreign languages, and not least art subjects, e.g. visual arts and drama.
This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars. This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
Literature: Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual and photocopies from the teacher.
In the course teacher students are introduced to the main goals of teaching mathematics in compulsory schools. The emphasis is both on content and the process of teaching and learning.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students will study how different approaches in teaching affect learning. Consideration is given to the role of the teacher and competances to be expected.
Students use ICT in their own learning and in connection with the teaching of mathematics.
This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures. This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The aim is to teach students how local woods can be used as a basis for craft and other school activities.
The course focuses on teaching students about using local woods as a basis for education and utilising wet wood for craft. It, also, shows students how knowledge of woods and woodland and knowledge from various subject areas can be link together, in order to make the woods a basis for educational activities. It, furthermore, deals with the possibilities linking together human beings and nature, within an educational context, in order to meet different needs of students.
Students in Design and Craft having exchange at schools will undertake specific projects in order to prepare them for their teacher training.
Computer games in education and teaching will be discussed, with a special emphasis on gaming worlds and online games and open online playgrounds and the connection of such games to education and leisure activities. Game culture will be examined, classification systems and characteristics of computer games, their importance in leisure culture and their connection to social issues. In particular, gender equality perspectives in video games and video game culture will be examined, as well as various issues, for example related to gender, addiction and/or gambling addiction. Tools will be used to build educational games/educational games and the possibilities of gamification in education will be discussed. Learning games in various types of computer environments will be discussed, such as 3D worlds on the Internet and games that use smart computers or phones.
How can the field of information and technology education be described, and what is meant when discussing innovation education or innovation in education? What is the reference to when discussing the information and knowledge society, information and technological literacy, digital content creation and multimedia, media literacy or pluralism, digital communication and learning communities, digital citizenship and participation in a democratic society, technology and programming suitable for children and young people, design thinking and entrepreneurship education, playing with ideas, problem-solving and collaborative creativity?
When did digital equipment first enter Icelandic primary schools, what has been the development since then and where is it heading? What obstacles and opportunities do technological advances in communication and schooling entail? What is also the history of innovation education in primary schools and how does it relate to ideas about new times, collaboration and solution-oriented working methods? What are the components of information technology, innovation and digital media in policy making and the curriculum and how are they related to other fields of study, key competences and basic aspects of education?
In this introductory course, we examine the above-mentioned topics in a domestic and international context while giving students the opportunity to work on practical and creative projects, test technical possibilities and digital tools that offer interesting opportunities in learning and teaching. Students improve their skills in this field and look to the practical possibilities in the field and the opportunities that lie in new technology for conceptual work, communication and professional development. Emphasis is placed on the formation of a strong learning community that takes an active part in the course, tackles challenges and shares ideas and experiences in lively educational camps and through digital dissemination online.
The primary focus of the course will be on teaching natural and social sciences and on how these subjects can be integrated through the Storyline approach. Special issues and tasks will be chosen within the natural and social sciences and integrated with other subject areas. Teaching materials, equipment, and the teaching environment that support learning and teaching will be explored, and appropriate assessment methods will be introduced and discussed. Students will learn to apply information technology tools and a creative approach in teaching and learning.
The teacher students strengthen their knowledge of selected mathematical topics, including number theory and geometry.
The course also treats numeration systems and basic arithmetic.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry-based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students reflect on how different approaches in teaching affect students understanding of mathematical concepts.
The course focuses on play and creative work with children involving digital devices and technology. Students review and discuss different sources on creative work digital technologies at the preschool and premium school level. They get acquainted with demonstrative examples of practice in selected schools and look for fruitful ways to apply information technologies and digital media in educational activities with young pupils. Students wrestle with animation, drawing and creative editing of photos with digital tools in relation to digital storytelling. Pioneers in programming designed for children are introduced as well as tools to create simple materials, stories and games with visual programming systems designed for young users. Students also get to try out a selection of digital devices and pedagogical technology sets designed for the young. Some of these activities involve making and artistic expressions in different materials. Students get to design and draw objects for laser cutting and 3-dimensional printing, as well reflect on entrepreneurship and inventive learning as pedagogial focus areas in education. They describe their efforts and experimental work with technical sets and equipment in pictures, videos and texts displayed on websites set up with templates of their own choice.
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about motion, forces, and energy to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as simple machines, motion, velocity, acceleration, force, inertia, mass, lows of motion, the gravitational forces, frictional forces, adding forces, work, power, various energy forms such as kinetic energy, gravitational energy, elastic energy, transformation of energy from one form to another, conservation of energy, useable energy, energy in nature, and energy in society. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
In the course, students will be introduced to the theories and tools that support cultivating creativity and innovation in the classroom. The course empowers participants to apply teaching methods that encourage curiosity, creativity and design thinking in their students. The basics of innovation education, design thinking, and challenge-based learning, will be discussed, as well as how these theories and methods can be used when teaching various age groups in diverse fields, e.g. related to art, technology and social studies. The course will review methods to promote entrepreneurial thinking, promote resilience, and encourage collaboration and teamwork in the classroom. The course will help participants gain an understanding of how innovation can become a central part of creative education.
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Course description in English:* The focus in this course will be on the Icelandic language and its variation, with a special emphasis on its use within the classroom without regard to the subject matter at hand. In addition, some attention will be given to the language and vocabulary of each school subject.
The students’ language will be in focus and how they acquired it. Varied language use among the students will be discussed and how it changes according to different situations, from informal use on social media to formal writing, which can be related to the registers teacher has to use when talking to their pupils in different situations. Students will get the opportunity to analyse their own language use and that of others with the help of the appropriate terminology.
The vocabulary and its three levels will be discussed, where the emphasis will be on the terminology and language use of different school subjects and how they should be taught, not least when it comes to pupils’ varied language abilities, both among pupils who have Icelandic as a first or second language.
|
Thematic learning is a learning method in which students acquire certain knowledge and skills by working together, usually interdisciplinarily, on a specific project for a longer period of time than is generally the case in schools, where knowledge and skills are drawn from more than one subject. They seek answers to a complex question, find a solution to a problem (problem based learning), create or create something that tests their abilities and ingenuity. In this context, the learning environment, procedures and tools in thematic studies, teaching methods, such as consensus studies and democratic teaching, the organisation of thematic projects and students' project work are discussed. Various ways to arouse students' interest and work in a creative way in school work will be presented, e.g. in creative workshops, with computer games and game creation, or with the involvement of museums, and other educational and cultural institutions. The course discusses the integration of subjects and methods for integrating subjects through the use of information and communication technology, the role of teachers and students, the development of learning objectives, and their relationship to academic performance and assessment in integrated schooling.
Participants in this course plan the projects to be undertaken, how they organise their work and make lesson plans, and discuss how they use information and communication technology to gather, process and communicate it. It is imperative that participants are very interested in seeking answers each time, consider it important to solve a specific problem or create an original work.
Projects of this kind put a lot of pressure on collaboration, initiative, problem-solving and an open or multifaceted approach. At the same time, critical and creative thinking are very important. The projects that will be created could be, for example, a short film, a radio play, a film, a video game production, a web or a musical, and will be made available to the Icelandic public or, as the case may be, to netizens wherever they live.
Two projects will be carried out. Work on the first lasts for one to one and a half months, while the second lasts for two and a half to three months.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
The course focuses on practical professional communication, especially as it relates to prospective work in the fields of social pedagogy and youth work.
The students use several methods and media in their work, including drama, speech and digital media, analysing their own and others' ways of interacting in order to increase their communicative competence.
This course is about moral philosophy with emphasis on consequentialist and deontological theories, human rights and ethical concepts, e.g. autonomy, welfare, right to privacy, and human dignity. It also deals with the relationship between ethics and professionalism.
Special emphasis is on relating the theoretical knowledge with issues and dilemmas in the work of professionals who work with diverse groups in the society
The course aims at enhancing students ability to plan and prepare event with tools of project management. Emphasis is on collaboration and group projects so students should be more prepared for further studies, future jobs and diverse organisational participations. The course is mandatory for students in leisure studies and social education and aims at meeting the demand for skills in event and project management in the field of leisure, recreation and youth work. It´s also available for other students within the University of Iceland at their choice.
The course requires students active participation in discussions and assignments for building a good and supportive learning environment and success for all. We also focus on positive interactions and communications and responsibility of all students for their actions and study.
Subject matter
During the course, issues of organising event projects will be discussed. A main focus is on preparation, analysing, planning, performing and evaluationg events, fx. in the field of leisure, recreation and culture. Cases such as meetings, conferences, concerts, festivals, sports events, annual dates and festivals will be discussed and looked into. Discussion about law environment, regulations and safety issues and the role of events for leisure, recreation and travel along with educational and social meaning and influence of events.
How?
Lectures, discussions, assignments and field trips. In the course students work on their own event in groups, planning, preparing, performing and evaluating it, and also peer reviewing co-students plans and events and on line "reading-exams".
The course is for both distant students and on field students. Attendance is mandatory to 80% for on field students and for distance students in on field sessions.
Mininum grade og 5.0 is required for every assignment.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
Aim: To learn to design and make toys in a pedagogical context.
General Description: The main undertakings are to help student to develop their knowledge and skill to design educational toys and build it. Students learn to use simple cad, which enables them to draw up their own designs in a professional and easy manner. Students design and make educational toys for different age.
Ways of working: Teaching methods are based on lectures and practical work.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context. The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context.
The course is organized around three basic topics: (i) The human being as a rational, sentient and ethical being, (i) the aims of education and (iii) freedom and democracy. Among the philosophers and educational theorists discussed in the course are Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Dewey, Key, Neill and Freire.
Sociology of education is the subject matter of this course. Fundamental theoretical perspectives will be introduced and explored in the context of various themes and educational debates through time. Among themes are the role and purpose of education, different trends in parenting, the foundation of schools and school systems, the role of families and society, access to education, modernization and individualism, equality, and social mobility. An emphasis will be on combining historical and theoretical perspectives on upbringing and education, where distinctive features of education will be explored in the context of societal development. The focus will be on the Icelandic context, but in relation to development in neighbouring countries.
The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the developmental changes that occur from birth through adolescence.
Content:
The course will cover a broad range of developmental changes across different phases of childhood and adolescence, as well as theories that describe and explain them. Theories of cognitive, emotional, and social development, self-development, and moral development will be discussed. The approaches of behaviourism and ecological theory will also be highlighted. The origins and nature of individual differences, the continuity and discontinuity of development, and the plasticity of development will be discussed. The interaction between development and learning, motivation, parenting practices, culture, and different social environments will be addressed. A strong emphasis will be placed on understanding child development when working with children in applied settings.
Procedure:
The course will consist of lectures and recitations. Students will have a chance to discuss the course topics and deepen their understanding of the age group they plan to focus on during their studies and work.
Students will become competent in organizing outdoor education and outdoor activities for people of all ages in both summer and winter. The focus is on the one hand, enjoy nature, and to identify how nature can be a platform for upbringing and education (such as the focus on plants, animals or landscapes).
Emphasis is on the value of outdoor and adventure education and how it can be used as an important and successful tool in working with people, theories about outdoor education and experiential learning, group processes, personal and social growth and development. Focus is on connection to nature, group work and cooperation, team building and improving self-esteem and self-image. Also on practical matters, such as clothing, finding your way in the outdoors and environmental and safety issues.
Students are encouraged to use a reflective journal in the course for reflection, notes and ideas.
Students take one two-night journey 6.10.-8.10. and one overnight stay 11.11.-12.11, 2025.
Students have to pay all travel costs.
Course Assessment
To finish the course students need to:
- Plan, prepare and carrie out an outdoor learning project with peer-students.
- Write a chapter about defined subject in "a student book" on Outdoor Education.
- Reflection and self evaluation about the mutual trips / journeys and the course.
- Go on the mutual trips / journeys and attend classes.
- Distance students have to write summaries from lectures and participate in a class and/or web discussions.
- Reading exames.
5.0 is the minimum grade for each assignment.
Minimum attendanse is 80%
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about electricity and magnetism to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as electricity, charges, electrical forces, electric currents, magnets, magnetic force, interaction of electricity and magnetism, and production and utilization of electricity. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
The course covers the following aspects:
The main objective of the course is to prepare students for reading, writing and communicating academic texts.
The course will cover various types of scholarly material and its representation. Students will familiarise themselves with different aspects of academic writing and learn to distinguish between different genres. Students will be trained in independent and critical reading of different texts. Copyright, plagiarism, and fake news will also be discussed.
Students will acquire skills in working with academic texts, such as abstracts and summaries and in using sources when writing their own texts. They will also receive instructions in making bibliographies and using citation systems. Students will also be trained to use source material in their own writing and to distinguish their own voice from the source.
The aim of the course is to enable students to create new knowledge about learning and teaching in trade schools. Participants increase their understanding of its uniqueness and critically examine their own attitudes towards what the learning and teaching these subjects entails.
CONTENT / SUBJECT MATTER:
Trends in theories and the practice of learning and teaching. How do people learn and how can a teacher help people learn? What is good teaching? Curricula and their creation, writing learning outcomes, creating lesson plans, learning assessment and the use of information technology in teaching. These subjects will be examined in the light of pedagogy, sociology, psychology and philosophy.
METHOD:
The course will be taught in a format called "HyFlex". This means that participants can choose whether to attend school, participate via teleconferencing in real time or listen to recordings and actively participate in the collaboration of participants online between regular meetings.
The course has two obligatory "whole day face to face sessions" where all participants work together for a whole day in the school premises in relation to the course content. Important decisions about the course will be made there, the participants get to know each other well and activities support their cooperation in the course. In this and allo real-time sessions we use methods that are useful in all teaching so that participants experience a variety og teaching methods that they can then use when planning their studies and teaching.
There are weekly face to face sessions the school premises with the possibility of online participation.
Between meetings and the whole day sessions, collaboration takes place on the course website, e.g. through written discussions on the course discussion threads.
I
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The module is organized as flipped classroom. Every other week students acquire information from videos and reading material. And every other week there will be real-time classroom or online activities. Students who are not able to participate in real-time activities will have to rely on self-study (journaling). Students can complete this module as distance learning.
Objective and course description
The object of this module is for students to gain practical and theoretical knowledge of policy planning, ideology, and support services for students with various learning needs in upper secondary schools.
The official education policy of inclusive education will be introduced together with the idea of universal design for learning, as well as laws and regulations that apply to students in upper secondary schools. In the module’s discussions, emphasis will be placed on the support services that secondary schools offer to students. The diversity of upper secondary school students will be discussed and explained how teachers can accommodate students on an individual basis. The participants in this module will also examine the causes and consequences of high drop-out rates in upper secondary schools.
The aim of this course is to deepen the students understanding of the pedagogy of vocational subjects and allow them to connect their own practical experience to topics, theories, and research on pedagogy and educational science.
The aim of the course is to provide students with training in vocational teaching at schools and assist them in developing their own theory of practice and professional identity as vocational teachers.
The course is an introduction to design and craft education: Design and woodwork, Textiles and design and Health promotion and home economics. Project ideas are adapted to different subjects of the course. Emphasis is placed on knowledge and skills aspects from idea to completion in all work components of the course. Students work on subjects that are suitable for school work and record work processes in photographs, drawings and in text form.
Aim: To learn traditional methods in silversmithing.
General Description: The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners. The course main goal is to help student develop their basic skill and knowledge in silversmith, in order to enable them to make simple things and jewelleries from silver, copper, and brass. They will also learn to organise a course for the elementary school students with simple projects for beginners.
Course Content:
Working Methods: Craft activities and lectures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher
This course will focus on Icelandic culture and literature in a broad understanding, as well as how both factor into language use and linguistic world of different subjects within the school system.
This will include a discussion of basic concepts of literary theory, discourse analysis and cultural studies, and a variety of methods and media in teaching will be introduced, which can increase understanding and interest among elementary school students in their own culture as well as other cultures.
Students will have the opportunity to read literary fiction from both past and present and put it into context with their own experiences as well as their future approach to teaching different school subjects.
A variety of texts will be discussed, both fiction as well as practical/didactic texts and recreational texts, with the goal that students realize and appreciate that language is the tool we use in all our daily lives and studies regardless of subject. The deep layers of meaning found in all manner of texts will be analyzed, and students will be given the proper tools to scrutinize texts in their surroundings in an independent and critical manner.
This course will focus on interweaving of different elementary school subjects and how Icelandic is the subject that binds all other subjects together, emphasizing the teacher’s role of teaching in Icelandic, rather than teaching Icelandic as a subject. For this reason a special focus will be placed on how Icelandic provides a base for the teaching of several other subjects, including social studies, mathematics, natural sciences, foreign languages, and not least art subjects, e.g. visual arts and drama.
This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars. This is a basic course in wood work. Students learn to used hand tools and machines, they design and make artefact from wood and learn about old craft traditions. The course is base on practical work, lectures and seminars.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
Literature: Collins Complete Woodworkers Manual and photocopies from the teacher.
In the course teacher students are introduced to the main goals of teaching mathematics in compulsory schools. The emphasis is both on content and the process of teaching and learning.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students will study how different approaches in teaching affect learning. Consideration is given to the role of the teacher and competances to be expected.
Students use ICT in their own learning and in connection with the teaching of mathematics.
This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures. This course aim is to train students in using different techniques to form artefacts from glass, for example by using the Tiffanies method, form a glass in an oven and make mosaic pictures. The course emphasis is on artistic design and construction of jewelleries and applied artefacts. Examples of projects are window decorations, bowls and sculptures.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The aim is to teach students how local woods can be used as a basis for craft and other school activities.
The course focuses on teaching students about using local woods as a basis for education and utilising wet wood for craft. It, also, shows students how knowledge of woods and woodland and knowledge from various subject areas can be link together, in order to make the woods a basis for educational activities. It, furthermore, deals with the possibilities linking together human beings and nature, within an educational context, in order to meet different needs of students.
Students in Design and Craft having exchange at schools will undertake specific projects in order to prepare them for their teacher training.
Computer games in education and teaching will be discussed, with a special emphasis on gaming worlds and online games and open online playgrounds and the connection of such games to education and leisure activities. Game culture will be examined, classification systems and characteristics of computer games, their importance in leisure culture and their connection to social issues. In particular, gender equality perspectives in video games and video game culture will be examined, as well as various issues, for example related to gender, addiction and/or gambling addiction. Tools will be used to build educational games/educational games and the possibilities of gamification in education will be discussed. Learning games in various types of computer environments will be discussed, such as 3D worlds on the Internet and games that use smart computers or phones.
How can the field of information and technology education be described, and what is meant when discussing innovation education or innovation in education? What is the reference to when discussing the information and knowledge society, information and technological literacy, digital content creation and multimedia, media literacy or pluralism, digital communication and learning communities, digital citizenship and participation in a democratic society, technology and programming suitable for children and young people, design thinking and entrepreneurship education, playing with ideas, problem-solving and collaborative creativity?
When did digital equipment first enter Icelandic primary schools, what has been the development since then and where is it heading? What obstacles and opportunities do technological advances in communication and schooling entail? What is also the history of innovation education in primary schools and how does it relate to ideas about new times, collaboration and solution-oriented working methods? What are the components of information technology, innovation and digital media in policy making and the curriculum and how are they related to other fields of study, key competences and basic aspects of education?
In this introductory course, we examine the above-mentioned topics in a domestic and international context while giving students the opportunity to work on practical and creative projects, test technical possibilities and digital tools that offer interesting opportunities in learning and teaching. Students improve their skills in this field and look to the practical possibilities in the field and the opportunities that lie in new technology for conceptual work, communication and professional development. Emphasis is placed on the formation of a strong learning community that takes an active part in the course, tackles challenges and shares ideas and experiences in lively educational camps and through digital dissemination online.
The primary focus of the course will be on teaching natural and social sciences and on how these subjects can be integrated through the Storyline approach. Special issues and tasks will be chosen within the natural and social sciences and integrated with other subject areas. Teaching materials, equipment, and the teaching environment that support learning and teaching will be explored, and appropriate assessment methods will be introduced and discussed. Students will learn to apply information technology tools and a creative approach in teaching and learning.
The teacher students strengthen their knowledge of selected mathematical topics, including number theory and geometry.
The course also treats numeration systems and basic arithmetic.
Emphasis is put on problem solving and inquiry-based approach to learning and teaching. The teacher students reflect on how different approaches in teaching affect students understanding of mathematical concepts.
The course focuses on play and creative work with children involving digital devices and technology. Students review and discuss different sources on creative work digital technologies at the preschool and premium school level. They get acquainted with demonstrative examples of practice in selected schools and look for fruitful ways to apply information technologies and digital media in educational activities with young pupils. Students wrestle with animation, drawing and creative editing of photos with digital tools in relation to digital storytelling. Pioneers in programming designed for children are introduced as well as tools to create simple materials, stories and games with visual programming systems designed for young users. Students also get to try out a selection of digital devices and pedagogical technology sets designed for the young. Some of these activities involve making and artistic expressions in different materials. Students get to design and draw objects for laser cutting and 3-dimensional printing, as well reflect on entrepreneurship and inventive learning as pedagogial focus areas in education. They describe their efforts and experimental work with technical sets and equipment in pictures, videos and texts displayed on websites set up with templates of their own choice.
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about motion, forces, and energy to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as simple machines, motion, velocity, acceleration, force, inertia, mass, lows of motion, the gravitational forces, frictional forces, adding forces, work, power, various energy forms such as kinetic energy, gravitational energy, elastic energy, transformation of energy from one form to another, conservation of energy, useable energy, energy in nature, and energy in society. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
In the course, students will be introduced to the theories and tools that support cultivating creativity and innovation in the classroom. The course empowers participants to apply teaching methods that encourage curiosity, creativity and design thinking in their students. The basics of innovation education, design thinking, and challenge-based learning, will be discussed, as well as how these theories and methods can be used when teaching various age groups in diverse fields, e.g. related to art, technology and social studies. The course will review methods to promote entrepreneurial thinking, promote resilience, and encourage collaboration and teamwork in the classroom. The course will help participants gain an understanding of how innovation can become a central part of creative education.
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Course description in English:* The focus in this course will be on the Icelandic language and its variation, with a special emphasis on its use within the classroom without regard to the subject matter at hand. In addition, some attention will be given to the language and vocabulary of each school subject.
The students’ language will be in focus and how they acquired it. Varied language use among the students will be discussed and how it changes according to different situations, from informal use on social media to formal writing, which can be related to the registers teacher has to use when talking to their pupils in different situations. Students will get the opportunity to analyse their own language use and that of others with the help of the appropriate terminology.
The vocabulary and its three levels will be discussed, where the emphasis will be on the terminology and language use of different school subjects and how they should be taught, not least when it comes to pupils’ varied language abilities, both among pupils who have Icelandic as a first or second language.
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Thematic learning is a learning method in which students acquire certain knowledge and skills by working together, usually interdisciplinarily, on a specific project for a longer period of time than is generally the case in schools, where knowledge and skills are drawn from more than one subject. They seek answers to a complex question, find a solution to a problem (problem based learning), create or create something that tests their abilities and ingenuity. In this context, the learning environment, procedures and tools in thematic studies, teaching methods, such as consensus studies and democratic teaching, the organisation of thematic projects and students' project work are discussed. Various ways to arouse students' interest and work in a creative way in school work will be presented, e.g. in creative workshops, with computer games and game creation, or with the involvement of museums, and other educational and cultural institutions. The course discusses the integration of subjects and methods for integrating subjects through the use of information and communication technology, the role of teachers and students, the development of learning objectives, and their relationship to academic performance and assessment in integrated schooling.
Participants in this course plan the projects to be undertaken, how they organise their work and make lesson plans, and discuss how they use information and communication technology to gather, process and communicate it. It is imperative that participants are very interested in seeking answers each time, consider it important to solve a specific problem or create an original work.
Projects of this kind put a lot of pressure on collaboration, initiative, problem-solving and an open or multifaceted approach. At the same time, critical and creative thinking are very important. The projects that will be created could be, for example, a short film, a radio play, a film, a video game production, a web or a musical, and will be made available to the Icelandic public or, as the case may be, to netizens wherever they live.
Two projects will be carried out. Work on the first lasts for one to one and a half months, while the second lasts for two and a half to three months.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
The course focuses on practical professional communication, especially as it relates to prospective work in the fields of social pedagogy and youth work.
The students use several methods and media in their work, including drama, speech and digital media, analysing their own and others' ways of interacting in order to increase their communicative competence.
This course is about moral philosophy with emphasis on consequentialist and deontological theories, human rights and ethical concepts, e.g. autonomy, welfare, right to privacy, and human dignity. It also deals with the relationship between ethics and professionalism.
Special emphasis is on relating the theoretical knowledge with issues and dilemmas in the work of professionals who work with diverse groups in the society
The course aims at enhancing students ability to plan and prepare event with tools of project management. Emphasis is on collaboration and group projects so students should be more prepared for further studies, future jobs and diverse organisational participations. The course is mandatory for students in leisure studies and social education and aims at meeting the demand for skills in event and project management in the field of leisure, recreation and youth work. It´s also available for other students within the University of Iceland at their choice.
The course requires students active participation in discussions and assignments for building a good and supportive learning environment and success for all. We also focus on positive interactions and communications and responsibility of all students for their actions and study.
Subject matter
During the course, issues of organising event projects will be discussed. A main focus is on preparation, analysing, planning, performing and evaluationg events, fx. in the field of leisure, recreation and culture. Cases such as meetings, conferences, concerts, festivals, sports events, annual dates and festivals will be discussed and looked into. Discussion about law environment, regulations and safety issues and the role of events for leisure, recreation and travel along with educational and social meaning and influence of events.
How?
Lectures, discussions, assignments and field trips. In the course students work on their own event in groups, planning, preparing, performing and evaluating it, and also peer reviewing co-students plans and events and on line "reading-exams".
The course is for both distant students and on field students. Attendance is mandatory to 80% for on field students and for distance students in on field sessions.
Mininum grade og 5.0 is required for every assignment.
The course focus on leisure activities for teenagers in Iceland, the meaning of leisure, roles of leaders, leisure studies, how to help troubled youth and visits to various organisations. Students will get training in how to organizise and evaluate leisure activities for this age group.
Aim: To learn to design and make toys in a pedagogical context.
General Description: The main undertakings are to help student to develop their knowledge and skill to design educational toys and build it. Students learn to use simple cad, which enables them to draw up their own designs in a professional and easy manner. Students design and make educational toys for different age.
Ways of working: Teaching methods are based on lectures and practical work.
Support material: Websites and photocopies from the teacher.
The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context. The main objective of this course is to prepare students for a critical approach to ideas and methods in pedagogy and education. Students will be introduced to the main ideas that have shaped schools and education in the western tradition and made able to locate contemporary currents in an ideological context.
The course is organized around three basic topics: (i) The human being as a rational, sentient and ethical being, (i) the aims of education and (iii) freedom and democracy. Among the philosophers and educational theorists discussed in the course are Plato, Rousseau, Kant, Dewey, Key, Neill and Freire.
Sociology of education is the subject matter of this course. Fundamental theoretical perspectives will be introduced and explored in the context of various themes and educational debates through time. Among themes are the role and purpose of education, different trends in parenting, the foundation of schools and school systems, the role of families and society, access to education, modernization and individualism, equality, and social mobility. An emphasis will be on combining historical and theoretical perspectives on upbringing and education, where distinctive features of education will be explored in the context of societal development. The focus will be on the Icelandic context, but in relation to development in neighbouring countries.
The course aims to provide students with a comprehensive understanding of the developmental changes that occur from birth through adolescence.
Content:
The course will cover a broad range of developmental changes across different phases of childhood and adolescence, as well as theories that describe and explain them. Theories of cognitive, emotional, and social development, self-development, and moral development will be discussed. The approaches of behaviourism and ecological theory will also be highlighted. The origins and nature of individual differences, the continuity and discontinuity of development, and the plasticity of development will be discussed. The interaction between development and learning, motivation, parenting practices, culture, and different social environments will be addressed. A strong emphasis will be placed on understanding child development when working with children in applied settings.
Procedure:
The course will consist of lectures and recitations. Students will have a chance to discuss the course topics and deepen their understanding of the age group they plan to focus on during their studies and work.
Students will become competent in organizing outdoor education and outdoor activities for people of all ages in both summer and winter. The focus is on the one hand, enjoy nature, and to identify how nature can be a platform for upbringing and education (such as the focus on plants, animals or landscapes).
Emphasis is on the value of outdoor and adventure education and how it can be used as an important and successful tool in working with people, theories about outdoor education and experiential learning, group processes, personal and social growth and development. Focus is on connection to nature, group work and cooperation, team building and improving self-esteem and self-image. Also on practical matters, such as clothing, finding your way in the outdoors and environmental and safety issues.
Students are encouraged to use a reflective journal in the course for reflection, notes and ideas.
Students take one two-night journey 6.10.-8.10. and one overnight stay 11.11.-12.11, 2025.
Students have to pay all travel costs.
Course Assessment
To finish the course students need to:
- Plan, prepare and carrie out an outdoor learning project with peer-students.
- Write a chapter about defined subject in "a student book" on Outdoor Education.
- Reflection and self evaluation about the mutual trips / journeys and the course.
- Go on the mutual trips / journeys and attend classes.
- Distance students have to write summaries from lectures and participate in a class and/or web discussions.
- Reading exames.
5.0 is the minimum grade for each assignment.
Minimum attendanse is 80%
The main objective of this introductory course is to educate students about electricity and magnetism to prepare them for teaching these subjects in Icelandic compulsory school. Participants are expected to develop a thorough scientific understanding of these issues and scientific concepts related to them such as electricity, charges, electrical forces, electric currents, magnets, magnetic force, interaction of electricity and magnetism, and production and utilization of electricity. Besides they will be taught how to illustrate these concepts in practice by carrying out simple experiments. Emphasis will also be paid to the ideas young people have about these concepts and phenomena and how they may be helped to develop those ideas toward scientific understanding. Approaching these issues the participants will be encouraged to inquire into their own understandings of these phenomena and concepts and develop those understandings and their practical teaching competences.
The course covers the following aspects:
The timetable shown below is for the current academic year and is FOR REFERENCE ONLY.
Changes may occur for the autumn semester in August and September and for the spring semester in December and January. You will find your final timetable in Ugla when the studies start.
Note! This timetable is not suitable for planning your work schedule if you are a part-time employee.
The University of Iceland collaborates with over 400 universities worldwide. This provides a unique opportunity to pursue part of your studies at an international university thus gaining added experience and fresh insight into your field of study.
Students generally have the opportunity to join an exchange programme, internship, or summer courses. However, exchanges are always subject to faculty approval.
Students have the opportunity to have courses evaluated as part of their studies at the University of Iceland, so their stay does not have to affect the duration of their studies.
After completing the diploma, students may apply to the Directorate of Education for a teaching license.
This programme could open up careers in:
This list is not exhaustive.
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