Hands-on Pedagogy for Early Childhood Education: From Sensory Education to First ICT Uses

Description

In early childhood education, hands-on pedagogy is a vital approach that actively involves young learners in the learning process. Unlike traditional teaching methods, it recognizes and caters to diverse learning styles, creating an inclusive environment for the children.

Hands-on pedagogy goes beyond academics, fostering the holistic development of the child by enhancing motor skills, problem-solving abilities, and creativity. Importantly, it cultivates a positive attitude towards learning and builds confidence in children.

This course will equip you with the key principles of hands-on pedagogy by exploring diverse learning styles, the transformative role of play in early childhood learning, and how to use technology to enhance hands-on experiences in early childhood education.

You will gain essential skills on how to change the classroom to create a rich and stimulating learning environment for young minds.

During this course, you will get to know sensory-rich activities tailored to various learning styles in early childhood education. From collaborative planning sessions to practical workshops, you will explore how to create hands-on learning sessions for the children.

We will go through play-based language activities and how to integrate the use of technology to enrich the learning experience.

By the end of the course, you will gain an understanding of hands-on pedagogy, play-based learning, and technology integration.

You will have the chance to design your hands-on activities for your classroom, learn how to increase the role of play and create age-appropriate activities that cater to diverse learning styles.

Concept by Mia Torttila

Learning outcomes

The course will help the participants to:  

• Gain an understanding of the key principles of hands-on pedagogy;
• Learn about the different types of play and their impact on the learning and development of young children;
• Explore the impact of sensory exploration;
• Create hands-on play-based language activities;
• Use technology to support hands-on learning experiences;
• Develop competence in creating and implementing effective hands-on activities.

Tentative schedule

Day 1 – Course introduction

• Introduction to the course, the school, and the external week activities;
• Icebreaker activities;
• Presentations of the participants’ schools;
• Goal setting for the week;
• The importance of hands-on learning in early childhood education.

Day 2 – Introduction to hands-on pedagogy

• Key principles of hands-on pedagogy;
• Different learning styles for young children;
• Sensory Exploration: a hands-on approach to understanding the world;
• Collaborative planning: designing age-appropriate sensory-rich activities for the classroom.

Day 3 – The role of play in early childhood learning

• Different types of play and their impact on learning;
• Case studies: successful implementation of play-based learning;
• Language development through play;
• Hands-on play-based language activities.

Day 4 – Incorporating technology into hands-on learning

• Exploration of educational technology;
• How to use technology to support hands-on learning experiences;
• Group activity: Create a technology-enhanced lesson plan.

Day 5 – Designing and implementing hands-on activities

• Collaborative workshop: creating and designing hands-on activities;
• Peer feedback and test run of the activities;
• Reflection on challenges and solutions.

Day 6 – Course closure and cultural activities

• Course evaluation: round-up of acquired competencies, feedback, and discussion;
• Awarding of the course Certificate of Attendance;
• Excursion and other external cultural activities.

Download or share

Get weekly recaps on confirmed sessions!