Continuing educational program: Seeing the World through the Eyes of a Child
Children are of curious nature. They want to understand the world, for example why people can have different skin colors. In an educational program lasting for three days, educators have the chance to learn new ways in how to support global learning for children.
At the age of three to six years children have their own logic that connects reality and phantasy. They want to explore, understand and look beyond the surface. Already young children want to understand why other children of their age look different than they do, why bananas do not grow in Germany and why water is not easily accessible everywhere in the world. Satisfying this curiosity is the aim of this educational program by dealing with relevant issues, providing methodological access, and giving impulses for practical use. Global learning facilitates insights into worldwide relations and practical approaches concerning sustainable topic fields.
What to expect?
The educational program consists of different modules. First a basic module will be taking place, where participants will be given an understanding of global learning as a course of education with training workshops and practical units and an experience box will be provided. The experience box contains books, maps, games and a workshop folder. Those materials serve for the implementation of a project the participants will individually work on and will be handed over for ongoing use after the workshop has been successfully finished. The first module will be followed by an additional module where practical topics and access ways will be further explored. Between the two modules participants are asked to implement their project in their workplace while deciding freely on the topic and orientation. The process of the project should be documented in a table. In the end of this educational program the participants will be asked to present their projects to the others. Moreover, ongoing meetings will be offered in which participants who already finished the two modules can refresh knowledge and acquire new ideas for everyday life in kindergarten.
Key subjects
Participants of the educational program will be asked to develop a project which they can introduce and work on during their regular work. They will be asked to choose from given key subjects. One key subject will be “Countries and Cultures”, where the question of how other cultures live will be explored with the help of games, tales and meals of the different continents. Another key subject will be “Dresses from all over the World”. This topic will give an insight on how t-shirts are being made by providing different ideas and examples and making it understandable for children. The third topic will be “Our Earth”. It will deal with the question why the world is how it is. Experiments of soil, water and climate will make the meaning of our resources come alive. The last big subject will deal with “Pedagogical Ways to Access Children”. Beside the concept of global learning also encouraging participation and how to philosophize with children will be transferred to the participants.
The eduational training “Seeing the world through the eyes of a child – global learning in kindergarten” is funded by the "Bundesministerium für wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit und Entwicklung (BMZ)" as well as by the "Stiftung Umwelt und Entwicklung NRW" as part of the development program Engaging Global.
