NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN A COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL

1-2

Authors: Editorial Board

GAMTAMOKSLINIS UGDYMAS BENDROJO LAVINIMO MOKYKLOJE-2011 XVII nacionalinės mokslinės-praktinės konferencijos straipsnių rinkinys, Vilnius, 2011 m. balandžio mėn. 29–30 d. NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION AT A GENERAL SCHOOL-2011 Proceedings of the Seventeenth National Scientific-Practical Conference, Vilnius, 29–30 April, 2011

5-7

Authors: Danutė Aleksonienė

Nature science teacher has an aim to interest school students in processes whose are in the nature and help to find the answers to relevant questions for young generation, that observes them-selves as well as the suroundings and notices fast going change processes. Nature investigations, whose are being made by Siauliai Julius Janonis high school (gymnasium) students, consists of a very wide sorts of tasks begining with lesson-lenght laboratory work or practical tasks to several months-lenght microbiologic or genetic experiments. While organizing my classes I take Valdorfas pedagogical methodics and I make efforts to find such a task that would fit to every single student who likes biology and has both certain perso-nality and personal needs as well. I as a teacher have an extremely important task to choose correct teaching strategies, summarise observations and investigations as well as experiments. Fast moving world‘s information technologies , that are used by students developes my , as member‘s of older generation, abilities. Fright to push wrong button disapears, due to the fact that I‘m becoming a person who experiences the joy while learning how to use computer technologies.

16-21

Authors: Zosė Aškinienė, Laura Kaziliūnienė

While recommending to make scientific projects we teach pupils to learn and develop their attitude towards training their entire life and compose the conditions for their socio-cultural and civil maturity. Students‘ creativity comes out during Biology and Technology lessons, as well as, out of school, where folk theme is being used in modern ornamental patterns. Lithuanian people, who have kept their folk traditions, language and history for centuries, are still original and interesting for others. Surely, nowadays we are forced to integrate old technologies into new ones. Though, it‘s a great opportunity for students to be introduced more about Lithuanian traditions, their families‘ heritage, exactly fabrics with nature‘s motives. All these makes us to be proud of our genealogical tree, implants patriotism and ensures originality and playfulness for Project works.

29-33

Authors: Danutė Bernatavičienė

We were doing the action called “Foster The Birds In Winter”. The reason of this action is to foster the birds which are hibernating through the winter in Lithuania. In this action took part in our pupils, their parents and the community of our institution. Children fed the birds, knew them better, watched the processes happened in the nature. They did the research – watched the birds giving birth to their prides in their feeding places. They did the watching everyday about 15 minutes . They did 36 observations (according to 2010-03-12 information) where were visited 7 species and 118 birds in their feeding places. We are logging in to the Orni Club via the internet which is organizing this project, where we uploaded the data of our observation.

39-43

Authors: Aušrelė Gesevičienė, Gražina Girdžiuvienė

Herbs consist of the way more plants then just camomile or plantain. Various herbs have been used by Lithuanian women to treat children suffering from fear, aches, cold or to flavour a soup for too chatty men. Artemisia or burdocks are herbs too. As Eugenija Šimkūnaitė, a prophetess known as the first witch in Lithuania used to say: a yard cannot be considered a real yard if there are no burdocks. When did people start picking herbs? Who where the first ones to treat people with herbs? Which diseases can be treated using herbs? Students from the 2nd and the 4th grades of Pabiržė main school have decided to answer to these and many more similar questions in the project “Herbs Around Us”. Pupils have picked some herbs, prepared questionnaires about the use of herbs and concluded their results, searched for riddles about herbs and illustrated them, decorated the school with their drawings, visited one museum in Prienai where got to know about the goddess of herbs called Indraja, witches, who used to heal people, later they have arranged an appointment with the manageress of local pharmacy, prepared three stands as well as presented this project at school.

49-54

Authors: Rūta Jacevičienė, Danguolė Telišauskienė

Household waste recycle is a major problem. The reason for this is nowadays man has lost a connection with the environment. Therefore, from an early age we give children a good example by teaching them how to sort out the rubbish. Participating in various activities children become more aware of household waste and find new ways to reuse waste (manufacturing tools, toys). Offered to children and inspired action was appropriate as children become more aware of domestic waste sorting options, perceived importance of the nature of human life, should have the freedom to create, improvise, developed skills of cognitive, social, communicative and artistic skills. Organized week benefitted to kids organic development and sustainable development ideas. Children could acquire knowledge into practice. Organized activities for the pre-school group (children and parents) - a successful attempt to show that nice and clean, smiling environment could be created by ourselves. Only regularly developing our childrens' environmental thinking we can achieve that it will become a norm of our lives.

60-69

Authors: Danuše Nezvalová

Inquiry and nature of science have become an almost ubiquitous themes in science education around the world. Abd-El-Khalick, et al (2004) noted that inquiry in science education is one of the few overarching themes that cut across pre-college science curricula in countries around the globe. The prominence of inquiry in science education highlights the need to understand what is inquiry and what are the challenges of implementation. The teacher should attempt to promote student understanding of traditional subject matter using an inquiry-oriented teaching approach. Such approach provides students with experience in “doing” science, an experiential base upon which to reflect about the process and nature of science. NOS and scientific inquiry can serve as unifying themes that provide a meaningful context for the learning of the more traditional science concepts and principles. NOS and scientific inquiry are instructional objectives of primary importance that permeate all aspects of curriculum and instruction. Science educators have come to believe that if students understand the source and limits of scientific knowledge they will be better equipped to make informed decisions about personal and societal problems that are scientifically-based. In short, understandings NOS are believed to be critical and essential components of the modern day battle cry of “scientific literacy”. Understanding NOS as well as scientific inquiry, provides a guiding framework and context for the meaningful understanding of scientific knowledge. Students will come to understand NOS and scientific inquiry simply by “doing science”. NOS and scientific inquiry need to be addressed explicitly during science education. Studying the state curricular material of the science education in the Czech Republic, we can not find the concepts of inquiry and nature of science there. In the literature of didactics of physics, chemistry or biology is the same situation: the concept of inquiry and nature of science are not there. It is clear that the definition of the concept inquiry and nature of science we cannot find in the Czech literature. But we can find many concepts that are connected or related with the inquiry there: e.g. hands-on experiments, problem solving, formulating of hypotheses, designing experiments, gathering and analyzing data, drawing conclusions. In the Czech Republic science instruction is still too traditional. Teachers knowledge about inquiry and nature of science is necessary for its implementation in the instruction. Teachers need to be well versed in scientific inquiry as a teaching approach. Teachers need to develop pedagogical skills necessary to teach effectively about and for inquiry and nature of science. Teachers must value knowledge and skills about inquiry and nature of science as important. Having the knowledge and skills to teach inquiry is a little of use if science teachers do not value the importance of these instructional outcomes. Such importance is not intuitively obvious to teachers and students. Curricular materials should enhance the valuing of the inquiry approach to science teaching. Teachers should recognize from their practice that this approach brings deeper understanding of the nature of science, better results of students and their higher motivation and interest to study science.

74-80

Authors: Nijolė Ružienė, Gitana Zaleskienė

Self-sufficiency as systemic competence is very important in all human age ranges. Developing general and professional abilities, student individual work has become relevant in student centered and competence based studies in higher education institutions. The article presents the organization of student individual work in Chemistry Department of Vilniaus kolegija/University of Applied Sciences. Students and lecturers’ opinion is compared, the influence of individual student work on future professional career is introduced and lecturers’ organizational input in preparation, delivery and assessment of student individual work is estimated. The article contains a variety of learning methods applied in individual studies, their availability and the importance of the right choice according to students’ level of independence. Issues of students’ consultation and rational delivery of the workload, the ways of optimizing the organization of individual student work in preparation of proper specialists for today’s labour market are highlighted.

88-98

Authors: Danguolė Savičienė

One of the most important state’s educational development goals – is effective, cohesive and obtainable education system. Preparing the students for lifelong learning is tightly connected with pedagogue’s ability to implement teaching strategies defined in training programs in the way that student would be capable not only remember the material but also to be able to adopt their knowledge in everyday life. The success of student’s participation in educational process depends not only on pedagogue’s qualification, but also on his competence to motivate the students for the activity, on the ability to reveal individual’s the strongest qualities. The updated state’s general educational development’s program highlights the importance of competence in training process. “ The competence development is based on student’s gained knowledge, his involvement into educational process, educational program’s integration with life”. (Motiejūnienė, 2007). In the primary education stage it is very important to maintain student’s interest in school’s subjects and provide possibility partly control on their learning process – to allow children what activity to choose or what is important to learn for them. This process can be achieved with properly selected teaching methods and approaches.

108-112

Authors: Lida Vilčinskaitė, Alma Jociuvienė, Eugenija Rudnickaitė

Kedainiai Youth School takes part in the Ecology Schools Programme organized by the International Environmental Protection Fund. A great variety of ecological events are held in our school. In cooperation with the Geology Museum of Vilnius University, the Project was carried out successfully. Pupils learn much about the science of geology, the geological process and the occupacion of geologist in general. The mo-bile expositions were being displayed during the Project (rocks, minerals). Geologist E. Rudnickaite gave a lecture on „Why Greenland interests Lithuania‘s geologists?“. Pupils learned much about the formation of glacier, its migration and result to Lithuania‘s relief. Pupils were encouraged to be interested in the geological past of their native land.

128-135

Authors: Zinaida Žvinklienė

A child, in the interaction with other children, adults and the environment, creates a unique understanding of the world, . He knows the world in all senses, observes what is happening, knows basic color names, finds them around himself/herself. Nature gives the child natural learning tools that create a special colour background, the emotional tone for education (learning) process. The color is a daily children's companion, which never disappears. Through various objects and phenomena color living environment educates a kid or, conversely, crushes the child's emotions. Preschool focuses on children's knowledge of colors, creating color environment. Color environment appears not only inside the kindergarten‘s environment, but it is also natural. A child likes the nature at different seasons of the year, because everyone has his/her own way of fun and has his/her own color background. The color to a child is more than a technical tool. Colors help to ex-press emotional experiences. Various tests, color tests help to determine what colors children love most, which ones dominate in the children's drawings, what seasons are the favourite because of their color background, what color of the room, kindergarten‘s environment the children would like most. Canadian scientist‘s Max Lusher‘s color test helps to reveal the hidden child's mood and stress. Howard Gardner's intelligence theory is oriented towards the fostering of intellectual abilities and cognitive development of the model. Naturalistic intelligence helps to develop the children's respect and love towards the nature, the ability to watch it sensitively.

145-153

Authors: Boris Yarinovsky

Several reports from scientists, teachers and parents maintain that the students have a low level of motivation in studying natural sciences. There were noted an aggressive attitude to some courses and to school in all. Several students of Rezekne Higher Education institution’s engineering faculty participated in a research about motivation in studying natural sciences. All the data collected during the research was stored and processed with a self made computer program to determine the motivation of students. The majority of respondents are satisfied with the choice of their specialty. They are interested in studying natural sciences with the use of ICT and would like to have a chance to use the training material in a digital format.

162-166

Authors: Irina Zhikina, Inna Portyanskaya

Involvement of students and teachers in active scientific research and development - an urgent need of all time. The school scientific community is intending to ensure all of that. Scientific research studies allow each student to acknowledge, try and indentify at least some of their talents. The purpose of school scientific community: – the development of students independent , logical ,critical thinking; skills of analysis and synthesis; ability to work with the educational, scientific and reference literature; involvement in creative research action of different age group students. In the past three years the authors of the article were engaged with the reforming of SSC in connection with the transition to the new national education program. Organisation of a clear structured system of creative-research action of students came as a result. Positive progresses in changes of age and subject fields of study are achieved. Science-research activity of students is a collaborative process of student and teacher. The main function of a modern teacher – management of the study process, development of students personality. Organization of science research activity acquires a special significance, as it is a big factor of self-development and self-determination, has a significant impact on personal professional establishment of graduates. The proposed method of student activity organization allows to smoothly, consistently and purposefully involving students in active, independent cognitive activity according to their interest and abilities.