NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN A COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL

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Authors: Editorial Board

Contents, 25, 2019

18-28

Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas, Dalia Augienė

Schoolchildren’s natural science competence development is inseparable from teachers’ natural science competence, the integral part of which are subject, didactic and managerial abilities. Competence (es) acquisition during the studies at university is not a final process. Competence improvement, enrichment continues during the whole period of active pedagogical work. In the months of January-February 2018, a qualitative, limited amount research was carried out. 60 primary school teachers from more than 25 Lithuanian schools participated in the research. Research data were analysed using a content analysis method. Research results revealed that most primary school teachers value their knowledge in natural science field as sufficient. Teachers accentuate that their competences are proper and emphasize their lifelike and long work experience importance. Part of the teachers accentuate constant natural science education subject knowledge renewal. Only a small part of teachers notice that they lack knowledge in natural science field. Research result analysis showed that most of primary school teachers develop natural science competence independently using various information sources. A big part of teachers develop natural science competence participating in formal specially organised activities. Not a small part of teachers accentuate practical natural science competence development. Research results revealed that most primary school teachers give average evaluation to their competence in teaching natural science (world cognition). Only a small part of teachers attribute a high value to this competence of theirs. Research result analysis showed that primary school teachers teaching students natural sciences (world cognition), encounter various problems. The bigger part of teachers experience problems, related to the teaching process: lack of devices, low students’ teaching motivation, teaching content shortcomings. A big part of teachers teaching natural science subjects (world cognition) experience social – organisational problems: a lack of time, unfavourable conditions, a lack of support. Teacher opinion analysis of what needs to be changed /improved in natural science primary school teacher training/preparation revealed that the biggest part of teachers offer to improve future teachers’ practical abilities/skills. Part of teachers offer to better develop special competences, related to natural science education, to improve material supply of the study process.

35-54

Authors: Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė

Two trips have encouraged to prepare this methodological article, having provided not only new knowledge but also contradictory ideas about the environments used for education. One trip was to British educational training and technology exhibition Bett-2019, the other – to Reggio Emilia, where everyone was introduced to the unique Loris Malaguzzi education method. Holding an opinion “unique is what is simple”, it was decided to use proper objects for education right here, in the kindergarten / primary school yard and to generate the ideas how to use them for education. The research object is a pine-tree and a fir-tree as a teaching/learning device in the kindergarten and in the primary school: what, how and why. The aims: 1) to look through the preschool age children achievement description (2014) and a standardised world cognition programme (2015) in order one could tell, what achievements the children could develop if they explored a pine-tree and a fir-tree, growing in the kindergarten / primary school yard; 2) to provide childhood teachers with the knowledge about the mentioned trees and to share the ideas, how one could use a pine tree and a fir tree for children education in childhood, what activities, what spheres or school subjects to integrate. In the article, methodological advice is given illustrated with lots of pictures.

60-69

Authors: Jūratė Mikulevičiūtė

The paper textbook or its set is one of the main tools for teaching and learning. As an alternative to paper textbooks, electronic textbooks for the subjects of Man and Nature, and Math for 5th grade came out in 2018. During the survey carried out by the TAMO group, the teachers of the Man and Nature subject have indicated that the main issue limiting the use of the electronic textbook is the school’s technological base. The textbook is expected to have the functionality, which would make the job of the teacher easier, complementing it with tools for teaching and the possibility for easier differentiation and customization. The electronic textbook of the Man and Nature subject was developed on the basis of general education program, recommendations of the international assessment of student achievement research and other documentation. The textbook is focused on active self-study, is adapted to students of different achievement levels, and promotes critical thinking, creativeness, data analysis and interpretation, research activity skills. The content of the textbook subject is divided into separate fragments, which the teacher can construct while creating his/her own subject according to the situation of a specific class. The teacher can take the advantage of the set of differentiated tasks, by appointing the set of tasks to satisfactory, general or higher level students or by adapting the set to a specific student. The teacher receives the information about the achievements of the students by using the result analysis tools and by analysing the student’s profile, where the learning progress can be seen. The most effective use of the textbook set can be reached if each student would have a personal computer or a laptop available or could learn using a mobile phone. However, the content of the textbook can be demonstrated with the help of a projector or an interactive board or a textbook and assign the tasks to be done at home using the “Flipped Classroom” method. This is done when the students analyse the content of the subject and carry out the tasks independently on their own devices, and then it is discussed and explained during the lesson.

81-96

Authors: Eugenija Rudnickaitė

Thanks to the project "Providing Schools with Natural and Technological Sciences", for the implementation of which funds from the European Union Structural Funds and the state budget of the Republic of Lithuania were allocated, in 2018 685 schools received collections of useful minerals. The collection contains 14 useful minerals: sand, quartzose sand (silica sand), sand-gravel raw material, clay, sapropelithe (sapropelic coal), limestone, chalk marl (marlstone), dolomite, peat, earth oil (oil, petroleum, naphta), amber, flint (chert), gypsum, granite. The purpose of this article is to show: How the whole collection can be used in natural science lessons; As examples of individual useful minerals; How to use it to integrate into biology, natural and human, chemistry, physics, technology, mathematics, knowledge of the world, IT and other subjects. Available options for lessons are offered for each useful mineral.

102-110

Authors: Violeta Šlekienė, Ramutė Gaučaitė, Aušra Kazlauskienė

The competence of entrepreneurship in the context of general education is developed at different levels by students of different ages. Young people have many features of a successful entrepreneur, but the enthusiasm of the students themselves is not enough to encourage entrepreneurship. It should be a systematic approach, proper organization and coordination of activities. Entrepreneurship abilities, in the absence of an appropriate system, are developed spontaneously, fragmentarily, without creating a complete picture and seeing the final result. In order for students to be able to apply their knowledge in practice and gain practical entrepreneurial skills, it is necessary to properly organize their formation process and be able to manage it. The tendency is that increasingly younger students want to learn the elements of entrepreneurship. Therefore, the only option is non-formal education, usually project activity. This paper deals with a project carried out under the cooperation program of high schools of Šiauliai city and Šiauliai city municipality in the context of STEAM activities. The model My smart product for work or leisure for developing entrepreneurial abilities of students of different ages is discussed, its conception and realization possibilities are revealed. The essence of such model is a creative collaboration between students of different ages and cooperation with scientists, business consultants, in order to transform the entrepreneurial idea into a prototype of a real product. Thus, in the context of STEAM activities, the aim is to develop the creativity of different age students, their ability to put their ideas into practice, to make engineering and technical decisions, and thus to acquire practical entrepreneurial skills. * The program was financed from the budget of Šiauliai City Municipality

134-138

Authors: Rimvydas Latvys

The history of the school has started on 1 September 1986 when a spacious 2nd secondary school in Kupiškis opened the doors for the first time. The first lesson began with 774 pupils and 51 teachers inside. Stanislovas Rugaitis was the first headmaster who led the school until 2001. The education of natural science was chosen as a priority from the very first school year. The community of progymnasium is proud that it was named after professor Povilas Matulionis in 1996. Povilas Matulionis was born on 5 September 1860 in Kupiškis. His activity was diverse and meaningful: scientist, forester and pedagogue, poet and publicist, playwright and even Ascene activities director. He is an originator of forest typology science in Lithuania. Matulionis created the classification table of the forests in Lithuania where the plant sites were divided into 3 groups and 10 species (types). He also designed the volume tables of the major species of trees growing in Lithuania and the formula to calculate the rates of annual deforestation. An agreement of cooperation was sighed with Kupiškis forest enterprise in autumn 1997 which later established the award in behalf of Povilas Matulionis and obligated to help to plant the park as well as support the activity of the young foresters. It has already become a tradition to organise a conference of natural science during an annual name-day of the school. The teams of the school partners usually take part in this event. A dendropark was established on the coast of Račiupys at school area. There are 28 families, 63 tribes and 115 species and shapes of decorative trees and bushes currently growing here. The school became a winner in the observation competition of the best managed environment of schools in the Republic in 2011 and was presented with a commemorative plaque “The best managed school environment 2011”. The community of the school became a member of the collective society to beautify Lithuania in 2001. It is interesting that Povilas Matulionis was a founder of this society. There are a lot of various after school activities: sports, choreography and theatre, art, music, traffic safety, an ethnographic ensemble “Zbitkai”, club of tolerance, the group of fishing enthusiasts “Nasrai”, the organization of shooters and so on. Another after school activity of the forest buddies “Atžalynas” has been active in progymnasium since 1997. The pupils and teachers of the progymnasium willingly participate in feneological observations, club of tolerance, the integrated course of natural science program for 5-8 grades and other projects. The progymnasium took part in the international project NordPlus Junior “STEM-real worlds” in year 2016-2018 and together with the partners from the republic of Latvia Pastende and the republic of Estonia Võru Kreutzwaldi schools engaged in diverse natural science, art, technologies and ecology activities. The progymnasium cooperates with Anykščiai Antanas Vienuolis, Kaunas Garliava Jaunučiai, Rokiškis Juozas Tūbelis and Molėtai progymnasiums, Pasvalys Lėvuo, Alytus Šaltiniai and Vilnius Spindulys basic schools. We became friends with Wormstedt Grundschule school in Germany in 1999. Since then we have been studying German and the Germans – Lithuanian. Currently there are 660 pupils studying and 60 pedagogues working in progymnasium. We are modern, all the time learning, communicative, cooperative and open to changes progymnasium.

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Authors: Editorial Board

End page, 25, 2019