Gamtamokslinis ugdymas / Natural Science Education

4

Authors: Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė

A short communication about the scientific journal `Natural Science Education`.

6-16

Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas, Rytis Vilkonis

In the developing knowledge-based society information technologies play a particularly significant role. However, even the most advanced technologies will not give a necessary effect, if their usage (application) in the educational system is not adequate to the current development of technologies and increased educational needs. In the author’s opinion, our epoch is marked with global environmental crisis and the advent of information age. Extensive implementation of a range of information technologies into high and higher school curricula and the emphasis on environmental issues in education are two leading trends in contemporary education. We maintain that it would be optimal if the computer (especially using the Internet) is a natural teaching / learning aids like books and other sources of information. On the other hand, it is necessary to create conditions for teachers to raise qualification. This is emphasized by numerous researchers. It has to be stated that the Internet possibilities in the teaching process are insufficiently used. On the other hand, in principal there are no reliable studies, which would reveal the actual situation in this field. Therefore, the object of our study is the usage of the Internet for teaching physics. The main aim of the study is to analyse the situation of the usage of the Internet for teaching physics and highlight the hindering/encouraging factors of its usage in the teaching process. The most important study tasks have been formulated: • To analyse the situation of the usage of the Internet for teaching physics; • To identify the hindering/stimulating factors of Internet usage for teaching physics; • To highlight the experts’ opinion about the expected development perspectives of Internet usage for teaching physics in the nearest five years period. The study employed expert inquiry. The type of expert inquiry – “Delphi study”, containing several experts’ inquiries (stages). The data of every round are generalised and repeatedly submitted to the experts. Such procedure is repeated several times, most often 3-4 times. The study was carried out in September – December 2005. In the first stage of the study the experts replied to 5 essential questions. In the opinion of the majority of experts (62%) the usage of the Internet during the nearest five years will increase only insignificantly. 31% of experts maintain that the usage of the Internet will increase significantly and 7% think that it will not change at all. Having studied and generalised the first stage results, the new questionnaire for the second stage of the study was prepared. It was identified that the most important factors, hindering the Internet usage were as follows: poor computerisation of physics rooms and the shortage of the Internet access, poor school technical possibilities and poor funding, shortage of specialized Internet websites and of websites applied for teaching physics, poor knowledge of foreign languages, etc. The most important stimulating factors: the wish to interest pupils and search for more diverse teaching forms, the possibility to present the phenomena to the pupils that they find difficult to imagine, the diversification of the demonstration and laboratory teaching aids, etc. In the third stage of the study the experts had to assess the generalised second stage results. In many cases the experts approved the generalised assessment of the current situation; however, they noted that the situation in town schools and village schools differed. The experts clearly expressed their concern regarding the immoderate ICT usage in the teaching process and emphasized that the computer will never replace the teacher’s explanation and natural experiments with real physical bodies in the real environment. Some conclusions were indicated: • The Internet possibilities for teaching physics are not being fully used both for objective and subjective reasons. • It is expected that during the nearest five years the Internet usage will increase only insignificantly. • Higher effectiveness of ICT application for teaching physics can be achieved in the presence of continuous monitoring (how the situation changes, what influences it, etc.), on the other hand, the physics teachers need continuous methodical assistance, independent of their formal qualification. Effective ICT application for teaching physics is one of the composite parts of the competence of physics teachers. • Continuous studies and in-service training institutions should allocate more attention raising the qualification of physics teachers in this field.

24-31

Authors: Onutė Gervienė

Self-expression is characteristic to any student and planning a drama lesson a teacher’s task is to make it very important for the student. If it turns out to be a success students will have an inner wish to improve their knowledge. The method of drama is one of the means to educate students seeking positive changes. The essence of this method is to feel the interrelation with the technology, the process of changes by means of drama signs. Drama method enables to develop abilities giving special tasks to the students with individual character and aptitudes. Each student has an opportunity to improve and seek higher level at a certain pace. Drama method is based on differentiation, the students have excellent possibilities to evaluate themselves, make conclusions, suggest technologies and make decisions. This article is an attempt to touch upon some examples how the method of drama helps to arouse students’ motivation for a peculiar subject. Besides, a teacher always tries to find links between students’ personal experience and the topic of the lesson so that the students could demonstrate their knowledge, attitude, thinking and opinion by means of drama method. All things considered, it is possible to state that the use of drama method in any lesson is a powerful tool to improve knowledge, feel open to cultural variety and establish social relations.

37-42

Authors: Daiva Paškevičienė, Algimantas Paškevičius

The article presents methodological recommendations for the implementation of the project of a microbiological nature. The urgency of the project is undoubted, as it has been noticed that school classes were overcrowded with pupils and almost not ventilated in winter, thus, schoolchildren often suffered from respiratory illnesses. Besides, secondary school programs include many themes in which the concept of microorganisms is used, however, pupils usually lack practical knowledge about isolation of microorganisms in a laboratory and their distribution in the air. The main aim of this work was to evaluate microbial contamination of school premises as well as to provide pupils with knowledge about biological peculiarities of various systematic groups (bacteria, micromycetes and yeast-like fungi) and their macro- and micro-morphological peculiarities. To achieve the aim, the following tasks were set: 1) to develop pupils’ abilities to make experiments and develop their initial skills in research; 2) to form their cognitive experience of the surrounding world while performing team tasks; 3) to develop pupils’ creative-organizational abilities as an integral process of theoretical and practical actions. Due to lack of equipment and conditions, it is not easy to perform microbiological projects in schools. Furthermore, a teacher should have competence, though due to this, in the article much attention is paid to the methods of project performance. Necessary labware and nutritive media for project implementation are indicated. Possible variants of an experiment scheme are discussed and the stages of the experiment are presented coherently. Preparation of microscopical mounts and microscopy methods are described in detail. It is pointed out that the identification of microorganisms is a very hard work, so teachers should be trained in microbiological methods. Handbooks, which can be used for the identification of some microorganisms, are indicated. Much attention is paid to the presentation of experiment results, as pupils participating in the project get much information about microorganisms. Participants get familiarized with the size and shape of bacterial cells and fungal macro-morphological (colony colour, shape, size and colour of colony reverse) and micro-morphological (a shape of conidia and mycelium) peculiarities. Pupils observe reproduction ways of yeast-like fungi (budding and binary fission) and determine yeast cell shape, size and other characteristic properties. While describing microorganisms isolated from school indoor air, pupils indicate a systematic group to which a microorganism (a bacterium, micromycete and yeast-like fungus) belongs. When the opportunities to identify microorganisms exist, pupils point out a genus and a species to which a microorganism is ascribed. Possible variants of systematizing the obtained results (tables and pictures, etc.) are discussed. The implementation of the project in schools has undoubted theoretic and practical significance, because pursuing the project the pupil’s abilities to make an experiment are developed and initial skills in research and cognitive experience of the surrounding invisible world are formed. Execution of the project induces pupils’ creative-organizational abilities as an integral process of theoretical and practical actions. Later the pupils willingly participate in competitions and conferences of young researchers – naturalists, write papers, prepare a wall newspaper about microbial contamination of school indoor air and give recommendations about improvement of school sanitation. While performing team tasks, participants get knowledge about microorganisms of various systematic groups (bacteria, micromycetes and yeast-like fungi), their isolation under laboratory conditions and distribution in the indoor air. Pupils can use obtained knowledge in the lessons of the course “A Man and his Health” (9th grade) as well as in ecology and general biology (11th – 12th grades) lessons.

50-56

Authors: Vasilii Аnatol’evich Krasickii

School chemical experiment plays a very important role in the process of chemistry teaching. It increases learning effectiveness of teaching material, develops pupils’ cognitive activity and forms interest in the subject. Some teachers, however, decrease the share of the chemical experiment in the teaching process, motivating this by the lack or absence of the necessary reagents at school, and for the reasons of safety and responsibility for pupils’ health. Therefore, the problems of supplying school laboratories with reagents and the safety of chemical experiment are topical. This article describes original simple and safe methods of preparing some important reagents from the substances and materials that are available in school laboratories. The proposed methods will assist teachers, when necessary, to solve the problem of the lack of some reagents independently. Safe method of obtaining ethylene can be also successfully used in pupils’ experiments.