Gamtamokslinis ugdymas / Natural Science Education

6

Authors: Andris Broks

Congratulations to all of you! You have started new practical research journal in natural science domain of modern education. It seems to become an event not only for Lithuania’s teachers, but also for your colleagues in many neighbor countries – your journal marks new stage of regional cooperation between active school teachers and those working in teacher education at universities. Following methodology of systemic approach “Natural Science Education” is going to join development of modern educational content and technologies, pre-service and in-service teacher education, real needs of life and corresponding educational standards, and what is the most remarkable – theory and practice with special accent on practical testing and implementation of modern theoretical proposals in real school practice. It may become experimental educational school laboratory journal, where main persons are theoretically clever and practically active teachers working on their master degree thesis or experienced practitioners who valuate their life-long findings and report them to coming new generation of educationalists. This all together will help us to keep and develop high value natural science education standards both in theory and practice. It is one of our main tasks for nearest future to resist expansion of unscientific world outlook and behavior, as well as to develop s c i e n t i f i c understanding of things and processes in our modern world. Sciences are developed by people for people along with the need to take special care of many artificial phenomena in this world today because of tremendous progress of sciences and technologies... We need to concentrate our best natural science education resources in our region to keep definite order in our living material medium At the same time we need success in our schools when providing our pupils with appropriate natural science and technique education. “Natural Science Education” will help us to solve these problems. Good luck to all of us and let us try to keep in definite order and at definite level this very important for real practice journal!

11-25

Authors: Vincentas Lamanauskas

Natural science education is an integral phenomenon that requires a systemic approach and assessment. Therefore, most of the issues should be discussed in a broad context of general natural science education. However, two inconsistent moments can be mentioned: • the correlation between research and practice is weak. First, teachers’ competence level in the field of educational research is rather low; second, partnership with the researchers’ community remains unexpanded; the teacher is, first of all, a subject of pupils’ training for life and their integration into society (socialization) who is responsible for high quality education and better results. Therefore, there are a few bitter reproaches about problematic research of educological natural science education that might be irrelevant in terms of teachers’ work experience; • the correlation between a higher school lecturer and comprehensive school and educational practice in general, is very weak in most of the cases; a mission of the scientist is knowledge about scientific educational reality. From this point of view, teaching natural sciences at higher school seems to be rather complicated when educating the teachers of this profile. Often teaching science subjects at higher school is limited by “dry” academicism, a didactic cover is thin. The “real” naturalists hypothetically renounce the educologists working in the field of natural science education. The latter frequently feel being misunderstood by the “real” pedagogues – didacticists. In this article some main methodological trends of scientific studies in the sphere of natural science education are discussed. Main purpose of a study was to analyzed main trends, to display their content and specific character. Main methods of study – analysis of scientific literature, comparative and systemic analysis, the method of interpretations. Such main scientific trends of studies were analyzed: • studies of natural science and technological literacy; • studies of the motivations of the acquisition of knowledge about nature and studies of practical activity on questions of science research. • studies of human being relations with nature • studies of the integration of social and natural science knowledge (integrated education). • studies of questions of training the teachers of natural science disciplines and diagnostics of the quality of preparation on the basis of competencies. • studies of the problems of natural science education in the primary school and questions of the natural science education (literacy) of the teachers of primary forms etc. Therefore, natural science education is not the only subject of discussions today. It is more frequently examined in a very broad context which is natural science – technological – noosspheric education. The professionals of natural science education accept personal responsibility for the creation and extension of natural science education which is supposed to be a primary duty and obligation. Consequently, training of the comprehensive school teachers of natural sciences and the permanent development of natural science competence are very important features from this point of view. School cannot effectively work without the teachers and education managers of suitable qualification. The final idea of the author in this article – studies in the sphere of natural science education in Lithuania must be carried out at the higher methodological level also in the wider problematic field.

35-39

Authors: Natalija Kaupienė

In article it is spoken about insufficient ecological education in training courses of natural scientific disciplines. The offer to teachers was made to create educational modules of programs “Ecology in my school subject”. The purpose of modules–programs is to study consistently local environmental problems and methods of their solving by means of different sciences. The author considers creation of such a program particularly for Klaipeda. Shi allocates the following environmental problems of a seaport: the local biota has been inoculated by non–indigenous species, contamination of water of the sea and Curonian Lagoon with oil and its products, influence of fertilizers on development of phytoplankton, periodic lack of oxygen in waters of Curonian Lagoon and in the deep layers of the Baltic sea, poisoning influence of heavy metals and poisonous substances on alive organisms of the sea and a coastal zone, destroying influence of hurricanes on the sea coast. In the article the project of creation of the module is offered only, it can be changed. It is expected to study chemical, physical and biochemical properties of water, concretise the influence of poison on alive organisms through the food chain. His expected the formation of bottom sedimentation, to study underwater hydrothermal processes, cycles of introversions of chemical elements and their dynamic dependence on different factors, biological and chemical situation in a zone of a sea gate. Methods of protection of the nature, methods of liquidation of ecological disasters, valuation of their cost and safety will be considered more widely. To take the pupils interest in module the author is going to use available visual aids, organize practical work, determine physical properties of water, saltiness and find the quantity of oxygen in water, look into the methods of investigation of biogenic materials. There is a Maritime Museum in Klaipeda. Visits to this museum, short expeditions to the objects of nature can become the appropriate factors to rise pupils motivation. The author expects informational consultative assistance of the appropriate institutions.

44-50

Authors: Violeta Lazarevičienė, Aušra Rašytinienė

It is essential to talk about animal welfare in schools as wide and properly as possible, because this educates young man’s unseen, respect to all forms of lives, fellow–feeling to animals, and undoubtedly preclude cruelty. The aim of the article is to introduce the guide for animal welfare education “People and animals“, that was prepared by Lithuanian animal care organization. Animal welfare educational guide “People and animals” is dedicated for comprehensive schools teachers, who are not partial to animal welfare and care. It consists of general part and program, methodical material for teachers, examples of integrated lessons and practical tasks. Tasks are easily applicable simplifying or extending them. Animal welfare education enhances the sensation of the surrounding world, respect to it, develops understanding about life’s value – highlights moral values. Animal welfare is a part of ecological education. Aim is to form responsible ecological attitude. In this article we try to clear out, how ecological education is related to the animal welfare education; discuss ecological topics, which directly affect animal welfare; link them to common educational programs and school needs. Ecological education and animal welfare education has a lot of contact points. Program material can be integrated into other subjects: languages, arts, music, nature sciences, mathematics, physical training, ecology. You can find examples in the article, represented in chart. In the article we will overlook in detail the practical application of the animal welfare educational guide in general education and informal training. In conclusions we can say: 1) embodying animal welfare programs we have to involve all the community: teachers, pupils, parents, national and public organizations, 2) collaboration between schools, other educational institutions and public organizations is the main reason to success, 3) nature study lessons in the ZOO – stops cruelty and violence against animals, 4) this teaching method develops pupil’s ecological culture, matures active interest in nature, deepen knowledge, implants respect for life and responsibility for it.

55-60

Authors: Rytis Vilkonis, Laima Railienė

School is given an important and responsible task to form the pupils’ world outlook at the present level of life and science requirements. General programmes particularly emphasize education, aimed at developing scientific thinking and cognitive abilities, based on pupils’ research activities. Because so far the pupils’ environmental research activities are nationally successfully developed only in the non–formal education system, comprising the insignificant part of children and youth, it is necessary to look for the ways to speed up the changes in formal education system. The article analyses the experience of two Lithuanian towns – Kėdainiai and Šiauliai – implementing integrated events for the country’s teachers and pupils. The organisers of both events – national integrated conference for teachers and pupils “Nature and I” in Kėdainiai and national practical conference–seminar “Natural research in the 1st – 6th grades of a secondary school” in Šiauliai – have a common objective – to make pupils’ natural science education process in formal education system more active and effective. With the aim of attaining that, pupils are encouraged to develop environmental research activities in formal education system and teachers are provided with the conditions for the development of their natural science competencies. There is a slight difference between the ways of implementing the same objective. In Kėdainiai more attention is paid to senior age pupils, and in Šiauliai – for junior age pupils (7–12 years of age). In Kėdaniai integrated conference is organised. At the conference pupils and teachers work in separate sections and present separate papers. At the same time the teachers listen to the lecture. Conference papers are edited and printed in a separate publication. In Šiauliai a practical conference – seminar for teachers and pupils is organised. Communication in the first part of the seminar takes place by Internet, and the methodical publication, consisting of the descriptions of separate school researches, is prepared. In Kėdainiai the articles are prepared by pupils, consulted by teachers; in Šiauliai – by teachers, consulted by pupils and compilers. The Šiauliai publication integrates two ideas: first, it is a methodical teaching aids that is convenient for the teacher’s use; second, the publication is written in a language that is understandable to a pupil and can be used as an additional source of information in formal natural science education process. The second part of the seminar takes the form of a conference, where pupils and teachers read combined papers, providing a broader and more colourful presentation of the performed research, answer the questions, and explain the peculiarities of research organisation. After the conference all methodical materials are announced on the Internet website and is available to all country’s teachers and pupils. Kėdainiai working group is responsible for the publication of the methodical materials on Internet.