Turinys / Contents

COVER

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Cover, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016, GU/NSE

CONTENTS

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Contents, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016, GU/NSE

REFLECTIONS CONCERNING THE NEW ERA AND DESTINY OF NATURAL SCIENCES

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The last decade for the Russian school and high school education was the time of reforms. At school new training programs and variety of textbooks appeared, for senior students the unified state examination was introduced. All these innovations are still discussed by students’ parents, scientists and the public. Opinions are ambiguous. The main problem of pedagogy always was: what and how to teach? Knowledge of various subjects has to be available to all students, and their text interpretation is clear to them. There were also important discoveries and innovations in science. All of them, anyway, will affect school knowledge. One of important statements of the last time is the recognized fact that our Planet passed into a new era. It was called an anthropocene. It is obvious that it is necessary for comprehensive schools, higher education institutions, other educational institutions to pay more attention to the teaching/learning subjects, to reconsider their qualitative part, and to think of what outlook and relation to nature they could offer to young people.

EDUCATION OF NATURAL SCIENCE COMPETENCE THROUGH GAMES IN A PRESCHOOL INSTITUTION: CONTEXT OF TEACHERS’ EXPERIENCE

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Nowadays natural science competence in education of preschool age children is increasingly highlighted as it gives not only the cognitive experience of nature, but also encourages children’s study, observation, experimentation activities; educates the right relationship between a child and nature. Both scientists and teachers promote the application of various games in order to organize interaction between a child and nature as well as to educate natural science competence. The observation study of preschool teachers showed that the education of natural science competence is very important, and the significance of natural sciences is associated with the knowledge of natural phenomena, animals and plants, the promotion of the feeling of natural beauty and the ability to observe nature. According to the majority of the respondents, very important aspects of natural science competence are the cognition of natural phenomena, plants and animals; the feeling of natural beauty, and the ability to observe nature. In addition, such expressions of this competence were pointed out as important: the understanding of plant growth and animal life, the education of environmental protection activity skills, the ability to use a variety of means of natural science, the perception of communication between the living and non-living nature. The experience of the vast majority of teachers showed that they describe the game as an activity where the child himself has the opportunity to discover, experience new and deepen existing knowledge of nature. According to them, while playing a child’s ability to think (to analyse, compare, classify) helps to build up the experience of living and non-living nature. The analysis revealed that many games are applied to educate the competence of natural science, but the most popular ones are games with various natural objects; didactic games; table and ecological games. Most teachers often play games in the group’s or institution’s environment (yards), sometimes in the unconventional environment. Game’s compliance with natural science education purposes, child’s age and experience; children’s needs, interests and ideas, and teachers’ competence in relation to games are the most important factors that determine the successful application of games in order to educate natural science competence. In relation to the importance of natural science competence and based on the results of the research analysis, it is possible to forecast the development of this competence through the greater variety of games of natural science content.

THE APPLICATION OF METHODS STIMULATING ACTIVITIES OF STUDENTS WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS IN THE PROCESS OF TEACHING AND LEARNING NATURAL SCIENCES

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Changes in educational paradigms are directly connected with changes in educational goals, attitudes towards the organisation of educational process and teaching and learning methods. At present, methods stimulating students’ activities are applied to various topics and cycles in natural sciences classes, when students with special educational needs are educated in inclusive or segregated environments. Modern stimulating methods are very different, and some of them are of a particular importance while educating students with special educational needs to reveal the content of natural science classes. These include discussions, group work, project activities, concepts and definition scheme, pair work, structured notes. Stimulating methods are attractive for the students, to those with moderate and severe learning difficulties among them, when they correspond to their abilities. These methods make the process of education more varied, they provide conditions for better learning for students with various abilities, they help the students to apply their knowledge and educate them.

THE TWENTY SECOND NATIONAL SCIENTIFIC-PRACTICAL CONFERENCE „NATURAL SCIENCE EDUCATION IN A COMPREHENSIVE SCHOOL – 2016“: A REVIEW OF CONFERENCE

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This year, on April 22nd-23rd, the 21st National Scientific Practical Conference “Natural science education in a comprehensive school - 2016” took place. This time the participants of the conference gathered in Jan Sniadecki Gymnasium of Salchininkai. The conference was organized by the scientific methodological centre “Scientia Educologica”, and the most important conference partners were – Jan Sniadecki gymnasium and the „Ecological Education Center“ in Vilnius. On the first day of the conference four plenary reports were presented. Dr. Agnaldo Arroio presented teacher professional development issues in Mozambique. Denis Zhilin from Moscow Polytechnic Museum has presented the issues related to instructivism and constructivism ideology in education. Obviously, some interesting questions of modern natural science and technology education are presented in these reports. In the afternoon the work went on in two sections. In the first section the reports were mostly devoted to pre-school, primary and general natural science education problems. The second section is devoted to the science and technology education perspectives at the secondary and higher school. The work of a conference was fruitful. Participants got acquainted with topical issues and the new ideas in the sphere of natural science and technology education. In the frame of a conference two seminars were organized. During the first seminar participants analysed some possibilities science and mathematics teacher collaboration. The latest results based on the international MaT²SMc project were presented and discussed. The second seminar was devoted to the development of chemical concepts through experiment. So, 22nd national conference is a history already. As always, not everything was successfully recorded, not all interesting questions discussed. 23rd conference is expected to take place in Pakruojis, in April, 2017.

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End page, Vol. 13, No. 2, 2016, GU/NSE