Author(s):
Editorial Board.
Page No : 55-56
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COVER
Abstract
GU/NSE, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2020; Cover page
Author(s):
Editorial Board.
Page No : 57-57
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CONTENTS
Abstract
Contents, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2020; Contents
Author(s):
Eleonora Melnik.
Page No : 58-60
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TIPS FOR TEACHING SCIENCE SUBJECTS UNDER PANDEMIC CONDITIONS
Abstract
For the system of education in many countries of the world, the end of the school year 2020 was disordered by the appearance of a new virus - COVID-19. A big number of people being infected, made it a necessity to use distance learning tools in the majority of educational institutions. It is clear that for the younger age students according to their physiological and psychological development peculiarities, it is necessary to use all sense organs – seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching in the process of learning. In practice it means that for the given category of children, for successful cognition of the world, it is necessary not only to see learning subjects, but also according to their possibilities to touch them, to smell them and to taste them. Complex understanding about the surrounding environment of a contemporary student is a combination of a real and virtual components of his life and activity. And, the more place virtual space occupies in a child’s intellect, the more positive is seen the involvement of a real natural component in their cognition of the surrounding world. One has to combine and develop the work with the textbook, i.e., theoretical knowledge, with the practical abilities and skills of the younger age students in mastering natural science subjects. Therefore, thematic excursions, research works, activities in nature are very important for the younger age students. Knowing the surrounding world of one’s own concrete place of living, a small part of the world, and establishing relationship between human and nature, a child acquires common understanding about the whole world.
Author(s):
Violeta Šlekienė, Vincentas Lamanauskas.
Page No : 61-73
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DEVELOPMENT AND IMPROVING STUDENTS’ EXPERIMENTAL SKILLS THROUGH STEM ACTIVITIES
Abstract
There are some trends currently being monitored in the country: interest in science studies and related professions is decreasing; unsatisfactory results of international student achievement research (PISA, TIMSS). In order to make students more interested in natural sciences and to motivate them to relate their life to STEAM activities, it is appropriate to encourage students to engage in independent research and to discover the joy of discovery. One of the ways to solve this problem is the students' practical experimental activity in the laboratories of University. In this way, students not only get to know the laws of science, new technologies, but also carry out experiments, research and projects. The research analyses the usage of STEAM program “Cognition of Energy and Thermal Processes” for students of ninth (1st Gymnasium) grades in order to deepen and broaden the knowledge of natural science education, develop practical abilities of students and their scientific researcher's competence. Students are advised to do five experimental works in this field. The program engages a basic educational method – inquiry-based learning. The results of the pedagogical experiment and the questionnaire survey are discussed. It can be stated that educational experimental activities are necessary and useful for students. By using these experimental activities, students can be provided with educational material in an attractive form, which stimulates the interest in the subject. Program participants have deepened and expanded their knowledge of energy and thermal processes in nature. Students improved their competence in natural science research. They learned how to plan and perform experiments, acquired the ability to formulate hypotheses, to make assumptions, to analyse and explain results, and to formulate reasoned conclusions. Students acquired practical skills to work properly and safely with devices and tools (computer systems Nova 5000 and Xplorer GLX, temperature, humidity sensors, caliper, scales, etc.) Students liked to be young researchers; they felt the joy of discovery by practically experimenting and independently exploring natural phenomena.
Author(s):
Rūta Girdzijauskienė, Gražina Šmitienė.
Page No : 74-84
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INTEGRATION OF ARTS IN STEAM PROJECTS: EXPERIENCE OF PRIMARY SCHOOL TEACHERS
Abstract
STEAM education is named as one of the priorities of Lithuanian education, responding to the need to promote a culture of innovation at school and to develop students' creative and critical thinking. The search for opportunities of integration of the subjects of arts and sciences into teaching / learning processes involve researchers and practitioners from various fields (engineering, education, arts, culture, and technological innovation). The numbers of scientific publications on the concept of STEAM education and on the role of arts in it that have been increasing over the last decade testify to the scientific community's attention to the issue, however, they also raise so far unanswered questions about the integration of arts into STEAM theory and practice. Researchers address several problematic areas in STEAM education: insufficient analysis of practical cases, limited preparedness of teachers to implement STEAM projects, and one-sided interpretation of the purpose of arts. Not much is known about how teachers’ value personal experiences in arts integration, how effective the inclusion of arts in the context of STEAM education is, and what the dynamics of STEAM discipline integration is. The aim of this study is to find out why and how primary school teachers integrate arts into STEAM projects, what challenges they face, and how they assess their competencies to ensure arts integration. To achieve the aim of the research, a focus group discussion with teachers working at two Lithuanian primary schools and implementing STEAM projects was chosen as the main data gathering method. The results of the focus group discussion revealed that the teachers preferred an arts-enhanced model of STEAM subject integration mostly through visual arts (drawing, photography, collage, and sculptural elements by gluing). Arts were applied with the aim of diversifying students' academic activities and enriching them with emotional experiences. The research participants saw the following advantages of including arts in STEAM projects: increasing the choice of activities and tools, enhancing students' engagement in learning processes, developing leadership and cooperation skills, maintaining learning motivation, improving critical and creative thinking skills, and linking learning to life. The limitations of teachers' competence to integrate arts into STEAM projects became apparent as well: insufficient knowledge of forms and ways of artistic expression, distrust of their own artistic abilities, and a lack of experience in cooperation with art teachers and artists. Based on the research findings, the directions of further research were formulated, the most relevant ones being an analysis of specific STEAM projects and the modelling of multidimensional STEAM projects.
Author(s):
Rita Makarskaitė-Petkevičienė.
Page No : 85-99
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PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS’ NATURAL SCIENCE LITERACY EXPRESSION ANALYSING THE TOPIC “ORGANISM NUTRITIONAL RELATIONSHIPS AND ADAPTATION TO THE ENVIRONMENT”
Abstract
Both in Lithuania and abroad, a lot of natural science contests, quiz shows are organised for primary school students. By these events it is sought to motivate the participants, to provide knowledge, to deepen it and expand, to develop research work abilities and skills. Research aim – to analyse and generalise the contest “Lithuanian naturalist” theoretical part task answers, to ascertain what concepts (domestic or scientific) dominate in the contest participant works, to find typical mistakes made by students, and to present recommendations to the teachers. Research sample. Twenty-eight 3rd – 4th form students from 14 different Lithuanian schools, that is, 14 teams (the team consists of two students). Activity sheets were used for the research, in which 10 tasks were presented. An evaluation instruction was prepared for result evaluation. Slides were shown for the students while presenting the tasks. Team members worked in pairs. It was established that the 3rd and the 4th form students were able to make nutrition chains, could explain what it starts with, to ground, why. Contest participants correctly defined what a predator was, and what a victim was. Students had a sufficient understanding why predators were necessary in nature. Students lacked the ability to read the task to the end, attentiveness helping to discern the features. A typical mistake was noticed: part of the students the concepts of an insect and a beetle used as synonyms. Domestic concepts happened to be used. The participation in such contests, and the ability of organisers to lead the students through the science cognition way not only motivates them, but also allows them to believe in such activity meaningfulness. It is experienced how much I know, and together it is felt that still there is where to develop. Having introduced the teachers with the contest tasks, and having discussed with them students’ made typical mistakes, use of concepts, having presented methodological advice how to analyse one or another topic, what methods to use, one can hope for more thorough primary school students’ dialogue with science.
Author(s):
Simone Canciani.
Page No : 100-123
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A DIDACTIC ITINERARY THROUGH MATHEMATICS, SCIENCE AND ART ON ESCHER’S PERIODIC DRAWINGS
Abstract
The purpose of this analysis is to show that strong connections might exist between the teaching of mathematics, science and art. This is due to the particular geometrical configurations behind several paintings and other artistic creations. Therefore, the knowledge of this connection might be of help for the students to guess that mathematics and science also have possible applications to art. This is particularly relevant for the high schools of art. Since too often, mathematics is taught in high schools without any relevant link to reality, this can be one of the reasons of students’ disaffection for this subject. In this analysis, a teaching experiment developed by the author in an Italian (Udine) high school of art is proposed. In particular, Escher’s periodic drawings, and the ornamental motifs that characterize many products in reality, offer an interesting opportunity to make high school students understand the relevance of mathematics and especially of geometry in art. The discovery of mathematical laws, that derive from crystallography, behind Escher’s drawings should persuade students that such an artistry is reachable only by means of mathematical knowledge. In what follows the main features of the outlined didactical proposal are presented and discussed.
Author(s):
Darinka Sikošek.
Page No : 124-138
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HOW TO STILL RECOGNIZE THE PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS: THE PROPOSALS OF DIDACTIC AND METHODOLOGICAL PLANNING
Abstract
The methodical approach presents the proposals of didactic-methodological planning of curriculum password "Fields in the periodic system" for the needs of the key components of teaching & learning process. The didactic-methodological proposal of each of the current macro-didactic components of the learning process includes the following didactic elements: chemical terms, method / method’s password, didactic tool, didactic material. For each macro-didactic component, it is planned to use one of the methods from the author's "methodic hexaplet", defined by the didactic formula ADDGPS: Analogy-Drama-Dance-Game-Pantomime-Socratic dialogue. The dance method is used to acquire the concepts of atomic orbitals and electronic configurations of the elements. The macro-component repeating involves the role-play method used to implement the Expeditionary Visit of PTE by using the Identity card of the element. Both methods of quiz conversation method according to Socrates and the Small PTE cells are used for evaluation. The use of all the mentioned methods is evaluated in terms of the competencies that must be mastered by the teacher, as well as the competencies that the student acquires when performing an individual method.
Author(s):
Micaías Andrade Rodrigues, Agnaldo Arroio.
Page No : 139-152
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LESSON STUDY IN PRE-SERVICE PHYSICS TEACHERS’ EDUCATION: A CASE IN BRAZIL
Abstract
Lesson study (LS) is a teaching improvement process that began in Japan more than 100 years ago. As the LS is still a new approach in the Brazilian context, this paper will discuss how it could be implemented in the pre-service physics teacher training. To accomplish this, a group was created with 6 pre-service teachers who held 11 meetings, which integrated two LS cycles. The data for this research were collected through field notes and materials produced by pre-service physics teachers. The collected data were analyzed by Bardin's content analysis. According to the results obtained, it highlighted that pre-service teachers had gaps in knowledge about the basic contents of Physics and LS showed that collective work with peers could promote reflection and enable classes that were closer to the students' reality, minimizing the difficulty and rejection by Physics in basic education, improving the students’ learning.
Author(s):
Editorial Board.
Page No : 154-155
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END PAGE
Abstract
End page, Vol. 17, No. 2, 2020