Teaching the Basic Natural Science outside the classroom
Original Scientific Article
Abstract
Modern teaching emphasizes student activity, realized not only through research work but also by utilizing natural environments as primary knowledge sources. Outdoor learning should be an integral part of the modern educational process in which students acquire knowledge in an immediate, experiential way through independent research and discovery. The paper presents qualitative research results obtained through descriptive methods and focus group interviews. The sample consisted of 12 teachers, and the aim of the research was to determine the reasons, difficulties, and problems that influence the teachers’ decision to implement the contents of Basic Natural Science in the classroom or outside it. The results indicate these outdoor classes are underutilized, despite the subject matter lending itself to natural environment and outdoor settings, which can enhance learning and provide rich educational content. In addition, the importance of experiential and integrated learning in terms of Basic Natural Science is immeasurable, while the nature of the difficulties and reasons why these classes are less often organized outside the classroom are mostly technical-organizational and financial. The teachers acknowledged that such classes require an investment of additional time and energy, that they pose certain risks, and that the attention and motivation of students are not always at a satisfactory level, but they did not deny the value and necessity for organizing such classes. Nevertheless, the frequency of Basic Science Classes outside the classroom can be increased, on the one hand, by empowering and providing support to teachers through an organized system of professional development and strengthening their competencies for the implementation of teaching outside the classroom, while, on the other hand, by pointing out to students the importance and seriousness of outdoor work, i.e. by explaining that lessons outside the classroom do not differ at all in importance from lessons in the classroom.
References
Anđić, D. (2007a). Paradigmatski aspekti problematike okoliša i odgoj za okoliš i održivi razvoj, Metodički ogledi, 14 (2), 9-23.
Anđić, D. (2007b). Učenje i poučavanje prirode i društva na otvorenim prostorima, Metodički obzori, 2 (1), 7-23.
Anđelković, S., Stanisavljević Petrović, Z. (2014). Ambijentalna nastava u funkciji unapređivanja kvalitetea nastavnog procesa, u zborniku „Pedagoški modeli evaluacije i strategije razvijanja kvaliteta obrazovanja“, ur. Dragana Pavlović Breneselović i Živka Krnjaja, Beograd: Filozofski fakultet Univerziteta, Institut za pedagogiju i andragogiju, 169-180.
Anđelković, S., Stanisavljević Petrović, Z. (2011). Značaj prirodnih i društvenih resursa u funkciji integracijskog i ambijentalnog pristupa u inoviranju škola, Glasnik srpskog geografskog društva, XCI (1), 171 – 182.
Blagdanić, S., Banđur, V. (2018). Metodika nastave prirode i društva, Beograd: BIGZ školstvo.
Golubović-Ilić, I. & Mikarić, B. (2023). The importance of outdoor learning at early ages, SCIENCE International Journal, 2(3), 123-128.
De Zan, I. (2005). Metodika nastave prirode i društva, Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Dubljanin, S., Mihajlović, D., Radović, V. (2019). Komparativna analiza modela nastave u prirodi u Srbiji i skandinavskim zemljama, Teme, XLIII (1), 175-190.
Kovačević, M. (2008). Škola u prirodi – škola budućnosti, Beograd: Zadužbina Andrejević.
Kostović-Vranješ, V. (2015). Metodika nastave predmeta prirodoslovnog područja, Zagreb: Školska knjiga.
Marušić-Jablanović, M., Blagdanić, S. (2019). Kada naučno postane naučeno: prirodno-naučno opismenjavanje u teoriji, istraživanjima i nastavnoj praksi, Beograd: Učiteljski fakultet: Institut za pedagoška istraživanja.
Mirković, B. (2014). Metoda fokus grupe u istraživanjima iz oblasti informacionih sistema, u zborniku radova sa XIII međunarodnog naučno-stručnog simpozijuma INFOTEH-JAHORINA, ur. Slobodan Milojković, Istočno Sarajevo: Elektrotehnički fakultet, 831-835. https://infoteh.etf.ues.rs.ba/zbornik/2014/radovi/RSS-5/RSS-5-1.pdf
Mladenović, J., Golubović-Ilić, I., Koprivica, M. (2015). Ambijentalna nastava prirode i društva, Uzdanica - časopis za jezik, književnost, umetnost i pedagoške nauke, Fakultet pedagoških nauka Univerzitet u Kragujevcu, Jagodina, XII (2),131 – 145.
Nikolić, R. (2005). Škola u prirodi – otvorena škola, Užice: Učiteljski fakultet.
Pravilnik o programu nastave i učenja za prvi razred osnovnog obrazovanja i vaspitanja, Službeni glasnik RS – Prosvetni glasnik, br. 10/2017.
Pravilnik o organizaciji i ostvarivanju nastave u prirodi i ekskurzije u osnovnoj školi, Službeni glasnik RS – Prosvetni glasnik, br. 30/2019.
Popović-Trbušković R. (2016): Deca uče u prirodi , Beograd: Kreativni centar.
Radivojević, D., Jelić, M. (2016). Izvanučionička nastava u nastavi prirode i društva, Nova škola, XI (1), 235 – 250.
Skok, P. (2002). Izvanučionička nastava, Zagreb: Pedagoški servis.
Spring, H. (2021). Why choose to learn outside? JES21 Practitioner Perspective, pp. 23-29.
Retrieved 18. X 2023. at https://www.ase.org.uk/system/files/Spring.pdf
Stanojlović, B. D. (2000). Škola u prirodi kao vid osavremenjavanja vaspitno-obrazovne delatnosti škole. Nastava i vaspitanje, 49(3), 361-367.
Harvey, D. (2012). What is outdoor learning?, Horizons (57), Institute for Outdoor Learning, Retrieved 16. X 2023. at https://www.outdoor-learning-research.org/Portals/0/Research%20Documents/
Horizons%20Archive/H57.WhatIsOutdoorLearning.pdf
Harun, M. T. & Salamuddin, N. (2014). Promoting Social Skills through Outdoor Education and Assessing Its’ Effects, Asian Social Science, 10 (5), 71-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.5539/ass.v10n5p71
Husanović-Pejnović, Dragica (2011). Održivi razvoj i izvanučionička nastava u zavičaju, Zagreb: Školska knjiga
Yıldırım, G. & Özyılmaz Akamca, G. (2017). The effect of outdoor learning activities on the development of preschool children, South African Journal of Education, 37 (2): 1-10.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.
