Marija Vincek, Osnovna šola Frana Kocbeka Gornji Grad, Gornji Grad
Social lifestyle leads to quick tempo of life. Due to lack of time and because of safety concerns, children are given a lack of opportunities for activities that would lead to greater independence. Learning about the nature and respecting it, leads to learning for life and coexistence with nature. Open learning environment without time and space constraints is essential for quality independent childrens learning and achievement of learning aims. When taking into consideration the learning process, I wanted to achieve active role of children with the focus on self-motivation (learning process is adapted to the learning-types – visual, auditory, kinaesthetic) and autonomy. With the active role of children in self-directed learning, I wanted to achieve the adoption of the aims of the curriculum at the highest level. With the students of first grade we learned about habitats in the vicinity of schools (pond, stream, meadow). The learning process was integrated, so we avoided the time and space constraints. By brainstorming and discussion, we found what we already know about living environments. The pupils themselves proposed what they wanted to learn on this subject. Pupils learned about different habitats, which are in the vicinity of schools. Through concrete work in nature they became acquainted with different habitats, they compared habitats, plants and animals in them. The acquired knowledge was checked with a motion game, by sorting frames of animals and plants in the correct environment, and by worksheets and PC application. Students in the learning process worked in pairs. Some of them didn’t cooperate well in pairs, some of them had problems with concentration, and different interests lead to different troubles. On the other hand self-motivation of pupils was a positive thing, also cooperating and the help of some students in pairs. The good thing was also acceptance or rejecting a second opinion, the verification of claims and how to find the correct solution in a group.
