Search

There is a large amount of research that indicates that the use of 3DMP in STEM education improves students’ knowledge, motivation, and participation in the learning process. Nevertheless, despite the existing attempts to market 3DMP in education, its adoption in schools remains low. A number of studies with teachers in secondary schools and colleges indicate that teachers’ perceptions of 3DMP are one of the key factors for its successful use. However, to our best knowledge, there is no research that examined STEM upper primary school teachers’ perception on 3DMP. Through phenomenographic approach, this study is seeking to address the existing gaps. Four conceptions of 3DMP teaching emerged: (1) 3DMP as tools for classroom modernization; (2) 3DMP technical and software characteristics’ impact on implementation; (3) 3DMP as a tool for learning and improvement in teaching; (4) 3DMP and students’ professional orientation, teachers’ professional development. These four categories are connected by five key aspects of variation: impact on students, impact on teachers, classroom activity management, authenticity, subject-curriculum matters. The results of our study indicate that the mathematics and science teachers have a more sophisticated opinion on 3DMP than teachers of technical education, engineering, and informatics who mostly require additional training when it comes to using 3DMP in STEM education. Comparatively, science and mathematics teachers need support with implementation of software and 3D printers as a technical tool. Considering that this study’s teachers were early adopters of 3DMP, any future research should explore conceptions of experienced users.

In this paper, we offer three examples from our research projects on both technological and pedagogical innovations to illustrate the impact of rapid technology changes on research. Members of our research team both developed and used technology applications in their research projects, utilizing design-based research (DBR). During the experiments, we encountered new challenges by the end of the research cycle due to updates in technologies. Although we had an idea of how to redesign the project for the next cycle based on the analyses of data, we noticed that we needed to not only redesign our approaches based on the research results but the changes in technologies were so rapid that materials and pedagogies needed to be altered as well. In our article, we propose an additional aspect to be considered in DBR while researching technology integration or innovative technologies. Moreover, the rapid change in technology raises further challenges to teachers’ professional development and the integration of those innovative technologies in classrooms. We anticipate our work to contribute to the development of technology resources and related pedagogies as well as the refinement of research methodologies in technology environments. Our contributions for the development of technology resources and refinement of research methods in technology-supported learning environments should, among other things, contribute to a less complex and at the same time more sustainable integration of pedagogical innovations into scientific and school practices.

Background: Exploring using constructivist learning has become a focus of educational research in recent years. However, no available research has been found which examines the contribution of cons...

Although very rare, the existing research on the biological education of blind people indicates that teaching content is not fully in line with the sensory perception of that content by the...

The widely explored but still unresolved question about the contribution of the application of different ways of performing experiments in the integrated natural sciences is addressed in this research. The aim was to determine the contribution of demonstration hands-on experiments (DHE) and student hands-on experiments (SHE) in relation to conventional teaching method (CTM) on the quality and durability of 3rd grade students (between 9 and 10 years of age) from primary school. The research involved 180 students, further divided into three groups: E1 (experimental group 1, where content was learned through DHE), E2 (experimental group 2, where content was learned through SHE) and C (control group, where content was learned through CTM). The results of the research point to the fact that priority should be given to the DHE and SHE over the CTM in the realization of air-related content in the 3rd grade. SHE should be used more than DHE when it comes to teaching this specific content. Keywords: demonstration hands-on experiments, student hands-on experiments, integrated sciences, primary school, quality of knowledge

The aim of the paper is to analyze the contribution of the laboratory-experimental method (LEM) to the quality of students' knowledge of natural and inaccessible research. Papers were also selected to examine the comparative contribution to the quality of students' knowledge: LEM and other learning methods, that is, between student and demonstration experiments. Most of the research so far is focused on subject teaching and they are still rare in integrated science teaching. The research confirms the greater contribution of LEM than the traditional and other methods of learning about quality and durability of students' knowledge. Student experiments in most research contribute to the quality of students' knowledge more than the demonstration experiments. There is insufficient research which examines the impact of LEM on students' quality of knowledge at cognitive levels. In the teaching of most of the contents of natural science, priority should be given to the LEM method or it should be combined with other methods of learning.

The aim of the research is to examine the contribution of applying author-generated dichotomous keys (digital key - DDK and print key - DPK) to the quality and durability of the knowledge of eighth...

Traditional teaching, which is predominantly represented in the teaching of biology in primary and secondary schools, is one of the main reasons for the emergence of the plant blindness among students. Modernization of teaching methods could reduce this phenomenon among students. The aim of the research is to examine the contribution of the created digital dichotomous key (DDK) and instructive (traditional) methods to the quality and durability of eighth-grade students’ knowledge of the Systematics and Classification of Plants. The research also examines the students’ opinion on the contribution of DDK to their knowledge and motivation for learning botanical contents. The research involved the participation of one hundred twenty students of the eighth grade from Montenegro (12- 13 years old), who were divided into two groups: K (contents were taught by IM) and E (the same contents were taught by DDK). The quality of students’ knowledge after content realization was tested with post-test, while the durability of knowledge was tested by the retest. Students opinions are examined by the survey. The results of the research showed that DDK contributed to the higher quality and durability of students’ knowledge in relation to IM at cognitive levels: analysis, evaluation, and synthesis. Sstudents of the E group have a positive opinion on the contribution of the DDK to the quality of their botanical knowledge and a greater motivation for studying the plant world. In the realization of the aforementioned botanical contents, priority should be given to DKK in relation to IM.

Heuristic teaching of natural sciences in initial education, and in general as well, is important for a proper acquisition of knowledge and skills. Primary school teachers’ attitudes regarding this matter can have a considerable impact on using heuristic teaching in the classroom. The aim of our research was to investigate primary school teachers’ opinions about heuristic teaching in the classes of integrated natural sciences (school subjects World around Us and Social, Scientific and Environmental Education) in primary education. The research objectives included the analysis of teachers’ attitudes towards the implementation of heuristic teaching as well as of their attitudes towards its effectiveness in teaching World around Us and Social, Scientific and Environmental Education. Descriptive-analytical and comparative methods were used in the research. The researchers used a survey as research technique and a questionnaire as research instrument. The sample consisted of 71 respondents, primary school teachers of both sexes and of different years of service. The obtained results show that the respondents have a positive opinion about the implementation and significance of heuristic teaching. However, they do not use it sufficiently in their lessons of the World around Us and Social, Scientific and Environmental Education. For this reason, an organised permanent education should be provided to increase the quality of teachers’ knowledge about the specificities of heuristic teaching and opportunities for its implementation in the lessons of integrated natural sciences.

The goal of this research was to explore the potential socialization drop that might occur during students’ transition from class teaching (i.e. having mainly one teacher) to subject teaching (i.e. having many teachers). We had two competing assumptions: 1) that the socialization drop will affect both typically developed (TD) and so called special educational needs (SEN) students, and 2) that the drop will affect SEN students more. Using a transversal approach and sociometric method, we tested these assumptions on a sample of 685 (55 SEN) elementary school children from the Republic of Srpska, grades four through nine. The results clearly supported the second assumption. While sociometric social preference for TD children did not change through the grades, SEN children social preference dropped significantly in the transitional sixth grade, never again to recover to the fourth grade level, when there was no difference between SEN and TD children. This effect was only slightly affected by the peer discipline issues nominations. Thus, when trying to design potential socialization support and intervention programs in inclusion, we should be aware of the expected transitional socialization drop.

This paper analyzes the problems which primary school teachers face during these science lessons and their willingness for professional development to enable themselves to implement the inclusion model in teaching science in primary schools. The research included 332 primary school teachers. The data was collected using a survey and analyzed by comparative and descriptive methods. It showed that the initial professional development program enabled teachers to gain some general knowledge about the inclusion model, but it did not qualified them for applying this model in integrated science teaching in primary schools. Teachers believe that science should be taught by qualified science teachers who have some experience with the inclusion model. Teachers also want to improve their knowledge through further professional trainings. They are faced with a lack of cooperation with institutions which deal with inclusive education, the lack of adequate literature on the inclusion model and its implementation in science teaching, as well as a variety of financial and technical barriers. They want to gain knowledge about the inclusion model, so that they can apply it during their science lessons.

During field investigations of semi-natural habitats of the city of Podgorica and its vicinity, the aquatic moss, Fissidens fontanus was found in the rivers Sitnica and Cijevna. This is the first report of the species from Montenegro. The species grows together with Fissidens crassipes and Fontinalis antypiretica, which are common mosses in the Montenegrin rivers. At the Balkan Peninsula, Fissidens fontanus is also known from Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.