Search

Contemporary educational theory and practice increasingly emphasise the importance of integrated education in creating the conditions for success for primary school students. In Lithuania, as part of the 2020–2024 curriculum update and the development of general curricula, integrated education is highlighted as one of the priorities for achieving harmony between pupils’ academic achievements and the development of general competences, as well as the creation of a favourable emotional environment for pupils. This creates a strategic perspective on the content of education. However, there is a lack of research and insights into how such practices can be developed smoothly. For this reason, our research was carried out by targeting one of the Francophone institutes in southern France, which has successfully implemented an integrated education practice that enables learning for every pupil in the primary grades. The study analysed the context, i.e. the concept of the educational institution’s activities, which shows what should be done and how it should be done in order to achieve the quality of integrated education. In addition, the data were obtained through semi-structured interviews with 4 teachers at the Institute with experience in integrated education. Qualitative content analysis was used to inductively search for answers describing the essence of integrated education, the most important processes to reflect on before engaging with pupils, and to deductively identify how certain elements contribute to creating the conditions conducive to integrated education and pupils’ successful learning.

Aim. The aim of the research is to provide a scientific justification for the integrated development of general and subject-specific competences of primary school pupils. Methods. The exploratory qualitative case study was conducted in a private school in Lithuania. The integrated activities covered the content of Lithuanian language and science education, as well as general competences such as communication and digital competences. The activity was implemented in grade 4 with 12 pupils (8 boys and 4 girls). A semi-structured interview with the class teacher was also conducted. Results and conclusion. The data from the empirical study were analysed according to the following thematic clusters: interest in the activity, group work, searching for information in the encyclopaedia and in electronic sources, working with a robot when integrating the digital skills and the content of science education, descriptions of animals as a summarising and consolidating activity. The study found that if the educational process is well thought out, if the pupils are interested, they can work independently and support each other in explaining the content, while the teacher becomes an observer, a facilitator, and can concentrate on the pupils’ individual activities during this process. Well-designed tasks with the robot develop not only digital literacy skills, but also the reinforcement of subject content related to the use of concepts. Originality. The case study provides valuable insights into the implementation of an educational process that integrates general and subject-specific competences, and the detailed description of the activities shows which tasks support students’ independent learning.

The framework document Good School Performance (Koncepcija 2015), regulating the curriculum of Lithuanian schools, states that school curriculum should engage, motivate, be wide in scope, as well as exhaustive and challenging, and encourage problem solving; it should develop competences necessary for modern life; enable learning through research, experiments, discovery and invention, creation, communication, and collaboration. Self-identification as a member of a group/class is a fundamental value that enables quality learning and socially responsible activities. Students demonstrate a positive learning approach if they feel they belong to the class/school environment and identify themselves as its full-fledged members. The sense of belonging to an educational group/community is of great importance. It is when students feel as outsiders that complications arise. The failure to identify with the community leads to learning difficulties, subject irrelevance and therefore goals that are not only beyond reach but also goals that student are not willing to pursue. This article discusses how Lithuanian primary school students perceive collaborative learning, which integrates the development of language skills.

Contemporary educational theory and practice promote the development of subject-specific and generic competences. Cooperative learning is a generic competence whose development is recommended in all subject lessons/activities. The development of fundamental individual values that rely not only on individual achievements but also on empathy and helping others, the ability to listen, mentor, and assist is integral to primary education. Such education is supported by positive inclusion in the process and good-willed communication within the group to achieve a common result. It is through achieving common goals and witnessing the variety of activity approaches that certain activities become a success. The study aimed to include all students in the development process on the basis of cooperative learning and improve each and every student’s individual learning of language performance in all subjects. The study is based on 186 first-to-fourth-year students from one major city school, representing a total of 8 classes. After the school-wide activities on cooperative learning, all pupils took part in a questionnaire survey halfway through the school year. The survey used a written questionnaire. The questions in the questionnaire were designed to explore pupils’ attitudes towards school and language-related aspects of successful group cooperation. The collected data were analysed using SPSS version 20. The data analysis used a descriptive approach, calculating the answers chosen by the pupils. An analysis of the survey results shows that the majority of pupils in years 1 to 4 think they can work in groups and cooperate because they are willing to listen to others, explain and help others, are not bored, are interested in working together, and are interested in learning new subjects.

Aim. Cooperative learning (CL) is a widely recognised pedagogical practice which involves students working together to achieve common goals that they could not complete individually. Johnson and Johnson are among the main theorists behind the movement. In 1994 they announced five elements essential for the successful incorporation of CL in the classroom: (a) positive interdependence; (b) face-to-face promotive interaction; (c) individual and group accountability; (d) interpersonal and small group social skills; (e) group processing. In this study we seek to understand how primary school teachers implement cooperative learning and include the above-mentioned aspects in their classes. Methods. The qualitative case study was conducted at a primary school in Vilnius, Lithuania. Two lessons were recorded, transcribed, and analysed to gather evidence concerning variables that mediate cooperative learning. The teachers planned the lessons together, using the principles that are outlined in a professional development method called Japanese lesson study. The study involved two teachers and 40 (20+20 pupils in two classes) fourth graders. Also, interviews were conducted with the teachers and three pupils from each class. Results and conclusion. The forms of cooperative learning observed in the classrooms were markedly different, even though the lesson plans were almost identical. In Lesson 1 the teacher paid more attention to interdependence, interaction, and reflection. Consequently, students mentioned cooperation, assistance, and specifics of group workmore frequently. In Lesson 2, there was more traditional group work than CL schemes, and less interdependence, interaction, and reflection. The five essential elements were unequally represented in the lessons, highlighting the varied understanding of CL. ‘In situ’ research revealed which elements of cooperative learning need to be stressed inteacher pre-service and in-service settings. The study also deepened the understanding of which aspects are more difficult to implement, or which have made significant inroads into classroom practice. Originality. Situational research involving both CL and Japanese Lesson Study techniques provide valuable insights into the professional development of teachers who aim to improve their classroom practice.

Good communication skills for each person are the basis for quality learning and quality life. Throughout the history of humankind, since people started to communicate and to hold opinions and beliefs, they have always attempted not only to share information, but also to make influence on others. An argument is an individual’s verbal action in order to convince others. The specificity of arguments depends on the situation in communication and on the goal of communication, i.e., on the purpose of an utterance. An argument belongs to the sender of information and to the audience, i.e., recipients of information, to which it is dedicated. In modern society, to be aware of what to say and how to say is not a luxury, but a necessity. Ignorance of how to dispute is one of the greatest sources of cultural inequality. The ability to argue can be considered as one of the higher-order thinking skills, because an individual must not only be able to express his/her ideas coherently, but also refer to facts and exclude the most important ones. International research shows that pupils’ higher-order thinking is insufficient; there are great differences between pupils of different schools and regions.

The article analyses the policy, theory and research-based practice of integrated languages didactics. It discusses teaching quality, determining factors, the role of integrated languages didactics, its challenges and sensitive aspects in organising integral learning. The development of learning curriculum (depending on the context) and reflection activities are the key element in establishing quality-focused integrated learning practices.

Recently, Lithuania and other European Union member states experienced a marked deterioration of pupils’ linguistic skills (especially reading and writing), according to data from the 2006 and 2011 Progress in International Reading Literacy Study. This article analyzes the possibilities of integrating the education of linguistic skills into classes of other disciplines, in terms of the planning and organization of integrated linguistic education, how to begin, and what to expect. To solve these issues, the experience of such matters in Switzerland was studied by analyzing the results of qualitative research.

Straipsnyje, vadovaujantis kūrybinių darbų rašymo (teksto struktūros, teksto turinio, kalbinės raiškos, raštingumo) kriterijais, analizuojami Lietuvos 4 klasės mokinių pasakojimo ir laiško rašymo pasiekimai. Straipsnio autorė yra ES struktūrinių fondų projekto „Standartizuotų mokinių pasiekimų vertinimo ir įsivertinimo įrankių bendrojo lavinimo mokykloms kūrimas“ lietuvių kalbos testų rengėjų darbo grupės vadovė, todėl publikacijoje panaudota projekte įgyta patirtis. Išanalizavus empirinio tyrimo rezultatus galima teigti, jog 2011 metais 4 klasės mokiniams pavyko pasiekti itin aukštus laiško, kai detaliai nurodyta rašymo eiga, rezultatus – net daugiau nei penktadalio laiško rašymo darbų priskirta aukštesniam lygiui. Pasakojimo rašymo rezultatai gerokai prastesni, nes net daugiau nei pusės tyrime dalyvavusių mokinių pasiekimai buvo pakankamai žemi, atitinkantys patenkinamą arba nepatenkinamą pasiekimų lygį. The article discusses the issue of Lithuanian fourth-formers’ narrative and letter writing achievements according to the creative-writing (the structure of the text, the content of the text, linguistic expression and literacy) criteria. The research was carried out in 2011 in various Lithuanian schools and was financed by the EU structural funds (the project “Creation of standardized instruments for pupils’ achievements’ assessment and self-assessment applied in secondary schools, the author of the article was the manager of the Lithuanian tests’ for the fourth-formers creators’ work group), therefore, the project-based experience has been used in the publication. Having analyzed the results of the empirical research, it can be stated that in 2011 fourth-formers managed to achieve very high results in letter writing when the details of the writing process were given. More than one-fifth of the works of writing the letter were attributed to a higher level. The narrative writing results were significantly worse, as achievements of more than one half of the researched were rather low and met the satisfactory and unsatisfactory level of achievements.

Siekdami atskleisti teksto analizės ir komunikavimo kompetencijos ugdymo sąsajas, straipsnyje aptarsime, kas yra tekstas, kokie yra teksto turinio analizavimo būdai, teksto analizės organizavimo formos. Išanalizuosime empirinio tyrimo (vienos veiklos) duomenis, kurie atskleis, kaip galima ugdyti mokinių komunikavimo kompetenciją skaitant ir analizuojant tekstus. Straipsnyje empirinio tyrimo duomenys pateikiami atsižvelgiant į šias susijusias struktūrines dalis: informacijos supratimą → pranešimo perdavimo planavimą (raštu) → pranešimo perdavimą ir priėmimą → veiklos apmąstymą. This article discusses the issues of text conception, the ways of text content analysis and the forms of text analysis arrangement in order to reveal the correlations between text analysis and communicative competencies' development. We will study the empirical research (one activity) data, which show how it is possible to develop pupils' communicative competency while reading and analyzing texts. The empirical research data are presented considering such correlative structural parts: understanding of information → planning of message transmission (in writing) → transmission and acceptance of message → reflecting on activity. The object of the research: development of pupils' communicative competency and text apprehension abilities. The goal of the research: to discuss the development of fourth-formers' communicative competency when analyzing a text on the grounds of pedagogical experiment results. The objectives of the research: to analyze the issue of pupils' communicative competency's and text comprehension abilities' development in scientific literature. To reveal the fourth-formers' communicative competency when analyzing a text on the grounds of pedagogical experiment data.

Straipsnyje aptariama, kaip galima konstruktyviai ugdyti IV klasės mokinių teksto analizės gebėjimus taikant mokymosi bendradarbiaujant strategiją. Aprašomos dvi praktinės veiklos, aptariami mokinių pasiekimai, kai dirbdami porose ir nedidelėse grupėse analizavo grožinius ir negrožinius tekstus, perdavė ir priėmė informaciją apie skaitytą kūrinį, apmąstė veiklą. Mokslinės literatūros ir empirinio tyrimo duomenų analizė atskleidė, kad siekiant veiksmingai taikyti mokymosi bendradarbiaujant strategiją analizuojant tekstus, mokiniams reikia pateikti tikslingų, įdomių, prasmingų, teigiamas emocijas keliančių užduočių. Išsakyti kūrinio pagrindines idėjas ketvirtos klasės mokiniams sunkiai sekasi net pasitarus su suolo draugu. Dažniausiai ketvirtokai linkę atpasakoti kūrinio siužetą, matydami pavienes detales, o neįžvelgdami gilios prasmės ir reikšmės. IV klasės mokiniai labai teigiamai vertina galimybę rinktis tekstą. This article discusses the issues of the possible ways to constructively develop the fourth-formers‘ text analysis abilities when applying the strategy of learning in cooperation. The article describes two practical activities and discusses pupils’ achievements they attained while analyzing fiction and non-fiction texts, rendering and accepting information about the text and reflecting on their activity in pairs and in small groups. The aim of the research: to reveal the fourth-formers‘ text analysis achievements when applying the strategy of learning in cooperation on the basis of the results of pedagogical experiment. Conclusions: 1. In order to successfully apply the strategy of learning in cooperation while analyzing a text, pupils should be supplied with purposeful, interesting and expedient tasks, which raise positive emotions. It is recommended to choose interesting multi-layered (poly-semantic) and diverse texts. Learning in cooperation develops pupils‘ activeness, initiative, creative thinking, independence and social skills. 2. Fourth-formers find it hard to tell the main ideas of a text even after being consulted by their desk-mate. Pupils usually tend to retell the plot of a piece of writing indicating separate details without pointing out the depth of its sense and meaning. In order to achieve better results, it is suggested to afford pupils to read, analyze, and evaluate writings in cooperation with a friend or a group of friends. Listening to others helps to create the meaning of a text, to check the rightness of personal opinion. 3. Fourth-formers have a positive attitude towards the possibility to choose a text, because the respondents were well disposed towards the text they have read. After the detailed analysis of pupils‘ answers it became clear that in most cases pupils indicated that they had learnt a lot from the text. A positive remark is that many fourth-formers are able to tell very concrete arguments related to the content and experience. 4. The strategy of learning in cooperation is an appropriate way to study the way pupils understand a text and to develop their reading skillsas well as to encourage a positive attitude towards reading. When talking about the text, that has been read, pupils base their position on their life experience; give a meaning to their feelings and emotions in relation to content. Discussion in a group encourages pupils to ask new questions, be interested in a text and relate it with their personal and group members‘ experience, develop critical attitude towards the text being read. The process of learning in cooperation will be successful when pupils learn to reflect on their personal and their group-mates‘ contribution to joint work.