Experiences and Attitudes of Primary School Pupils in Grades 6 to 9 towards Distance Learning in Biology

Marca 2020 je razglasitev epidemije nalezljive bolezni covid-19 preselila izobraževalni proces iz učilnice v spletno okolje. Ker je bila to v Sloveniji povsem nova situacija, se je večina učiteljev s tovrstnim načinom poučevanja srečala prvič. To je nedvomno pripomoglo k dejstvu, da je bilo krizno uvajanje izobraževanja na daljavo izpeljano s precejšnjo mero improvizacije. Učitelji biologije so bili še posebej izpostavljeni izzivom poučevanja na daljavo, saj pouk bioloških vsebin temelji na izkustvenem učenju, pri katerem učenci pridobivajo različne praktične izkušnje in spretnosti. Namen magistrskega dela je bil ugotoviti, kakšne so izkušnje in stališča učencev predmetne stopnje osnovne šole glede pouka bioloških vsebin na daljavo. Podatke smo pridobili z anketiranjem učencev s pomočjo spletnega vprašalnika. V raziskavo je bilo vključenih 221 učencev 6., 7., 8. in 9. razreda petih osnovnih šol osrednjeslovenske regije. Rezultati raziskave so pokazali, da je pouk bioloških vsebin na daljavo večinoma potekal tako, da so učitelji kombinirali videokonference s podajanjem navodil za samostojno delo. Kot najpogostejšo dejavnost, ki je potekala prek videokonferenc, so učenci izpostavili razlago učne vsebine. Manj pogosti dejavnosti sta bili delo v paru ali skupini in uporaba videoiger, kar nakazuje, da je bilo sodelovalno učenje v času izobraževanja na daljavo za učitelje biologije precejšen izziv. Med dejavnostmi in z njimi povezanimi miselnimi izzivi so prevladovale utrjevanje učne snovi, odgovarjanje na vprašanja in zapisovanje povzetka o prebrani vsebini ter izpolnjevanje učnega lista. Pri tem se pojavlja vprašanje kakovosti pouka bioloških vsebin na daljavo zaradi pomanjkanja predmetno specifičnih dejavnosti. Med težavami učencev so izstopale počasna internetna povezava, pomanjkanje sodelovanja s sošolci ter nizka motivacija in koncentracija. Učenci so videli priložnosti pri pouku bioloških vsebin na daljavo predvsem v daljšem jutranjem spanju in samostojnem razporejanju dela, kar si lahko razložimo kot željo učencev po večji soudeležbi načrtovanja učnega procesa. Ugotovili smo, da sta bila najpogostejša načina pridobivanja ocen ustno ocenjevanje znanja prek videokonference in ocenjevanje praktičnega izdelka, zato bi lahko učitelji biologije v prihodnje dali večji poudarek alternativnim načinom pridobivanja ocen. Kljub temu so rezultati pokazali, da večina učencev svoje učenje pri pouku bioloških vsebin v času izobraževanja na daljavo ocenjuje enako kot pri pouku v živo. Med stališči učencev do pouka bioloških vsebin na daljavo so najbolj izstopala prepričanja, da je pouk bioloških vsebin na daljavo od njih zahteval več truda in časa kot pouk v živo, da je bil pouk bioloških vsebin na daljavo zahtevnejši od pouka v živo in da so bile naloge zanimive. Pri vsem omenjenem so se med učenci različnih razredov in učenci z različnim učnim uspehom pojavljale statistično pomembne razlike. In March 2020, the declaration of the epidemic of the infectious disease covid-19 moved the educational process from the classroom to the online environment. As this was a completely new situation in Slovenia, most teachers encountered this type of teaching for the first time. This undoubtedly contributed to the fact that the crisis introduction of distance education was carried out with a considerable degree of improvisation. Teachers were particularly exposed to the challenges of distance education, as the teaching of biological content is based on experiential learning, in which pupils acquire a variety of practical and experiential skills. The aim of the master thesis was to find out what are the experiences and attitides of primary school pupils towards distance learning in the teaching of biological content. The data were obtained by surveying the pupils using an online questionnaire. The survey included 221 pupils in grades 6, 7, 8 and 9 from five primary schools in the Central Slovenia region. The results of the survey showed that distance learning in biology was mostly done by teachers combining videoconferencing with self-instruction. The most frequent activity that took place via videoconferencing was the explanation of the learning content. Less frequent activities were pair or group work and the use of video games, indicating that collaborative learning was a significant challenge for biology teachers in distance education. The activities and associated mental challenges were dominating by consolidating the material, answering questions and writing a summary of the content read and completing a learning sheet. This raises questions about the quality of the distance learning of biological content, particularly in terms of longer sleeping hours and independent work scheduling, which can be interpreted as a desire on the part of the pupils to participate more in the planning of the learning process. We found that the most common ways of obtaining grades were oral assessment via videoconference and assessment of a practical product, so biology teachers could place more emphasis on alternative ways of obtaining grades in the future. Nevertheless, the results showed that most pupils rate their learning in distance learning biology lessons in the same way as in face-to-face lessons. Among the pupils' attitudes towards distance education in biology, the most prominent were the beliefs that distance education in biology was more challenging than face-to-face instruction, and that assignments were interesting. For all of these, there were statistically significant differences between pupils in different classes and between pupils with different levels of achievement.