The use of discussion as a teaching method in social study course in 4th and 5th grades

Diskusija ali razprava je vrsta razgovora, ki ima ob vsebinskih nalogah pri pouku tudi formalne. Učenci si razvijajo sposobnost mišljenja, govornega izražanja, sposobnost izražanja mnenj, znanj in občutkov, navajanje na poslušanje govorca in odzivanje na njegov govor. V magistrski nalogi nas je zanimalo, kaj o diskusiji menijo učitelji, ki poučujejo družbo v četrtem in petem razredu osnovne šole. Ugotovili smo, da imajo učitelji pozitivna stališča o sami diskusiji. Strinjajo se, da je to primerna učna metoda za učence 4. in 5. razreda pri pouku in da jo lahko uporabimo pri večini tem iz učnega načrta družbe. Menijo, da diskusija vpliva na učenčevo spretnost komuniciranja in miselni razvoj, da pripomore k večji ustvarjalnosti in s tem se poveča tudi učenčeva motivacija. V praktičnem delu pa smo ugotovili, da učenci, ob vodenju učitelja, dobro argumentirajo svoja stališča, se med seboj poslušajo, so pripravljeni sprejemati mnenja drugih, splošno znanje povežejo s teorijo in se na splošno dobro odzivajo na takšen način dela pri pouku.Discussion or a debate is a type of an interview, which contains content as well as formal tasks in a class. Pupils develop the ability to think, speak, the ability to express opinions, knowledge and feelings, they get used to listening to the speaker and responding to their speech. In the master’s thesis, we wanted to know what teachers, who teach society study in the fourth and fifth grade of the primary school, think about the discussion. We established that they have positive views on the discussion. They agree that this is a proper teaching method for pupils of the fourth and fifth grade and that it can be used in the majority of topics in the curriculum. They believe that discussion influences pupil’s communication skills and mental development, as well as it contributes to higher creativity, therefore, increasing pupil’s motivation. In the practical part, we found out that, along the teacher’s guidance, pupils argue their views well, they listen to each other, they are willing to accept others’ opinions, and they connect general knowledge with theory, and generally respond well to such way of working in the classroom