Effectiveness of the cell model use at science teaching

V magistrskem delu smo se osredotočili na temo celice, ki jo učenci prvič obravnavajo v 6. razredu osnovne šole pri naravoslovju. Tema celica je ena izmed težjih vsebin, ki se v letih izobraževanja nadgrajuje. Pomembno je, da učenci že v 6. razredu dobro razumejo obravnavano snov, saj imajo tako kasneje manj težav. V uvodnem delu magistrskega dela smo pregledali literaturo o učinkovitosti uporabe modelov pri razumevanju vsebin in napačnih predstavah, ki se pojavljajo pri učencih. Analizirali smo tri potrjene učbenike za naravoslovje v 6 razredu. Na podlagi rezultatov naše predhodne raziskave (Znanje učencev o celici v 6. in 7. razredu) smo pripravili učne ure in jih izvedli. Pri približno polovici učencev smo uporabljali modele, pri polovici pa samo razlago, podkrepljeno s slikovnim gradivom. Pripravili smo preizkus znanja o celici, ki je zajemal 14 nalog različnih tipov. Preizkus znanja smo razdelili 137 učencem treh slovenskih osnovnih šol. Vsak učenec je preizkus znanja reševal trikrat. Želeli smo ugotoviti, kakšno je predznanje učencev, kakšno je njihovo znanje po izvedbi učne ure in kakšna je trajnost znanja po približno petih tednih. Zanimalo nas je, ali način izvedbe učne ure vpliva na razumevanje učencev vsebin o celici. Kot smo pričakovali, smo ugotovili, da imajo učenci o celici zelo malo predznanja, saj se v 6. razredu tema prvič obravnava. Znanje učencev po izvedbi učne ure in po približno petih tednih pa je bilo dobro. V sklopu raziskave smo ugotovili, da je statistično pomembnih razlik v znanju med učenci, ki so modele uporabljali, in učenci, ki modelov niso uporabljali, zelo malo. To pomeni, da uporaba modela pri pouku sama po sebi ni zagotovilo za boljše razumevanje obravnavane snovi. Ugotovili smo tudi, da so imeli učenci težave pri razlikovanju celičnih struktur rastlinske in živalske celice. Pogosto niso razlikovali med mitohondrijem in kloroplastom ter zamenjali pojma celična stena in celična membrana.In this master\u27s thesis, we focused on the subject of cell, which is first discussed in the 6th grade of elementary school in the natural sciences class. The subject of cell is one of the more difficult topics, which is developed over the years in school. It is important that the students understand the discussed subject well already in the sixth grade so they later face fewer problems. In the introductory part of the master\u27s thesis, we reviewed the literature on the efficiency of the use of models in understanding of the topic and the misunderstanding that students have. We analyzed three natural sciences textbooks certified for the sixth grade. On the basis of the results of our prior research (Cell knowledge of the sixth and seventh graders of elementary school), we prepared lessons and carried them out. We used models with about a half of students, while the other half was provided only an explanation supported by pictures. We prepared a test on the knowledge of cell, which included 14 questions of different types. The test was distributed to 137 students of three Slovene elementary schools. Each student solved the test three times. We wished to determine the students’ prior knowledge, their knowledge after the lesson and the durability of their knowledge after approximately five weeks. We were interested in finding out whether the students’ understanding of the subject of cell depends on the method of the lesson. As expected, we found out that the students had a very poor prior knowledge of the cell since in the sixth grade this subject is discussed for the first time. However, the students’ knowledge after the lesson and after approximately five weeks was good. In this research, we found very few statistically significant differences between the knowledge of the students who used models and the ones who did not. This indicates that the use of models in teaching is in itself not a guarantee for a better understanding of the topic. Another finding was that the students had problems distinguishing between the cell structures of a plant cell and an animal cell. They often failed to distinguish between the mitochondrion and the chloroplast and confused the concepts of the cell wall and the cell membrane