Teaching forces and motion outdoors at the science and technology subject in grade 5 of elementary school

Although outdoor education has many advantages, teachers rarely decide to engage in this type of activity. Consequently, the students’ motivation to learn decreases. One of the subjects where the predominant sedentary way of learning can be replaced to some extent with outdoor lessons is Science and technology. As part of the research, we wanted to provide students of a 5th grade of a selected primary school in the subject Science and technology with the experience of spending some educational school time outdoors in the vicinity of the school. In the master’s degree thesis we wanted to find out what experiences and opinions students have about outdoor lessons and what learning forms, teaching methods and learning approaches they would most like in Science and technology class. We wanted to identify the most common misunderstandings in selected learning context in the field of force and motion and thus design a learning approach that would allow them to be effectively eliminated. We were also interested in how the students assess the learning approach used and how it is reflected by the teacher. We also investigated how and to what extent the level of acquired knowledge about selected learning contents in the field of force and motion differed among students of different groups which we formed according to their opinion on outdoor teaching, their final mark in the subject as well as their overall learning success. The study included twenty-one 5th grade students from a selected primary school in Ljubljana. Data were collected through three questionnaires and a written test (i.e. pre-test and after-test). Questionnaires were used to obtain information on students’ opinions and experiences with outdoors lessons, their wishes to use teaching forms, teaching methods and learning approaches in Science and technology class, their opinions on the lessons learned as well as the learning approach used. With a written test of knowledge (pre-test), we obtained data on student’s prior knowledge, their misconceptions in selected learning content in the field of force and motion. With the after-test we were able to provide data of the level of acquired knowledge. We used a descriptive method of pedagogical research and a qualitative and quantitative research approach. The results of the research showed that students in Science and technology classes would most like to learn in forms of pair work, by using laboratory-experimental teaching methods and a learning approach in the form of outdoors lessons. We found that students have little experience with outdoors lessons, as they responded that they have them only once or twice per year. They have lessons of this kind mostly on the school playground. Students have a predominantly positive and good opinion of outdoor lessons. Most of them enjoy such classes very much and would like to have more opportunities for outdoors learning. In the groups of students included in the research, we identified misconceptions about balancing and using lever. Some students believe that regardless of the weight of the load, the lever will balance if the load is equidistant from the centre of the lever. Some students also believe that balance cannot be established when there are loads of different weights on the swing. When learning about lever, we identified the misconception that the best place to put the fulcrum is in the centre of the lever. We found that the learning approach that allows students to correct misconceptions is the constructivist learning approach. Based on the results of the test, we found that the level of acquired knowledge among students of different groups, formed according to their opinion on outdoors lessons, final mark in the subject as well as their overall learning success, does not differ much, as all individual groups of students achieved intermediate progress in knowledge. The research also found that students evaluate the learning approach used in dealing with selected learning content in the field of force and motion as very good. We also find this type of learning approach suitable for dealing with selected learning content in the field of force and motion.The findings of the research contribute to the recognition of the advantages of outdoors lessons and show the possibilities of conducting outdoors lessons in the subject of Science and technology. The obtained data are useful for primary school teachers, as they can design their own materials and learning approaches based on the results of the research, which encourage the implementation of learning content in the field of force and motion in the outdoors and eliminate possible misconceptions