An outdoor science classroom as a place for carrying out natural science curriculum at the primary level

Želja po vedenju uporabnosti naravoslovne učilnice na prostem je nastala iz zanimanja po raziskovanju drugačnih pristopov k učenju in uporabnosti izkustvenega učenja, ki je pomemben del otrokovega učnega procesa. Čeprav je teorija o izkustvenem učenju že zelo stara, šele danes lahko vidimo njene vplive v našem šolstvu. Generacije učiteljev se menjajo in z vsakim letom pride nova oseba in nove ideje v šolski okoliš. Izkustveno učenje postaja pomembna komponenta pri sestavljanju znanja učencev in posledično odgovornosti učiteljev. Naše zaključno delo je sestavljeno pretežno iz dveh glavnih delov, kot sta teoretični in empirični, na koncu pa manj obsežnejši praktični del. Teoretičnega dela smo se lotili obširno in zapisali trditve, ki so do sedaj že bile ugotovljene na podlagi izkustvenega učenja in učenja na prostem v naravoslovni učilnici. Pojasnili smo pomembne učinke, ki jih imata narava in okolje na otroka, na njegov razvoj, tako psihičen kot fizičen. Poglobili smo se v naš učni načrt dveh predmetov, spoznavanja okolja ter naravoslovja in tehnike. Pregledali navedene vsebine in jih skušali umestiti in primerjati z uporabo le- teh v naravoslovni učilnici na prostem. Da bi dobili potrditve navedene teorije, smo si v empiričnem delu zastavili kar nekaj raziskovalnih vprašanj, o odnosu učiteljev in učencev do uporabe naravoslovne učilnice na prostem pri predmetih spoznavanje okolja ter naravoslovja in tehnike. S pridobljenimi rezultati preko anketnega vprašalnika smo nato odgovorili na naša raziskovalna vprašanja, ki so podala vpogled v uporabnost naravoslovne učilnice na prostem in izkustvenega učenja.The desire to understand the usefulness of an outdoor science classroom derived from the interest of exploring different approaches towards learning, as well as the usefulness of experiential learning as an important part of a child’s learning process. Although the theory of experiential learning has already existed for an extensive amount of time, it is just now that we see its effects in our education system. The generations of teachers have been changing, and each year brings new people and new ideas into classrooms. Experiential learning is becoming an important part of building up pupils‘ knowledge and, as a subsequence, the teachers’ responsibility as well. This thesis is mainly composed of two main parts, i.e. the theoretical and the empirical part, with the practical part in the end being less extensive and the theoretical part being more extensive. We stated the realisations that have so far been confirmed on the basis of experiential learning and learning in an outdoor science classroom. We explained the important effects nature and the environment have on a child’s psychological and physical development. We analysed the curriculums of two subjects, Environmental Studies and Natural Science. We examined the topics and tried to compare them with their use in an outdoor science classroom. To get confirmation of the theory in place, the empirical part consists of a number of questions we wanted answers for with regards to the teachers’ and pupils’ relationship towards the use of an outdoor science classroom at Environmental Studies and Natural Science. The survey results answered our questions and provided us with an insight into the usefulness of an outdoor science classroom as well as experiential learning