INCORPORATING PLANTS INTO LESSONS OF THE FIRST TRIAD IN PRIMARY SCHOOLS IN POMURJE

Zaradi svojega pomen za druga živa bitja in za človeka bi morale biti rastline vključene v pouk naravoslovja na vseh ravneh izobraževanja, torej tudi v prvem triletju. Zato mora učni načrt vključevati delo z rastlinami. Ker se učenci v prvem triletju največ naučijo preko konkretnih operacij, je zelo pomembno, da rastline opazujejo v naravnem okolju in/ali jih vzgajajo v razredu. V naši raziskavi, ki je zajela 418 otrok iz osmih pomurskih osnovnih šol, smo z anketnim vprašalnikom želeli ugotoviti, koliko in kako so rastline vključene v pouk pomurskih osnovnih šol. Zanimalo nas je, kakšen je odnos učencev do rastlin, katere rastline vključujejo, katere aktivnosti izvajajo ter kakšno je znanje o rastlinah. Učenci se radi ukvarjajo z rastlinami, jih imajo sami doma ali pomagajo pri njihovi oskrbi. Odgovori se večinoma ne razlikujejo glede na to, ali otroci obiskujejo mestne ali podeželske šole. Največ težav so imeli učenci pri odgovorih v nalogah, ki so zahtevale višje ravni znanja. Pozitivne izkušnje z rastlinami so ključnega pomena za razumevanje povezanosti ljudi in drugih živih bitij z rastlinami.Plants are essential for other living beings and the human. That is why they should be incorporated in natural science lessons at all levels of education – i.e. also in the first triad. That is why working with plants is in the the curriculum. In the first triad pupils learn most through concrete operations, so it is really important for them to be able to watch plants in their natural habitat or to grow them in the classroom. In our research, which was conducted on 418 children from eight primary schools in Pomurje, we used a questionnaire to find out how and how much the plants are incorporated in the lessons. We were interested in the attitude of children towards the plants, which plants are incorporated, which activities are carried out and their knowledge of plants. Pupils like working with plants, they like having them at home or just helping to grow them. There was generally no difference between the answers from children attending schools in towns and schools in villages. The pupils had greater difficulty answering the tasks, which required higher levels of knowledge. Positive experiences with plants are of key importance for understanding the relationship of people and other living beings with plants