SCIENCE EXPERIMENT DAYS IN KINDERGARTENS

Namen diplomske naloge je v teoretičnem delu na kratko predstaviti eksperiment kot naravoslovni postopek in opisati vprašanja, ki jih postavljamo ob eksperimentiranju. Poleg tega smo predstavili še problemsko poučevanje ter razvijanje spretnosti in sposobnosti skozi eksperimentiranje oziroma reševanje problemov. V praktičnemu delu diplomskega dela smo izvedli dva ocenjevanja otrok s pomočjo ocenjevalnih listov in eksperimentiranje na podlagi problemskega reševanja s pomočjo lutk. Začetno ocenjevanje smo izvedli pred eksperimentiranjem, končno pa po izvedenih eksperimentih. Tako smo lahko najbolje opazili razliko v razvoju spretnosti in sposobnosti pri otrocih. Otroci so aktivnosti izvajali samostojno, s pomočjo delovnih kartic, na katerih so bila navodila. Vzorec merjencev je sestavljalo sedem otrok iz vrtca Otona Župančiča v Mariboru, starih 4–5 let. V teoretičnem delu smo uporabili deskriptivno metodo, v praktičnem delu smo uporabili metodo opazovanja ter metodo praktičnega dela. Otroke smo opazovali s pomočjo opazovalnih listov, eksperimentalni del smo izvajali z vnaprej pripravljenimi pripravami. Spoznali smo, da so otroke dejavnosti pritegnile, zaradi zastavljenih problemov, ki so jih kasneje poskusili razrešiti, prav tako pa so si otroci s pomočjo izvajanja eksperimentov izboljšali spretnosti ter sposobnosti rokovanja s pripomočki. Mnogo bolje tudi razumejo in »berejo« navodila na karticah, kar jim je na začetku povzročalo nekaj problemov.The purpose of the diploma thesis is to briefly present the experiment as a natural science procedure in the theoretical part and to describe the questions posed when experimenting. The thesis further presents problem-based teaching and the development of skills and competencies through experiments or problem solving. The practical part of the thesis focuses on two assessments of children using evaluation sheets and on experimenting on the basis of problem solving using puppets. The initial assessments were made prior to the experiments and the final assessments after the experiments were concluded. This allowed us to best observe the difference in the development of children’s skills and competencies. The children performed the activities independently with the help of working cards with instructions. The sample of examinees comprised seven children aged 4 to 5 from the Oton Župančič kindergarten in Maribor. The descriptive method was used in the theoretical part, while the practical part utilised the observation method and the method of practical work. The children were observed with the help of observation sheets and the experimental part was implemented using previously prepared preparations. It was established that the children were drawn to the activities due to the posed problems, which they later tried to solve, while the experiments also allowed children to improve their skills and competencies of handling the tools. They also improved their understanding and “reading” of instructions provided on the cards, which initially caused some problems