Comparison of the fourth and fifth grade students\u27 ability to learn about animals and plants

Zanimanje za naravoslovje pri mladih upada, pristnega sitka z naravo pa je vse manj. S primerjavo pomnjenja informacij o različnih živalskih in rastlinskih skupinah želim prispevati k odkrivanju motivacijskih sestavin, ki bi povečale zanimanje za naravoslovne vsebine. Raziskava je temeljila na deskriptivni in kavzalno neeksperimentalni metodi empiričnega pedagoškega raziskovanja. Pri raziskovanju sem uporabila empiričen kvantitativen pristop. V raziskavi je sodelovalo 90 učencev četrtega in petega razreda Osnovne šole Ig. Ker poučevanje in učenje naravoslovja in tehnike navadno bazira na učbenikih, sem analizirala slikovno gradivo, ki ga učbeniki ponujajo učencem za »ilustracijo« učne snovi. Ugotovila sem, da v slikovnem gradivu učbenikov prevladujejo živali, natančneje vretenčarji. Tudi rezultati vprašalnika kažejo na to, da so udeleženci raziskave v povprečju izrazili večjo naklonjenost do vretenčarjev in si o tej sistematski skupini zapomnili največ informacij, kar je morda deloma tudi posledica večjega poudarka na vretenčarjih pri poučevanju naravoslovnih vsebin. Najboljše rezultate so učenci dosegli pri določanju sistematske skupine, o kateri so imeli tudi najboljše predznanje. Z rezultati raziskave želim prispevati k razvoju didaktike naravoslovja in pedagoške psihologije, hkrati pa želim opozoriti na ogrožene organizme.Young people are less and less interested in natural science and the same holds for their genuine contact with nature. The comparison of memorisation of information about various animal and plant species could contribute to the identification of motivational factors that increase interest in natural science. The research was based on the descriptive and causal non-experimental empirical method and an empirical quantitative approach. A total of 90 fourth and fifth graders of the Ig Primary School participated in the research. Both teaching and learning natural science and technology are usually founded on textbooks. To this end, we analysed graphic materials that are contained in certain textbooks to "illustrate" the learning content. Our findings indicate that animals, more precisely vertebrates, are predominant in textbooks. Even the survey results suggest that the participants generally like vertebrates more than other species and also memorise information about them better. This could be attributed to the fact that natural science subjects tend to focus on vertebrates. The pupils performed best when they were required to classify the species they knew the most about. The goal of the research is to contribute to the field of didactics of natural science and educational psychology and draw more attention to endangered species