Primary science education in the natural school garden
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| Year of publication | 2022 |
| Type | Appeared in Conference without Proceedings |
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| Description | Primary teachers perceive outdoor science education as demanding regarding scholarly, organization, or health risks. However, barriers to outdoor education are identified by many studies (Rickinson et al., 2004; Dillon, 2013) but are not considered crucial by teachers when teaching takes place on school grounds (Ayotte-Baudet et al., 2017; Dyment, 2005; Malone & Tranter, 2003). Regarding outdoor science education, it is ideal if the school grounds have the character of a natural garden. Implementing education in the school garden has its positives for students in the form of reduction of the novelty effect (Orion & Hofstein, 1994), the possibility of implementing long-term observations, and building a relationship to a particular place (Dyment, 2005). On the contrary, it enables teachers to gradually acquire and improve the skill of teaching outdoors (Remmen, 2014). According to Morrison (2022), the gradual acquisition of outdoor teaching skills takes place in three steps - using natural resources in the classroom, then transferring teaching to the outdoor environment by using a similar methodology to inside teaching, and finally adapting the teaching to the given conditions both in terms of content and organization. Respecting the above, we used the sequences and applied them to the undergraduate preparation program for primary education students at Masaryk University in Brno. Our research probe reflects a significant change in the students' perception of the school garden as a suitable space for science education. |