Slow learners face numerous obstacles in their education path. Due to their borderline and even
below average intellectual abilities, they experience a lot of frustration in their education, since
they are falling behind their peers in cognitive abilities Deficits in cognitive areas, attention
deficits, lack of organizational skills, metacognition, poor linguistic expression, short-term and
long-term memory, work habits and at the same time the history of learning failures have a
negative influence on their learning self-image and learning motivation. They are frequently
mocked by their peers and often drop out in secondary schools due to all the frustration. Because
the Basic School Act no longer classifies them as children with special needs since 2007, they
are no longer entitled to additional hours of professional help. The help they receive is organized
with a five-step model of learning support. The teaching of natural science competences is
nowadays very important, since the subject of biology covers all areas of life and society.
Students thus learn about the processes that are occurring inside us, but at the same time, we
must encourage critical thinking for them to develop a responsible attitude towards nature, also
from the point of view of sustainable development. Since the processes that take place in nature
and inside us are very complex, biology, despite its connection to life, is a very abstract science
that can cause problems to many students with learning difficulties, especially to slow learners.
The aim of the Master's thesis is to extract key information about the characteristics and needs
of slow learners in the subject of biology and the strategies and adaptations of the learning
environment, which are already used by the sample of biology teachers from north-eastern
Slovenia in teaching slow learners. On the basis of the information obtained, I will develop a
manual for biology teachers in order to improve teaching and learning of the studied group of
students.
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