Today, we face the challenge of an overly sedentary lifestyle, which is also reflected in the school environment. Traditional teaching methods often encourage prolonged sitting and passive acceptance of information, which can negatively impact students’ health and motivation. Therefore, it is crucial to incorporate more dynamic teaching methods into school practice, such as didactic play and outdoor teaching.
Didactic games and outdoor lessons offer many advantages. They promote physical activity, which positively affects students' physical and mental health. They also enable interactive and hands-on learning, increasing student engagement and motivation for learning. These teaching methods not only enhance learning achievement but also develop social skills, collaboration, and creativity. Both teaching methods also promote inclusion, such as for students with general learning difficulties.
Numerous studies have shown that students love to participate in didactic games and outdoor classes. These methods allow learning through play and experience, which is a natural and enjoyable way for students to gain knowledge. Students feel more relaxed and motivated during these activities, which contributes to better absorption of knowledge and long-lasting memory.
In this master's thesis, we investigated the impact of didactic outdoor games on teaching weather and environmental awareness in the 2nd grade of primary school. Focusing on dynamic teaching methods, we examined the progress of students, the sustainability of their knowledge, and their experiences and opinions about these methods. We also investigated the impact of this type of teaching on students with general learning difficulties.
The aim of this master’s thesis is to highlight the importance of integrating active and interactive learning methods into the school curriculum, which could improve learning outcomes and the overall well-being of students.
We found that students improved their knowledge about the weather through outdoor didactic games, as shown by better results on the post-test compared to the pre-test. This knowledge is retained, as even later post-tests were better than pre-tests. Students with general learning difficulties responded positively to this method. Most students are interested in the subject of environmental learning, have experience with outdoor lessons, but not with didactic games, which they liked. Pupils’ progress using didactic games is greater than with the traditional method of instruction.
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