The aim of this thesis was to present an implementation of forest pedagogy at kindergarten group of 5–6 year old kids. The introductory part defines the scope, purpose, goals, presents research questions and used methodology. Next part focuses on forestry pedagogy, techniques and used technology and describes aimed practical work. In practical part of this thesis we present analysis of questionnaire results and we describe the implementation of forest technical activities in kindergarten. The reason for focusing on forest pedagogy was due to lack of knowledge of the term forest pedagogy among Slovenian kindergartens, especially in the activities with technical education. Nowadays children spend more time in kindergarten compared to years back. In kindergarten, children learn and gain new experiences that will help them develop learning skills at school and also help them in later periods in life. More and more kindergartens, as well as schools across Europe, carry out learning in nature/forest environment where children acquire their experiences. More and more kindergartens in Slovenia are also starting to join the network of forest preschools, where both educators and children acquire knowledge and experiences about forest environment. Learning in the forest encourages children to think, experience forest environment, connect, communicate and cooperate between themselves. Forest pedagogy encourages kids to spend time in the forest in all seasons and in every weather, as forest environment differs every day, hence provides children the possibilities of daily research with active participation. Activities in the forest are very much related to the technology and tools, as children learn about the tools and devices used to process wood and help to produce the desired product. Techical tools and technologies are not specifically defined in the recommended curriculum. We can find objectives in other areas, such as nature. Empirical part presents results of the questionnaire, which was completed by the educators of the Kurirček Logatec Kindergarten. From the given answers we concluded that Educators do understand and do implement forestry pedagogy in kindergarten, but do not use term forest pedagogy, but they use term such as learning, introduction, discovering, exploring, etc. Educators carry out activities in the forest on a weekly basis, often they use methods of interpretation, observation and they work with visual materials. They also consider themselves they are partially qualified to carry out technical education. Educators also provide a variety of activities in the forest. They encourage children to explore the forest, because they learn a lot about this and they internalize gained knowledge and are upgrading it. Educators showed curiosity and interest for such activities in the forest. After activities concluded, children were able to identify selected trees/shrubs. In the process of manufacturing products they gained experience, knowledge and understanding, new perspectives on learning and learning about the forest. In manufacturing, however, they did not have major problems. Forest technical education proved to be very useful and educational, as children showed curiosity and interest in such activities. The diploma work is intended for all preschool educators with the aim of improving their work in kindergarten and acquiring new knowledge, especially through open learning systems.
|