Natural environments are very important for preschool children and contribute to their better development. Children especially favour the forest, since it enables plenty of playtime activities, awakens their imagination, relaxes them, and provides many locomotor and other types of challenges. The idea of the so-called forest kindergartens, where children spend time on a daily or weekly basis in the forest accompanied by adults, has been rising in popularity both in Slovenia and abroad. In the forest, learning from experience is in the forefront, while the role of the teacher is to encourage and guide children towards new discoveries.
This diploma thesis compares different approaches of guiding a group of preschool children when learning about the biotic diversity of the forest. The goal of the research was to determine whether the teacher’s participation in forest activities affects the acquisition of knowledge and skills in preschool children in the domain of natural sciences. The research included 42 children between the age of 4 and 6. Four activities on the topic of learning about the biotic diversity of the forest have been carried out in the forest. The children were split into two groups – one that received more guidance from the teacher, and the other that received less of it. The results show significant statistical differences between the two groups. The group with more guidance achieved better results in all four activities than the group in which the teacher was not extensively included in the children’s play and exploration.
The research carries significance in planning and execution of forest activities for preschool children, since it stresses the importance of teacher inclusion in the process of acquisition of knowledge and skills in natural sciences.
|
