Nowadays, behavioristic oriented - traditional teaching includes various active learning methods. The teacher is acting as a motivator of pupils’ active work. The theoretical part of the master's thesis is based on the review of various popular articles in publicly available newspapers and magazines, including various claims about lipids; the so-called myths. Through the study of the scientific literature so-called myths of lipid are either confirmed or refuted. The learning content of lipids, in accordance with the principles of active teaching can teach pupils through a variety of active learning methods, which encourage critical thinking about the importance of lipids in everyday life. The principal features of experimental work and work with text, are presented with a step-by-step process explained in the thesis. Working independently, pupils strengthen their laboratory skills, and when working with text, pupils strengthen their reading literacy, which is generally very poor amongst Slovenian pupils.
In the empirical part of the master’s thesis, results of a qualitative research are presented, which were conducted to compare the two methods of active learning about lipids in the 9th grade chemistry class, depending on the quality and durability of consumer knowledge about lipids and the situational interest of pupils to acquire knowledge about lipids. The study included 198 pupils from four elementary schools. With the partial implementation of the active teaching method, pupils were taught about the so-called myth of lipids. Our goal was, to confirm or deny the myth with independent work. The control group of pupils examined the so-called myth of lipids while working with a non-technical article by general study strategies. The experimental group of pupils studied the so-called myth of lipids on their own experimental work. In terms of previously assimilated knowledge of chemistry, both groups of students were equal. After two intense lessons, pupils of both groups took two tests each and filled out questionnaires on the implementation of the lesson. The questionnaire was designed to determine the situational interest in acquiring knowledge about lipids. Four weeks after the first test, both groups took a second test, which determined the longevity of the acquired knowledge. The results of the research showed that pupils of the control group got better results at both the first and the second test they took about their knowledge of lipids. The knowledge of the control group of pupils was both, higher quality, and more durable in comparison with the knowledge of pupils from the experimental group. Results also indicated, that girls scored better than boys in both tests. Pupils of the experimental group showed increased interest in learning about the lipids. Girls showed higher situational interest in acquiring knowledge about lipids; they evaluated the lessons as more enjoyable, interesting and varied. The lessons themselves intrigued girls a lot more than boys. From the perspective of the quality and the longevity of knowledge, the study method based on the study of the article proved more effective.
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