This Master’s thesis deals with the issue of the participation of pupils with different skills and abilities in solving problem-based tasks. The above-mentioned learning process was supported by tablets.
In reviewing the literature, we found that authors state general guidelines on how to simultaneously address the needs of both pupils enrolled in the primary school programme and pupils enrolled in primary schools with a lower educational standard in joint activities. Nevertheless, they underline that the functional integration of all pupils in the learning process is seen as beneficial for all involved. Modern approaches compared with traditional ones contain ways in which we try to take into account the needs of the widest circle of pupils. A constructivist teaching approach which involves cooperative work and problem-based tasks creates conditions for the learning of all pupils. Such a learning process can be personalized with mobile technologies for pupils with different needs; we used tablets in our study.
The work presents the design and implementation of cooperative learning in solving problem-based tasks, and the impact of the use of tablets on the learning process. We focused on the impact of planned activities on the pupils’ holistic development, the opinions of the participants on such a learning design and support options with mobile technologies. The survey was designed in two versions; in addition to pupils of two primary schools in Škofja Loka, it also included students of special and rehabilitation pedagogy. We were interested to know how pupils in heterogeneous groups cooperated and what was their opinion of it. We were interested to know how tasks were planned, how pupils were supported by tablets in problem solving, and to what extent the tasks were prepared to be solved on a tablet. The recordings were analysed using pre-prepared criteria.
We found that it was at first necessary to define the modalities of cooperation, learner interaction with the environment, design attractive problem-based tasks, and consider at what stage a tablet could support mental, social or emotional processes. We found that pupils had a positive attitude towards this form of work, but it was important to recognize that with every implementation, questions opened up that required further analysis and reflection.
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