A Research on How to Implement Remote Experiments to Primary School Education

Abstract

Abstract:Slovak students have problems to apply theory in practice. To change this situation we have to change the ways of the transfer of knowledge. Activating methods appear to be a good choice. In the paper, a concrete example of the implementation of the activating methods via three remote experiments (online meteorological stations) (http://remotelab1.truni.sk, http://experimenta.fe.up.pt/ estacaometeorologica/index.php?lang=pt, http://kdt-16.karlov.mff.cuni.cz/en/mereni.html) and project method is described. Furthermore, a pedagogical research on a sample of 156 primary school students is analyzed. It is a continuation of the previous pilot research and it's still going on. The results of the first didactic tests and a questionnaire are presented and discussed. It turns out that students actively involved in the work with the remote experiments get a higher score on tasks of a practical work with data.Key words: real remote experiments, research, project method, didactic test, questionnaire. VÝSKUM SO ZAMERANÍM NA IMPLEMENTÁCIU REÁLNYCH VZDIALENÝCH EXPERIMENTOV DO VYUČOVANIA NA ZÁKLADNEJ ŠKOLEResumé: Slovenskí študenti majú ťažkosti s aplikáciou teórie do praxe. Aby sme mohli zmeniť túto situáciu, musíme prehodnotiť a upraviť spôsob prenosu poznatkov v edukačnom procese. Aktivizujúce metódy sa javia byť tou správnou voľbou. V príspevku prezentujeme konkrétny príklad implementácia aktivizujúcich metód do edukácie prostredníctvom projektu s podporou troch vzdialených experimentov (online meteorologických staniciach) (http://remotelab1.truni.sk, http://experimenta.fe. up.pt/estacaometeorologica/index.php?lang=pt, http://kdt-16.karlov.mff.cuni.cz/en/mereni.html). Následne predkladáme výsledky pedagogického výskumu, ktorý sme zrealizovali na vzorke 156 žiakov základných škôl. Výskum je pokračovaním pilotného šetrenia a naďalej prebieha. Prezentujeme a analyzujeme výsledky prvých didaktických testov a dotazníka. Z výsledkov vyplýva, že žiaci, ktorí aktívne pracovali so vzdialenými experimentmi -online meteorologickými stanicami -dosiahli vyššie skóre v úlohách zameraných na prácu s dátami.Klíčová slova: reálny vzdialený experiment, výskum, projektová metóda, didaktický test, dotazník.

Teachers' Attitudes Towards Remote Experimentation

“…http://phet.colora do.edu/en/simulations/category/by-leve l/elementary-school); we have much practical experience with the implementation of REs to the primary school education process with good results [1], [4] -pupils like working with them, they are motivated and able to understand the presented phenomena; REs also develop their practical thinking and logic;  "Students are passive" -students are actively involved in the process of measurement (they control the apparatus and change the adjustable parameters) as well as in the evaluation of the real experimental data; the only limitation is that they do not build the experimental apparatus;  "Students are not present in the laboratory" -in 2007 a comparative research was published [9], in which remote and hands-on laboratories were compared; students did not consider "the physical presence in the laboratory" to be as important as "instructions" and "making reports"; other authors write about the telepresence in the laboratory to "look and feel" as realistic as possible [7], [8];  "REs are effective but time-consuming" -REs save teachers' time, but only in the case they know how to implement them to direct education; fortunately many authors of real remote or virtual experiments also prepare questions and tasks for students, so that teachers are provided with the prepared materials to be used in their classes (see e.g. http://www.ictphysics.upol.cz/remotelab/ doku/PL_exp3.pdf, http://kf.truni.sk/ind ex.php?option=com_content&view=artic le&id=135&Itemid=189, http://e-materi aly.net76.net/, http://phet.colorado.edu/en /for-teachers).…”