ENHANCING THE INQUIRING TURN OF MIND OF PUPILS. MOTIVATION
MARYTË ĐRIUBSIENË, a physics teacher-methodologist at the Đeđkinë
Secondary School
By STASË TRAIGIENË, a physics teacher-expert at the Jesuits High School
in Vilnius
Objectives: enhancing the ability of pupils to perceive
the laws of nature, developing their imagination and creativeness, ensuring the
possibilities to investigate, experiment, evaluate and generalise; educating in
them a permanent habit of thinking and considering. The purposeful education
should help the pupils in acquiring the sound knowledge and lasting skills and
employing their knowledge in new situations and creative activity. At the same
time it is important to ensure as beneficial psychological climate as possible
based on respect, love, good actions and confidence. The creative activities
should be organised in such a way that the pupils could enjoy the results of
their work, take confidence in their ability do to something worthwhile and
meaningful.
Active education techniques, sometimes called
non-traditional methods, are useful in pursuing the said objectives. Such
techniques are not applicable in every lesson, rather to be used as a sort of
an additional physics to complement the usual lessons. It helps the pupils to
obtain both knowledge and skills, while developing their creative power and
enhancing aspiration for improvement.
The active
techniques include project work, stands concerning particular subjects-matters,
essays, creative thematic compositions by pupils, educational posters, meeting
with interesting people, cognitive and educational-thematic tours, lectures,
weeks of natural sciences, evenings of physics, integrated lessons at the
occasion of Christmas, letters, physics-related texts-greetings to celebrate occasions
etc.
The thematic
stands usually are prepared during the celebration of the Week of Exact
Sciences. The stands display various creative work items that pupils had done
during a school year. Pupils write essays on a variety of topics. Children
endowed with artistic abilities make excellent educative posters, tables, and
stands featuring a subject matter, manufacture educational aids or models for
the physics room.
A technique of
the creative composition (cognitive method) is used with pupils from 7th
class on such subject matters as “I and Physics”, “The Day without
Electricity”. Pupils from other classes write compositions on the occasion of
Christmas such as “Christmas without Electricity”, “A Turnip Named Physics”,
“The High School 40 Years Later” etc., as well as letters and physics-related
texts-greetings to celebrate various occasions, sometimes we find even
physics-related prayers.
Lectures were
delivered by outstanding physicists: S. Norvaiđas, a doctor of physics,
“Nuclear Physics” for the 10th class pupils, R. Karazija, a doctor
of physics, “Physics in Toys”, V. Dobrovolskis, a person maintaining a doctor’s
thesis, “Under the Sky of Lithuania” and
“Space Flights”.
The following
meetings were held: with Mikalajűnienë, a weather forecaster, on “The Bermudas
Triangle”, Vitkauskas, an mountain-climber, on “The Change of Air Pressure”,
Valikovas on “The Service and Work in a Submarine”, R. Rotomskis on “Physics
for Medicine: Therapy of Oncological Diseases”, Kučas, a physicist, TV
journalist, the author and host of the telecast “Unbelievable”, the leader of
the team “On bicycles around the World, R. Kazlauskas on “The Nature is our
Home”, R. Jakutavičius, a pilot of balloons on “The Balloons”.
The following
tours were organised: “Electricity in Our Service” (Nuclear Power Station of Ignalina, Pumped Storage Hydropower
Plant of Kruonis, Thermal Plant of Elektrënai, Hydropower Plant of Kaunas),
Observatory of Molëtai and Museum of Ethno cosmology on “The Sky at Night”, an
observation of stars and planets, TV tower, the Faculty of Physics, Vilnius
University, the Laser Centre, Vilnius University, Clinics of Antakalnis on
“X-ray in Medicine”, Museum of Railways in Vilnius, Museum of Aquaria in
Visaginas, Museum of Roads Vievis, Museum of Transport in Riga, Museum of
Clocks in Klaipëda, Military Academy in Vilnius etc .
Evenings of
physics may be considered traditional events in the High School of Vilnius as
such events were held 7 times. A team of Đeđkinë have been taking part in our
event already four years, every time with great success. Two years ago we
started holding of the evenings of physics as an open event for teachers of the
city of Vilnius. This year the event hosted a team of Panemunë Secondary School
of Alytus headed by the teacher S. Nedzinskienë. Đukys, a music teacher from
Alytus, performed songs on physics-related topics (lyrics by S. Nedzinskienë, a
teacher).
Every year
pupils write and present in the schools their project-works on the following
subject-matters: “The Sky Full of Stars”, “A Submarine”, “The Bermudas
Triangle” and “The Balloons”; open presentations of the project-works are held
in Đeđkinë Secondary School.
Projected
results are as follows: popularisation of physics, perception of human values
and education of the all-round personality.