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Unpleasant emotions of pupils from the first to the fifth grade of primary school with an adapted programme with a lower educational standard
Get PDFIn a school environment, children experience and express various emotions that affect their interpersonal relationships and academic performance. Therefore, the research of children's emotions in school environment is important, especially the emotions of children with mild intellectual disabilities (MID), which is a rather unexplored area. In the master's thesis, we focused on that area in pupils from the first to the fifth grade of primary school with an adapted programme with a lower educational standard. We carried out a study in which we observed the emotional expression of 62 pupils with MID using the observation scheme “Children’s emotions in a classroom” (Prosen & Smrtnik Vitulić, 2017) and conducted interviews with four teachers at primary school with an adapted programme with a lower educational standard.
Based on the results of the research, we found that pupils with MID express the following unpleasant emotions in the school environment: most often anger, then shame, fear, embarrassment, sadness, schadenfreude, envy, and disgust. On average, anger was expressed four times during the school day, shame once, and other emotions less than once. The pupils most often expressed anger due to a specific request from a teacher or due to noncompliance, shame due to the teacher's reprimand, fear due to failure, embarrassment due to exposure, sadness due to an unfulfilled wish or unachieved goal, schadenfreude due to a classmate's failure, envy due to a teacher's attention to a classmate and disgust with food. Between the period of middle (6–9 years) and late childhood (10–12 years), we found statistically significant differences only in the occurrence of sadness, which appeared more often in the middle childhood. There were no statistically significant gender differences in the occurrence of individual unpleasant emotions. We found that in most cases pupils did not express themselves verbally when expressing unpleasant emotions, but when they did, the most common verbal response was a command to someone else and a pupil’s remark or a comment. The most frequently observed non-verbal expression of the pupils was a gaze, often also frown and a gesture. Mostly, there was no response from classmates to the expressed emotions of the observed pupil. If a reaction did occur, the most common one was opposition or defence and consideration of the observed pupil’s emotional state. Even on the part of the teachers, most often, there was no response to the pupil’s expressed emotion, but if there was, it was an order or an instruction. The teacher also often responded with an explanation (of the situation), a verbal remark or by answering (the question) and by calming the pupil down. Teachers generally do not notice that pupils with MID recognize their own emotions. On the other hand, they observe that pupils recognize other people's emotions better than their own. According to them, pupils recognize only basic emotions, not complex ones. Teachers do not observe specific strategies for regulating unpleasant emotions in pupils. Pupils react impulsively in situations that provoke unpleasant emotions. Teachers find that the most effective strategy for learning about emotional regulation is learning directly from situations that occur in the classroom. In addition, they talk a lot about situations that happened to the children at home. Pupils are taught about emotions indirectly through the stories they read in class. They learn about emotions, emotional expressions, and situations of experiencing emotions through pictorial and video material. Teachers think it is important that they themselves are a good model of emotional regulation and that they regularly discuss this topic with parents
Teachers' views and opinions on the inclusion of songs in the english lessons in the first triad of primary school
Get PDFSecond language can be quite stressful for some, music has a positive effect on students in the classroom. Music also has a positive effect on learning an L2 ¬– it helps with better pronunciation, memorisation, motivation, etc. If a teacher includes quality songs in the classroom, complemented by other effective methods (e.g. Total Physical Response or TPR), it can make a big difference in the learning process. It is therefore important for us as teachers to seek out quality songs and incorporate them thoughtfully into our teaching. In this master thesis, we investigated how ESL teachers feel about the inclusion of songs in their lessons in the first three years of primary education. We wanted to find out how often and in what ways they include songs in their lessons, which types of songs they most often choose, how they introduce them into their lessons, how qualified they feel to include them, and what difficulties they encounter. We were also interested in how they integrated songs into online learning during the Covid-19 epidemic. The teachers' opinions and views were explored through a quantitative survey. We found that they had a positive attitude towards the use of songs in ESL teaching in early primary education. All respondents include songs in their lessons at least once a month. However, during the period of distance learning due to the Covid-19 epidemic, on average, teachers included songs in lessons less frequently. We found that teachers on average feel moderately qualified to teach songs in English lessons. With this master thesis, we wanted to encourage teachers to include songs in foreign language lessons. The results of the research will contribute to the development of English didactics and to the adaptation of training for future teachers of English at primary level
Computer game Minecraft as a teaching tool for fine arts lessons in primary school
Get PDFIn this diploma thesis, we considered Minecraft, the construction survival video game of the Swedish programmer Markus Persson from 2009, as a teaching aid in art classes.
In the theoretical part, we focused on the general usefulness of computer games in lessons at the level of primary school education, or rather we presented the fundamental research findings regarding the use of video games as teaching aids. We highlighted both positive and especially negative findings in connection with the use of computer games on the development of children and adolescents in the school environment.
In the empirical part, we focused on the game Minecraft, the publicly available version of the game called Education edition, which is intended specifically for use in elementary schools. First, we presented the essential aspects of the game, which can be used in art lessons, in connection with the basic teaching methods, with the aim of bringing the peculiarities of art concepts closer to the students. we also pointed out the potential shortcomings of the game when used in a classroom setting.
Video games can be useful didactic tools for learning the specifics of art concepts, especially in the field of architecture and sculpture. Video games can attract students' attention and serve as a motivational tool, especially in the upper grades of primary school education
Spending leisure time in the preschool period
Get PDFFree time is very important nowadays, as everyone, from the youngest to the elderly, need it. It is a way to take a break from everyday responsibilities. During free time, we usually do things that mean the most to us and that we appreciate. In their early childhood, children must be familiarised with things that stimulate their overall development. Adults, kindergarten teachers and parents or guardians assume an important role when it comes to children’s free time in the preschool period – we must teach them to spend their free time participating in quality activities.
The theoretical part defines free time and free time of children, stressing that children must spend their free time participating in quality free-time activities. By conducting a research, I tried to study how well adults and/or parents are aware of ways in which their children spend their free time. I determined that parents are well familiar with basic guidelines on how to spend free time in the preschool period and that they are well aware of its importance. They find it the most important to additionally motivate their children through conversation to spend quality free time and choose quality free-time activities. In addition, they are well aware of the positive effects of free time on children, especially its importance for the development of children's personality. They mostly agree that their children have enough free time, stating that their children are most likely to spend free time participating in sports activities and socializing with their peers or friends
Role of the pre-school teacher in promoting the speech-language development of preschool children
Get PDFA preschool teacher plays an important role in promoting the speech and language development of preschool children. Children spend most of their waking hours in kindergarten, therefore it is precisely the educators who must set a good speech and language example for the child and provide him with quality activities that will help him develop his speech, language and thinking. The educator in preschool creates a pleasant climate and plans activities that enable the use of speech, language, dialogue and listening and create positive mutual relationships. In the thesis, we focus on the speech and language development of children; internal and external factors that affect children's speech and language development; what does the curriculum for kindergartens say about children's speech and language development and what is the role of a preschool teacher in promoting children's speech development in kindergarten. In the diploma work, the emphasis is on encouraging the development of speech with the help of books and joint reading. The aim of the thesis is to find out how preschool teachers encourage children's speech and language development and how children respond to the story with exercises to encourage the saying that I wrote for the purpose of the thesis and what do preschool teachers think about the use of the story for the purpose of encouraging speech. In the empirical part, we present the results of the research, which we conducted in the kindergarten with the help of questionnaires and interviews. The thesis consists of theoretical and empirical work. In the theoretical part, we focus on the language and speech development of children between the ages of four and six. At first, we describe what speech is and what language is, the characteristics of a child's speech and describe the factors of speech development. In the following, we describe how speech develops and how speech and language development is encouraged in kindergarten. We list different definitions of exercises to promote speech and language development and touch on the importance of reading and telling stories to children. In the empirical part of the diploma work, we investigated how children respond to the story Manja na smučišču, which contains exercises to encourage speech. We also investigated how educators promote speech and language development in kindergarten, what activities they do with children and how important they think it is to promote speech and language development in kindergarten. We found out that educators are aware of the importance of promoting speech and language, as the preschool period is an intensive period of speech and language development. Educators consider themselves competent to promote children's speech and language development. They carry out exercises with the children in their daily routine to promote the development of speech and language by encouraging conversation, speaking, listening, observing and describing, visiting the library and puppet shows, and through activities such as finding rhymes and counting books, kamishibai theater, playing roles and other exercises. Children responded well to the story Manja na smučišču, they were active listeners. During the telling of the story, they were active listeners. They got involved in the story, performed exercises to stimulate the saying and expressed themselves through movement. We have concluded that the story containing exercises to encourage pronunciation helps children to relax and at the same time consolidate and develop their speech and language competences
Application of acoustic speech measurements in the diagnosis of developmental dysarthria
Get PDFDevelopmental dysarthria is a motor speech disorder characterized by reduces intelligibility and impairments on at least one speech subsystem such as breathing, phonation, resonance, articulation and/or prosody. Due to similar perceptual characteristics with a delayed speech-language development and with other speech disorders, recognizing this disorder can be a challenge for many speech and language therapists. It is most often assessed and diagnosed by a perceptual assessment of speech. To achieve a more accurate detection of deviations in speech, an acoustic analysis of speech could be used in the assessment process, which would add objective confirmation to the perceptual assessment.
The aim of this master's thesis was to study the field of acoustic evaluation of speech in developmental dysarthria. The theoretical part of the master's thesis presents developmental dysarthria and its characteristics, assessment of signs of developmental dysarthria and treatment of children with developmental dysarthria. In what follows, acoustic measurements of speech and acoustic characteristics of dysarthric speech are presented. The aim of this master's thesis was also to design and implement an evaluation protocol for the speech of children with developmental dysarthria and thereby determine which acoustic parameters distinguish the speech of children with dysarthria from the speech of children with typical development. By implementing the protocol we obtained voice recordings, with the help of which we measured the maximum phonation time (MPT), the range of the fundamental frequency, the articulation rate and the range of F1 and F2 within diphthongs in children with developmental dysarthria. Individual parameters were analyzed in the speech analysis software Praat, statistically processed and compared with the results of children from the group with typical speech. MPT, fundamental frequency range and articulation rate proved to be statistically differentiating acoustic parameters. The acoustic profiles of children with developmental dysarthria were diverse
Development of early literacy skills in English according to the convergent pedagogy principles in the first triad
Get PDFThe first part of this master's thesis includes a general review of existing literature on the main findings in the field of learning and teaching a foreign language in the first educational period, with emphasis on the process of developing literacy skills in English as a foreign language. The main research problem covers the field of concurrent initial literacy acquisition in the mother tongue and in the foreign language. In addition to that we discuss the causes, procedures and consequences of teaching English as a foreign language early on to children who are still acquiring literacy skills in Slovene as their mother tongue. In the first years of schooling, children's perception is still distinctly holistic, global, so foreign language teaching is adapted to this. Because students have already developed certain pre-literacy skills in their mother tongue, the transition to learning a foreign language is easier; most studies particularly emphasize the importance of taking advantage of the positive transfer between the mother tongue and a foreign language. According to the principles of the ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ method, this process is more effective if pupils build their knowledge by being taught both languages with the help of a unified methodology. The purpose of the master's thesis was hence to review existing materials and gather the main findings and views of teachers who taught according to the principles of the ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ method, in order to gain a deeper insight into initial foreign language literacy acquisition with parallel literacy in the mother tongue, focusing on the global method of literacy acquisition. The research approach included a review and content analysis of materials for developing English literacy in the field of the ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ (minutes of the seminars, evaluations, scripts and proceedings) and interviews with five primary school and foreign language teachers who have been practising the method for more than ten years. The following questions of the semi-structured interview were formulated from the main objectives of the research: how does the introduction to the literacy acquisition process go according to the principles of the ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ method?; how does the methodology contribute to systematic initial literacy acquisition (the use of the body expression activities with music and posters is discussed in more detail)?; how does the process of being introduced to working with texts according to the global method take place?; how does the ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ method develop fundamental links between mother tongue and foreign language literacy acquisition?; which elements of this pedagogy can be, according to the interviewed teachers, used in the modern educational context of literacy acquisition in a foreign language and what are the frameworks within which this approach can be effectively implemented today? Our research has shown that when teaching literacy, the interviewed teachers focus on the social function of reading, and use various didactic elements in order to train students in the use of specific strategies of (non)verbal organization of their own mental ideas into meaningful units (narrative of the experience, summary with pictures and graphics, working with keywords, writing on a poster as a well-rounded text …). Initial literacy acquisition using the global-structural method runs concurrently in the mother tongue and a foreign language. This is achieved through close cooperation of foreign and mother tongue teachers, as well as by systematic harmonization of content and use of didactic elements according to the methodological approach of ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ (storytelling, role play, body expression with music) and by using picture cards and graphics. According to the interviewees, repeated contact with the same content in both the mother tongue and the foreign language is crucial for the development of all four communication skills. The semi-structured interview also highlighted the importance of organizing lessons in a way that ensures all initial activities are based on language immersion, whereby the predominant method is regular contact with a selected text in different learning contexts; moreover using a diverse set of message-conveying media is also emphasised as useful. Thus, teachers systematically upgrade activities to develop all four communication skills in both languages. The majority of interviewees believe that using text in different learning contexts is most helpful when it comes to persistently raising awareness of English language phonemics, while simultaneously working with the written word indirectly helps to train the ability to perceive the association of phoneme and grapheme, which is also confirmed by a review of the collected documents. They do not teach specific language rules directly. Teachers who were teaching literacy according to the principles of ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ often reported positive effects arising from using the same methodological approach in mother tongue and foreign language teaching on the development of communication skills in both languages and the formation of higher cognitive structures. The principle of uniformity in the methodological approaches of mother tongue and foreign language consequently also helps to address specific development challenges in literacy in both languages. In connection with the use of the ‘Konvergentna Pedagogika’ method in today's teaching context, teachers most often pointed out the problem of time constraints in the implementation of the method in a condensed, shorter time frame and the challenge of (non)cooperation in co-creating the pedagogical process with colleagues
The experience of pregnancy, birth and early parenthood during the COVID-19 epidemic in Slovenia
Get PDFThe work focuses on the experience of pregnancy, childbirth and the six-month postpartum period during the Covid-19 epidemic in Slovenia. It also looks in depth at the experiences of (expectant) fathers during their partner's pregnancy, during labour and after the birth. The epidemic proved to be a major risk factor for mental health problems, and vulnerable groups (such as couples expecting a baby) were even more exposed during the epidemic. Given the heavy burden on the health care system, which is the main professional area in the treatment of pregnant women in our country, we used a quantitative survey in the empirical part of the study to examine to what extent the needs of expectant mothers were nevertheless met and to what extent any lack of treatment caused them stress. The expectation of a child has, however, not only a physical, biological dimension, but also a social and emotional dimension, which have been limited due to the epidemic, and to which the research also pays attention. In the qualitative part of the research, we also focus on the experiences of the expectant fathers, who often received (too) little attention during their partner's pregnancy. In it, we identify what this meant for fathers in terms of connecting with their newborn and taking on the new social role of father.
The value of the findings lies above all in the potential to improve the situation of parents-to-be, who deserve all the support, information and help they can get from their environment
Insights into engineering education teaching practice in Slovenian primary schools during the covid-19 pandemic: distance learning model
Get PDFWhen the Covid-19 pandemic started in March 2020, the educational
process had to be redesigned to meet current needs. At the Faculty of
Education of the University of Ljubljana, pre-service engineering and
technology teachers (3rd and 4th years of undergraduate two-subject
teachers’ study programme) are obliged to complete a teaching practice
in educational institutions and submit a teaching practice diary. Due to
the closure of primary schools, the teaching practice was transformed to
distance/online practice. This empirical study examines a recently de-
veloped intuitive model for distance learning, which took place during
the teaching practice. Teaching practice diaries served as an instrument
for gathering data. The sample size encompasses 56 lesson plan activi-
ties for the compulsory primary school Design and Technology subject
for students aged 12–15 years at 15 primary schools in different parts of
Slovenia carried out during online teaching practice by 11 pre-service
technology teachers in the 2019/2020 and 2020/2021 academic years.
The research methodology is focused on lesson-type determination and
model elements analysis in lesson plan making and implementation ac-
tivity. Distance learning model elements are evaluated with regard to
online/offline learning tools from e-learning platforms to engineering
education field-specific tools (e.g., technical drawings and electric cir-
cuits). Online teaching practice was as new for pre-service technology
teachers and teacher-mentors as online learning was new for students.
The advantages and disadvantages are highlighted. Furthermore, the
distance learning model from the first Covid-19 wave teaching practice
was adapted to challenge the second Covid-19 wave. The pandemic has
enabled the rise of blended learning, which has been gaining focus in
secondary and higher education levels in recent years; however, it en-
countered obstacles when entering the primary school domain. How to encompass blended learning into the evolved distance learning model will be shown
Prevalence of racquet games among primary school class teachers in the first and second triad of primary school
Get PDFIn the thesis, we presented the importance of racquet sports for a child's integral development. We focused on natural forms of motion and motor skills that are developed with racquet sports. We presented individual racquet sports, including more widely known ones as well as the less known ones. At the end of the theoretical part, we focused on the school curriculum and checked how often the individual racquet sports are mentioned as well as analyzing school sports competitions to see which racquet sports are represented and also which school sports competitions consisting of racquet sports the teachers can enroll their students in. In the empirical part, we analyzed which racquet sports elementary teachers are familiar with, how often they include individual racquet sports in PE classes, what are the reasons for including them less frequently, and how often they enroll students in individual racquet sports competitions. We were also interested in whether the number of students in a class influences the teacher's integration of racquet sports into PE classes and also whether the teacher's participation in racquet sports influences the knowledge and integration of these into PE classes. We arrived at conclusions to these questions based on a quantitative analysis using a questionnaire. The sample consists of 100 data points, each represented by a primary school class teacher in the first or second trimester of primary school in Slovenia. We found out that teachers rarely include racquet sports, and are especially unfamiliar with newer games like padel, beach tennis and crossminton. With this thesis, we are aiming to raise awareness among primary school teachers about the importance of introducing racquet sports games into PE classes and encourage them to include racquet sports in their PE classes more often