ACHIEVING HIGHER LEVELS OF MATHEMATICAL LITERACY WITH INNOVATIVE TEACHING APPROACHES AND A CRITICAL USE OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY

An increasing number of students in primary school dislike maths, their motivation to solve problem tasks is declining, which results in poorer mathematical literacy. The above-mentioned issues can be solved only by applying innovative teaching approaches such as learning maths with the innovative learning environment MS Teams. Such learning is very interesting for students, knowledge testing is easier, and students get feedback immediately. Students are more motivated to learn math, which in turn means raising math literacy. Keywords: daily life problems, digital technology, innovative teaching approaches, mathematical literacy, MS Teams

LESSON PLANNING AND TEACHING FINE ART WITH IMPLEMENTATION OF DIGITAL STYLUS

Creativity is closely linked to 21st century competencies. For students in secondary education, it is important to maintain and encourage creativity as part of fine arts classes. This can be achieved through meaningful integration of information and communication technology, as this allows students to express themselves in a more engaging and in-depth way. To help empower class teachers, this research presents a successful example of good practice. Courses are planned in several stages, starting from goals of the subject in relation to digital competencies. The app for the tablet and the digital pen is selected according to the criteria of quality, simplicity of use and relevance. Technology is included in the lessons with the goal to achieve a significant upgrade of the learning experience. Students evaluate their artistic expression as positive and successful. With this activity, students develop their creative and artistic expression abilities to the greatest extent. Their graphic products meet the art task and are aesthetically perfective for their age. The expressive elements within the computer graphics are originally rhythmically arranged. Keywords: digital pen, example of good teaching, fine arts, innovative pedagogy, lesson planning

EVALUATION OF DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY FROM THE STUDENTS` PERSPECTIVE IN THE CASE OF PROJECT WORK IN GEOGRAPHY

The aim of the research is to evaluate a project on the subject of reliefs, which included the use of modern digital technology from the perspective of secondary school students. Since the formative assessment of students also includes a critical self-evaluation of the final products, anonymous surveys were used to determine how the students evaluated the project work, and the use and usefulness of digital technology in geography lessons. Results of this research showed that digital technology encourages students to become more engaged and interested in learning, to reflect on their work and learning, to follow the evaluation criteria, and to achieve better learning outcomes. Keywords: digital technology, evaluation criteria, (self-) evaluation, project work, geography teaching

LEARNING SITUATIONS AND ICT SKILLS IN MATHEMATICS IN THE FIRST YEAR OF THE SECONDARY SCHOOL FOR ECONOMICS

This research presents one of many possibilities of how to check and repeat knowledge at the end of the school year and at the same time provide an answer to questions often asked by students who are disinterested in learning mathematics: "Where will we need it?" or "Why do we learn this?" To provide them with an answer and motivate them at the same time, this research focused on actively encouraging students to find the answers themselves and thus find the importance of learning mathematics. With a changed way of repeating and consolidating the material at the end of the school year, the aim of this research is to reduce the fear of mathematics and increase the motivation of students in the following year. Students, divided into groups, choose the topic or examples of the use of mathematical knowledge of the first year of secondary technical and professional education in everyday life, and thus shape the learning situation (LS). The goal of preparing the LS is for students to make sense of the subject matter with examples from everyday life. For the selected LS, they prepare a short story with tasks that they solve by calculation, prepare presentations and also, present the LS to the classmates. During the formation of the LS and the preparation of presentations, students are active (active learning methods: task search, knowledge of the subject matter, interviews, problem solving, use of mathematical applications, teamwork, problem solving…) and cooperate with each other. They are constantly developing more 21st century competencies (self-regulation, collaboration, problem solving) and digital competencies. With the formation of the LS, the world of mathematical knowledge gets a little closer to students, they lose their fear of mathematics and become more motivated. Keywords: learning situations, collaborative work, active learning methods, mathematics in everyday life, deviation from the established

EXPERIENTIA DOCET

Theoretical insights, as well as basic and especially applied research, should never be self-serving, because it is only through their use that they can encourage the development of both, the individual, and the society as a whole. If this is true on a general level, it is all the more so in the sphere of education, considering that a country's education system is the basis for its progress and the groundwork for its future. Changes in education, however, occur very slowly, since education systems are some of the largest and most complex systems in every society and are impossible to change overnight. Today, the current opinion and understanding is that the knowledge that formed the basis of progress in the 19th and 20th centuries is definitely insufficient in the modern world (the 21st century). It will be even less so in the future, when the fourth industrial revolution will be reached. Collaboration between various scientific disciplines is welcome, but it is no longer enough. The quality and added value of an individual’s competences, skills, and knowledge represent a basis for developing competitive advantages in the global world, and, in turn, increase the well-being of the entire society (Flogie et al., 2019).

RESEARCHERS FROM THE FACULTY OF NATURAL SCIENCES AND EDUCATION FOR INNOVATIVE EDUCATION: INNOVATIVE PEDAGOGY 1:1

In 2017, the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics (FNM) of the University of Maribor entered the partnership of the project Innovative Learning Environments Supported by ICT - Innovative Pedagogy 1:1, led by the Institute Anton Martin Slomšek (ZAMS) and lasting from 2017 to 2022. Innovative Pedagogy 1:1 is a project focusing on the development of competences, which are “one of the fundamental prerequisites for lifelong learning and improved employability. One of the conditions for achieving this is the implementation of flexible forms of learning, which redefine the roles of all stakeholders involved: students, professionals and principals”. The basic focus is on developing digital competencies of students, pedagogical and non-pedagogical staff, and school principals. This research describes the ways in which the Faculty of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, as an academic institution training pre-service teachers of Engineering and Technology, has supported project activities, how it participated in some of the project’s key working bodies, and what its contribution is. Keywords: academic collaboration, community, innovative pedagogy, project work

A CROSS-CURRICULAR APPROACH TO SPORT AND MATHEMATICS BY MEANS OF ICT

Students are usually more motivated to work in a sport class than in a math class. This research combined both subjects into one class. A combined class with a cross-curricular approach was introduced in the 6th year of primary school. Three teachers, who teach sport and math in the 6th grade, jointly planned a lesson for refreshing the students' knowledge of basic geometrical concepts. To raise students' motivation for work, tablet computers were used in the class, and the Geogebra, Actionbound and Socrative applications. In the combined class, students had to use their bodies to illustrate different geometric notions. A symbol was chosen, and the students had to use sporting equipment to, by means of a relay, act out this symbol using their interrelationships. They had to pay attention to all the little details which are also important when drawing in a notebook. It was anticipated that recognizing geometric notions after that lesson would be at a higher level than before. The Socrative application was used at the end of the lesson to get a feedback on better understanding of the subject and to identify the positive effects of the cross-curricular approach. Keywords: cross-curricular approach, ICT, primary school, useful knowledge

STUDENT AS A PERFORMER OF FLIPPED LEARNING IN MATHEMATICS UPGRADED WITH INTERACTIVE VIDEO

Flipped learning represents an active and effective learning method with a focus on students, to whom new subject matter was introduced in advance. By using flipped learning, it is possible to evolve collaborative peer-work, explore the teaching content more efficiently, evolve students' critical thinking and create new opportunities for learning, in which students develop new mathematical problems by themselves, based on the discussed content. With the substitution of teacher's and student's role and preliminary autonomous studying of new teaching contents the student performing flipped learning gained new skills and was able to develop his autonomy. Other students from the experimental group played an active role in the process of studying at home and in the classroom, while the teacher was merely the moderator and advisor throughout the learning process. The time intended for checking homework in traditional lessons was spent on mutual collaboration, research of mathematical concepts and seeking answers to nascent questions. The findings of this mini research point to a significant difference in the understanding of discussed mathematical concepts and students' motivation for learning in favour of the experimental group. The method of flipped learning with use of ICT and teacher's support represents an effective and creative way of learning. The aim of this research is to examine how the student can take the role of flipped learning performer and, with support of the teacher, create his own video with interactive tasks in application EdPuzzle. The impact of flipped learning and use of applications on motivation for learning, understanding, permanence of knowledge and progress of self-regulation are brought to the centre of attention. Keywords: flipped learning, interactive video, Ed Puzzle, effective use of applications

HOW TO STILL RECOGNIZE THE PERIODIC TABLE OF ELEMENTS: THE PROPOSALS OF DIDACTIC AND METHODOLOGICAL PLANNING

The methodical approach presents the proposals of didactic-methodological planning of curriculum password "Fields in the periodic system" for the needs of the key components of teaching & learning process. The didactic-methodological proposal of each of the current macro-didactic components of the learning process includes the following didactic elements: chemical terms, method / method’s password, didactic tool, didactic material. For each macro-didactic component, it is planned to use one of the methods from the author's "methodic hexaplet", defined by the didactic formula ADDGPS: Analogy-Drama-Dance-Game-Pantomime-Socratic dialogue. The dance method is used to acquire the concepts of atomic orbitals and electronic configurations of the elements. The macro-component repeating involves the role-play method used to implement the Expeditionary Visit of PTE by using the Identity card of the element. Both methods of quiz conversation method according to Socrates and the Small PTE cells are used for evaluation. The use of all the mentioned methods is evaluated in terms of the competencies that must be mastered by the teacher, as well as the competencies that the student acquires when performing an individual method. Keywords: Periodic table of elements; chemical terms; ADDGPS methods (Analogy-Drama–Dance-Game-Pantomime-Socratic dialogue)

TIPS FOR TEACHING SCIENCE SUBJECTS UNDER PANDEMIC CONDITIONS

For the system of education in many countries of the world, the end of the school year 2020 was disordered by the appearance of a new virus - COVID-19. A big number of people being infected, made it a necessity to use distance learning tools in the majority of educational institutions. It is clear that for the younger age students according to their physiological and psychological development peculiarities, it is necessary to use all sense organs – seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling and touching in the process of learning. In practice it means that for the given category of children, for successful cognition of the world, it is necessary not only to see learning subjects, but also according to their possibilities to touch them, to smell them and to taste them. Complex understanding about the surrounding environment of a contemporary student is a combination of a real and virtual components of his life and activity. And, the more place virtual space occupies in a child’s intellect, the more positive is seen the involvement of a real natural component in their cognition of the surrounding world. One has to combine and develop the work with the textbook, i.e., theoretical knowledge, with the practical abilities and skills of the younger age students in mastering natural science subjects. Therefore, thematic excursions, research works, activities in nature are very important for the younger age students. Knowing the surrounding world of one’s own concrete place of living, a small part of the world, and establishing relationship between human and nature, a child acquires common understanding about the whole world. Keywords: educational process, distance teaching, science education, surrounding environment.