Informácia o jednej zaujímavej všeobecno-vzdelávacej aktivite časopisu Quark

At the end of 2020, the Quark editorial office launched on its Facebook page an interesting competition called "Photo Puzzle". The basic premise is that the editors of the journal publish an original picture related in some way to science and technology, with an enclosed question. However, the image itself usually does not provide enough information to identify the correct answer. Instead, it provides an opportunity to creatively think about possible solutions in the absence of perfect information. In this sense, the questions differ from the typical school problems, which require accurate formulation and have clear answers. Since in everyday life we rarely encounter this type of „school“ questions, this activity by Quark staff should be appreciated.

Invázna ekológia

Invasion ecology was established as a science of invasion of animals and plants in the beginning of the second half of the 20th century by English ecologist Charles Sutherland Elton (1900-1991). Rapid development of the field of ecology is evident since the end of last century and following decades of 21st century. The paper deals with current development, diversity of concepts and hypotheses, including critiques of invasion terminology, invasion species concepts, introduced species as bad species and xenophobe appeared related to aliens as invaders. Invasion biology was an attempt to integrate alien animals and plants research into one science. In last decade new science of invasions is developed, characterised by multi- and interdisicplinarity, supported by social and economy sciences. To facilitate generalisations, and to improve the link between science, policy, and management, numerous frameworks have been developed in an attempt to unify different concepts and definitions.

Uplatnenie QR kódov vo vyučovaní biológie

The paper describes one of the progressive forms of innovation of the educational process through the implementation of a QR code on worksheets in biology. QR code as a new technology is already accepted and fully used in biology. A part of mobile education (m-learning) is also the application of innovative methods and tools that develop students' key competencies. Emphasis is placed on the real work of students, the use of digital technologies, Internet literacy, the strengthening of interdisciplinary relationships and the elements of informal science education. The educational application of QR codes increases the attractiveness and demostrativeness of Biology lessons.

Postačujú vedomosti stredoškolákov z chémie pre pochopenie funkcie tradičných protiepidemických opatrení?

This text gives a positive answer to the question in the title. This means that compliance with anti-epidemic measures does not need to rely only on various enforcement measures and restrictions. At the same time, understanding of physical principles behind these measures makes students less likely to accept the views which question them.

Potenciál využitia občiansko-vedných projektov v prírodovednom vzdelávaní

The paper deals with mapping teachers' awareness of citizen science and their experiences with the use of projects with elements of citizen science in teaching process. The survey involved 63 primary and secondary school teachers with one of the science subjects in approbation. The results show that although the phenomenon of citizen science is terminologically unknown to teachers, they already have some experience with projects of this nature and their involvement in teaching seems interesting to teachers. Even regarding the results of the survey, one of the aims of the paper is to present the phenomenon of citizen science and its specific projects.

Česká spoločnosť pre ekológiu (ČSPE)

National scientific society for ecology in Czech Republic was established in 2008 with support of the British Ecological Society (BES) finantial fund. Basic informations on the scociety and its activities are presented.

Dva pohľady na dôležitosť tém v anorganickej chémii

The article points out that one of the most important criteria for assessing the importance of inorganic raw materials is their mined and processed quantity. In pedagogical practice, however, this criterion is often completely ignored. This situation is exacerbated by a massive popularization of various modern synthetic materials, which have often little practical significance. The second part of the article describes a new laboratory focused on research of modern inorganic materials, which was recently established at the Faculty of Natural Sciences at Comenius University in Bratislava.

Online priestor ako doteraz neobjavená príležitosť?

This article describes a collaboration between two universities in the preparation of future chemistry teachers. The Trnava University in Trnava and the University of Ostrava have organized a joint cross-border webinar aimed at developing skills for scientific work. Mixed teams of students from both universities prepared their own research projects, which they presented to all participants at the end of the event. As a result of the cooperation, inspirational materials for pedagogical practice were prepared and networks were established.

30 rokov Medzinárodnej biologickej olympiády

International biology olympiad (IBO) – an international competition of secondary grammer school students in biology – was established in 1989 and first competition was organized in 1990 in Czechoslovakia (Olomouc). In the 1st IBO 22 students and 6 countries participated. Winners of the respective national competitions – their skills in trackling biological problems, and dealing with biological experiments are tested. The competition consists two parts – theoretical test and practical tasks, in 50:50 ratio. Coordination centre of IBO located in Prague, International Scientific Advisory Board (ISAB, now AB IBO), national coordinators and since 2008 also steering committee have been responsible for organization of the competition. In the last 30 years number of countries and students participated in the competition evidently increased. In 30th IBO, which was held in Hungary (Szeged) in 2019, 285 students and 72 countries of the world participated. In 2020 IBO was organized in distance/online form only caused by Covid 19 pandemic situation.