The aim of this case study is to present the most frequent teaching methods used by biology teach... more The aim of this case study is to present the most frequent teaching methods used by biology teachers in the Republic of Croatia, based on the observations made during biology class and the teachers' statements. The study included six distinguished primary school biology teachers, along with their seventh-grade classes. The data comprised an interview with each teacher and twelve class observations. The results show that biology education in the Croatian educational system is mostly traditional, whereby students mostly practice listening to the teacher (34%) and answering the questions (18%). In summary, the majority of teaching consists of teachers presenting the content materials and asking questions or engaging students in specific individual or group activities. The present study has determined a lack of student questions and class discussions. Additionally, the nature of teachers' questions does not encourage students to think and provide extensive answers. For this reason, the study suggests that teachers encourage students to ask questions and organize teaching activities in ways which will contribute to more class activity and deep learning of students. Despite some acknowledged limitations, the results of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the teachers' experiences in authentic science classrooms, in specific contexts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on all sectors of the economy worldwide, incl... more The COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on all sectors of the economy worldwide, including education. This led to the closing of schools, soon followed by online teaching that replaced traditional classroom teaching for the duration of the pandemic. This case study is relevant to examining natural science teachers' attitudes and beliefs about online teaching and the challenges they faced during the pandemic. Data were collected using standardized, open-ended interviews with six outstanding natural science teachers from elementary schools. In this article, we explore the work-related challenges and opportunities experienced by outstanding teachers because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of online teaching. The results of the study show that teachers are open to changes and express relatively positive attitudes and beliefs about online teaching during the COVID-19 crisis, such as using a variety of digital tools during online teaching and after returning to classroom teaching. They are developing and improving their digital competences as well as their self-reflection skills, which give them the space they need to reflect consciously and deeply on their teaching. However, they encounter various obstacles to teaching online, such as technical difficulties, difficulties in assessment, excessive parental involvement in children's work, etc. The efforts to develop personally and professionally improve the quality of pedagogical work, including distance learning, and contribute to the development of teachers' professional identity. The limitation of this study is relatively small group of teachers who participated in the research, i.e., only six of them.
The assessment is part of the complex profile of teacher competencies that supports the developme... more The assessment is part of the complex profile of teacher competencies that supports the development of teachers' and students' generic and professional competencies. The paper focuses on formative assessment, i.e., the approach to assessment as learning and assessment for learning that takes place during the learning process, which ultimately contributes to selfregulated learning. This paper aims to determine if there are changes in the use of formative assessment in the classroom. For this purpose, Biology teachers participated in reflective learning-based professional development. In this action research, reflective learning was applied in learning communities. The learning process consisted of acquiring theoretical knowledge about formative assessment, applying what has been learned in the classroom, and (self)analyzing video recordings of the lessons according to the formative assessment representation form. The analysis provided (internal) feedback on progress and aspects for improvement as a starting point for a new cycle of reflective learning. The initial recordings of the lessons showed that formative assessment needs improvement. The results indicate that professional development in formative assessment varied among teachers. One teacher was found to make steady progress during professional development, while other teachers were found to have sporadic and incoherent changes. We believe that the improvement of the professional development model should include explicit incentives for teachers to implement phases of self-regulated learning during professional development.
... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvar... more ... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvaralaštvo i koji kreativno djeluje, moći će to prenijeti i na druge. Takav će učitelj svojim učenicima osigurati primjerene uvjete u kojima će ...
Life and school : journal for the theory and practice of education = Leben und schule, Jun 10, 2014
Ovo akcijsko istraživanje ostvareno je u okviru nastave kolegija Metodika odgoja tijekom jednoga ... more Ovo akcijsko istraživanje ostvareno je u okviru nastave kolegija Metodika odgoja tijekom jednoga semestra. Namjera nam je bila unaprijediti evaluaciju visokoškolske nastave. Kako bi to ostvarili koristili smo se različitim oblicima sumativne i formativne evaluacije, a poseban naglasak postavili smo na kritičko prijateljstvo između studenta i profesora (suautora ovog rada). Za ostvarivanje kritičkoga prijateljstva koristili smo se videozapisima nastave. Na kraju nastave studentima su bili ponuđeni različiti anketni upitnici i evaluacijski listići, a proveli smo i otvoreni standardizirani intervju sa skupinom studenata te radionicu koja je bila posvećena evaluaciji visokoškolske nastave. Naše istraživanje pokazalo je kako studenti kao subjekti nastavnoga procesa mogu aktivno sudjelovati u ostvarivanju evaluacije, a njihova zapažanja i prijedlozi mogu potaknuti nastavnika na unaprjeđenje svih etapa nastavnoga procesa, pa tako i evaluacije. Smatramo kako je evaluaciju u visokoškolskoj nastavi moguće unaprijediti edukacijom profesora i studenata o njezinoj važnosti za kvalitetu nastavnoga procesa, upoznavanjem s različitim mogućnostima uključivanja studenata u taj proces, što je ostvareno na jednom od stručnih skupova koji je održan za nastavnike na Filozofskom fakultetu u Osijeku. Ključne riječi: evaluacija, četvrta generacija evaluacije, visokoškolska nastava, kritičko prijateljstvo, akcijsko istraživanje Summary: This action research project was realized as a part of course "Methodology of Education" during one semester. We intended to improve evaluation of high-school teaching. We devised and conducted different forms of summative and formative evaluation putting an emphasize on critical friendship between student and professor (coauthors of this account). For realization of critical friendship we utilized video records of teaching. At the end of teaching we offered to students different questionnaires and evaluation sheets, we conducted open standardized interview with the group of students, and realized workshop which was dedicated to evaluation of higher education teaching. Our research showed that students as subjects of educational process could actively participate in evaluation, and their comments and suggestions could stimulate the teacher to improve all phases of teaching process, along with evaluation. We consider that evaluation of higher education teaching could be improved by education of teachers and students about importance of evaluation for the quality of teaching process and different ways of including students in this process that was obtained at a professional meeting for teachers at the Philosophical Faculty of Osijek.
Sažetak-U školi usmjerenoj na promjene učitelji bi trebali preuzeti aktivnu ulogu u procesu istra... more Sažetak-U školi usmjerenoj na promjene učitelji bi trebali preuzeti aktivnu ulogu u procesu istraživanja (Hariss, 2002, str. 33) za razliku od dosadašnje prakse gdje su u najboljem slučaju bili samo korisnici rezultata tuñih istraživanja. S obzirom na taj zahtjev, akcijska istraživanja u mnogočemu odgovaraju potrebama učitelja. Kroz proces akcijskih istraživanja učitelji mogu rješavati uočene probleme i unapreñivati praksu u skladu s autonomno postavljenim ciljevima. U središtu akcijskih istraživanja nalazi se akcija, a prikupljeni podaci služe kao povratna informacija na temelju koje je moguće prilagoñavati i mijenjati planirane aktivnosti. Time cijeli proces istraživanja postaje fleksibilan i kreativan odgovor na potrebe sudionika istraživanja. Unatoč tome što akcijska istraživanja podrazumijevaju intrinzičnu motivaciju onih koji ih ostvaruju, važno je da u školama postoji poticajno ozračje za ostvarivanje te vrlo zahtjevne profesionalne uloge.
... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvar... more ... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvaralaštvo i koji kreativno djeluje, moći će to prenijeti i na druge. Takav će učitelj svojim učenicima osigurati primjerene uvjete u kojima će ...
is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Com... more is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The role of a teacher as an action researcher in Croatia is still insufficiently appreciated and promoted in initial teachers' training, school students learning and in the employed teachers ’ professional post-qualification development. In our
Rad predstavlja dio rasprave vođene preko mrežnog foruma i kasnije objavljenog u tiskanom obliku.... more Rad predstavlja dio rasprave vođene preko mrežnog foruma i kasnije objavljenog u tiskanom obliku. Autor u tekstu nastoji objasniti problem institucionalnog nasilja koje se javlja u industrijskom modelu skola koje nedovoljno vode racuna o potrebama i interesima ucenika.
One of the means of transforming classroom experience is by conducting action research with stude... more One of the means of transforming classroom experience is by conducting action research with students. This paper reports about the action research with university students. It has been carried out within a semester of the course “Methods of Upbringing”. Its goal has been to improve evaluation of higher education teaching. Different forms of summative and formative evaluation have been devised with an emphasis on creating critical friendship between student and professor (authors of this article). Video recordings of lessons have been utilized for realization of critical friendship. At the end of lesson students have been offered various questionnaires and evaluation sheets, and an open standardized interview has been conducted with a group of students. A workshop dedicated to evaluation of higher education teaching has been carried out as well. This research has shown that students can actively participate in evaluation, and that their comments and suggestions should stimulate teach...
The aim of this case study is to present the most frequent teaching methods used by biology teach... more The aim of this case study is to present the most frequent teaching methods used by biology teachers in the Republic of Croatia, based on the observations made during biology class and the teachers' statements. The study included six distinguished primary school biology teachers, along with their seventh-grade classes. The data comprised an interview with each teacher and twelve class observations. The results show that biology education in the Croatian educational system is mostly traditional, whereby students mostly practice listening to the teacher (34%) and answering the questions (18%). In summary, the majority of teaching consists of teachers presenting the content materials and asking questions or engaging students in specific individual or group activities. The present study has determined a lack of student questions and class discussions. Additionally, the nature of teachers' questions does not encourage students to think and provide extensive answers. For this reason, the study suggests that teachers encourage students to ask questions and organize teaching activities in ways which will contribute to more class activity and deep learning of students. Despite some acknowledged limitations, the results of this study can contribute to a better understanding of the teachers' experiences in authentic science classrooms, in specific contexts.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on all sectors of the economy worldwide, incl... more The COVID-19 pandemic has had a catastrophic impact on all sectors of the economy worldwide, including education. This led to the closing of schools, soon followed by online teaching that replaced traditional classroom teaching for the duration of the pandemic. This case study is relevant to examining natural science teachers' attitudes and beliefs about online teaching and the challenges they faced during the pandemic. Data were collected using standardized, open-ended interviews with six outstanding natural science teachers from elementary schools. In this article, we explore the work-related challenges and opportunities experienced by outstanding teachers because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the introduction of online teaching. The results of the study show that teachers are open to changes and express relatively positive attitudes and beliefs about online teaching during the COVID-19 crisis, such as using a variety of digital tools during online teaching and after returning to classroom teaching. They are developing and improving their digital competences as well as their self-reflection skills, which give them the space they need to reflect consciously and deeply on their teaching. However, they encounter various obstacles to teaching online, such as technical difficulties, difficulties in assessment, excessive parental involvement in children's work, etc. The efforts to develop personally and professionally improve the quality of pedagogical work, including distance learning, and contribute to the development of teachers' professional identity. The limitation of this study is relatively small group of teachers who participated in the research, i.e., only six of them.
The assessment is part of the complex profile of teacher competencies that supports the developme... more The assessment is part of the complex profile of teacher competencies that supports the development of teachers' and students' generic and professional competencies. The paper focuses on formative assessment, i.e., the approach to assessment as learning and assessment for learning that takes place during the learning process, which ultimately contributes to selfregulated learning. This paper aims to determine if there are changes in the use of formative assessment in the classroom. For this purpose, Biology teachers participated in reflective learning-based professional development. In this action research, reflective learning was applied in learning communities. The learning process consisted of acquiring theoretical knowledge about formative assessment, applying what has been learned in the classroom, and (self)analyzing video recordings of the lessons according to the formative assessment representation form. The analysis provided (internal) feedback on progress and aspects for improvement as a starting point for a new cycle of reflective learning. The initial recordings of the lessons showed that formative assessment needs improvement. The results indicate that professional development in formative assessment varied among teachers. One teacher was found to make steady progress during professional development, while other teachers were found to have sporadic and incoherent changes. We believe that the improvement of the professional development model should include explicit incentives for teachers to implement phases of self-regulated learning during professional development.
... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvar... more ... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvaralaštvo i koji kreativno djeluje, moći će to prenijeti i na druge. Takav će učitelj svojim učenicima osigurati primjerene uvjete u kojima će ...
Life and school : journal for the theory and practice of education = Leben und schule, Jun 10, 2014
Ovo akcijsko istraživanje ostvareno je u okviru nastave kolegija Metodika odgoja tijekom jednoga ... more Ovo akcijsko istraživanje ostvareno je u okviru nastave kolegija Metodika odgoja tijekom jednoga semestra. Namjera nam je bila unaprijediti evaluaciju visokoškolske nastave. Kako bi to ostvarili koristili smo se različitim oblicima sumativne i formativne evaluacije, a poseban naglasak postavili smo na kritičko prijateljstvo između studenta i profesora (suautora ovog rada). Za ostvarivanje kritičkoga prijateljstva koristili smo se videozapisima nastave. Na kraju nastave studentima su bili ponuđeni različiti anketni upitnici i evaluacijski listići, a proveli smo i otvoreni standardizirani intervju sa skupinom studenata te radionicu koja je bila posvećena evaluaciji visokoškolske nastave. Naše istraživanje pokazalo je kako studenti kao subjekti nastavnoga procesa mogu aktivno sudjelovati u ostvarivanju evaluacije, a njihova zapažanja i prijedlozi mogu potaknuti nastavnika na unaprjeđenje svih etapa nastavnoga procesa, pa tako i evaluacije. Smatramo kako je evaluaciju u visokoškolskoj nastavi moguće unaprijediti edukacijom profesora i studenata o njezinoj važnosti za kvalitetu nastavnoga procesa, upoznavanjem s različitim mogućnostima uključivanja studenata u taj proces, što je ostvareno na jednom od stručnih skupova koji je održan za nastavnike na Filozofskom fakultetu u Osijeku. Ključne riječi: evaluacija, četvrta generacija evaluacije, visokoškolska nastava, kritičko prijateljstvo, akcijsko istraživanje Summary: This action research project was realized as a part of course "Methodology of Education" during one semester. We intended to improve evaluation of high-school teaching. We devised and conducted different forms of summative and formative evaluation putting an emphasize on critical friendship between student and professor (coauthors of this account). For realization of critical friendship we utilized video records of teaching. At the end of teaching we offered to students different questionnaires and evaluation sheets, we conducted open standardized interview with the group of students, and realized workshop which was dedicated to evaluation of higher education teaching. Our research showed that students as subjects of educational process could actively participate in evaluation, and their comments and suggestions could stimulate the teacher to improve all phases of teaching process, along with evaluation. We consider that evaluation of higher education teaching could be improved by education of teachers and students about importance of evaluation for the quality of teaching process and different ways of including students in this process that was obtained at a professional meeting for teachers at the Philosophical Faculty of Osijek.
Sažetak-U školi usmjerenoj na promjene učitelji bi trebali preuzeti aktivnu ulogu u procesu istra... more Sažetak-U školi usmjerenoj na promjene učitelji bi trebali preuzeti aktivnu ulogu u procesu istraživanja (Hariss, 2002, str. 33) za razliku od dosadašnje prakse gdje su u najboljem slučaju bili samo korisnici rezultata tuñih istraživanja. S obzirom na taj zahtjev, akcijska istraživanja u mnogočemu odgovaraju potrebama učitelja. Kroz proces akcijskih istraživanja učitelji mogu rješavati uočene probleme i unapreñivati praksu u skladu s autonomno postavljenim ciljevima. U središtu akcijskih istraživanja nalazi se akcija, a prikupljeni podaci služe kao povratna informacija na temelju koje je moguće prilagoñavati i mijenjati planirane aktivnosti. Time cijeli proces istraživanja postaje fleksibilan i kreativan odgovor na potrebe sudionika istraživanja. Unatoč tome što akcijska istraživanja podrazumijevaju intrinzičnu motivaciju onih koji ih ostvaruju, važno je da u školama postoji poticajno ozračje za ostvarivanje te vrlo zahtjevne profesionalne uloge.
... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvar... more ... 43 Slika 16. Jaje zeko ..... 43 Slika 17. ... misliti i djelovati. Onaj koji zna što je stvaralaštvo i koji kreativno djeluje, moći će to prenijeti i na druge. Takav će učitelj svojim učenicima osigurati primjerene uvjete u kojima će ...
is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Com... more is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License, which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. The role of a teacher as an action researcher in Croatia is still insufficiently appreciated and promoted in initial teachers' training, school students learning and in the employed teachers ’ professional post-qualification development. In our
Rad predstavlja dio rasprave vođene preko mrežnog foruma i kasnije objavljenog u tiskanom obliku.... more Rad predstavlja dio rasprave vođene preko mrežnog foruma i kasnije objavljenog u tiskanom obliku. Autor u tekstu nastoji objasniti problem institucionalnog nasilja koje se javlja u industrijskom modelu skola koje nedovoljno vode racuna o potrebama i interesima ucenika.
One of the means of transforming classroom experience is by conducting action research with stude... more One of the means of transforming classroom experience is by conducting action research with students. This paper reports about the action research with university students. It has been carried out within a semester of the course “Methods of Upbringing”. Its goal has been to improve evaluation of higher education teaching. Different forms of summative and formative evaluation have been devised with an emphasis on creating critical friendship between student and professor (authors of this article). Video recordings of lessons have been utilized for realization of critical friendship. At the end of lesson students have been offered various questionnaires and evaluation sheets, and an open standardized interview has been conducted with a group of students. A workshop dedicated to evaluation of higher education teaching has been carried out as well. This research has shown that students can actively participate in evaluation, and that their comments and suggestions should stimulate teach...
The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organisation. It comprises 47 membe... more The Council of Europe is the continent's leading human rights organisation. It comprises 47 member states, 28 of which are members of the European Union. All Council of Europe member states have signed up to the European Convention on Human Rights, a treaty designed to protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The European Court of Human Rights oversees the implementation of the Convention in the member states. The Council of Europe's Pestalozzi Programme promotes the message of the Organisation and its values – human rights, democracy and the rule of law – in the practice of education (formal, non-formal and informal) and aims to support member states in including these ideals in their education systems. Basing its approach to professional development firmly on social constructivism and social constructionism, it invests in educators who create new practices. This book represents an example of a transformational enterprise in which several practitioners from different parts of Europe gather in the Pestalozzi Programme community of practice and set out to learn how to become action researchers. While many books focus on how to carry this out, this publication is action research in action. In addition, it features examples of how participants can use online social platforms and affordable web applications in their collaboration and learning practices. ENG
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