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This theoretical study deals with interconnecting learning tasks of art education with the parent discipline of art education (that is, with the artistic field as defined by Pierre Bourdieu, 1996), while reflecting on the quality of art lessons in the Czech Republic. The authors draw on current theoretical and empirical research of quality that identifies individual quality factors. The most salient factors are the connection with the artistic field and the resulting ability of conceptual integration, together with curricular normativity, the intentional work of the teacher with educational content, characteristics of teaching such as the support of divergence, creative approaches, associativity, imagination, reflection, searching for intersections between pupils’ experience and the content of the subject, etc. The text also emphasises the fact that judgement on the quality of learning tasks should be based only on ontological-didactic and psychological-didactic aspects. The former relate to the cultural and artistic context of learning tasks, that is, the current values in the field of visual culture and the artistic field, while the latter consider the personal characteristics of each and every pupil.

In the modern educational process, teachers adapt lessons to the student’s individual abilities, prior knowledge, interests and social skills. The present study, whose aim is to examine the inclusion of differentiation in literacy lessons in the first and second grades of Slovenian primary schools, was carried out on a smaller scale (N = 79). It aims to determine the views of first- and second-grade primary school teachers on differentiation, and to find out how differentiation takes place in literacy lessons and which factors affect student performance in class. The results show that the inclusion of differentiation in literacy lessons is present in the entire initial literacy teaching process, and that Slovenian teachers undergo regular training and professional development courses in this area, thus contributing to the educational success of students and affecting their personal growth and development. Teachers estimate that the intertwining of individual abilities, family environment, engagement in co-curricular activities and well-developed social skills represents a key factor in student success. It was expected that internal differentiation would be more effective than external differentiation. Surprisingly, however, teachers report that heterogeneous groups do not enhance educational efficiency.

Due to the rapid development and advancement within various fields, the scope of knowledge is expanding at a staggering pace. In modern education, experts and teachers makes efforts to eliminate fragmentation of the school curriculum and to modernize the manner of teaching thus optimizing the learning process. In planning art lessons, teachers must adopt an appropriate teaching strategy that enables students to acquire knowledge efficiently and holistically, encouraging the creative solving of art tasks. The present article presents some conclusions of experimental research undertaken to determine the effects of the implementation of a teaching process involving cross-curricular integration. The study involved 274 fifth-grade students and 14 single-class teachers from seven selected Slovenian primary schools. It was found that teachers achieved better learning outcomes by using teaching strategies with cross-curricular integration in sculpting tasks as part of the learning process in art education. The proposed guidelines for teaching art concepts will help teachers to overcome specific obstacles in planning activities for the visual arts learning process, while students will benefit from an increased connection between subjects and integrated knowledge of the visual arts.

The contemporary education process frequently emphasizes the importance of teaching and learning by focusing teaching activities towards research and collaborative work, the encouragement of critical thinking, the creative and productive application of knowledge, an active approach to the teaching content, and solving specific problems in project activities. A survey was conducted on a sample of 220 elementary school teachers from three counties in Croatia (Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Lika-Senj, and Istria) regarding the frequency of implementing project activities that encourage critical thinking in pupils. The objectives of the research were to determine the regularity of implementing project activities at the class level and at the level of the entire school, and to examine possible differences between teachers who estimated regular implementation of project activities in their schools and those who estimated the levels of irregular implementation of project activities, in the application of contemporary work strategies, as well as in the attitudes on the contemporary paradigm of childhood and the education process. The research results showed that the majority of teachers estimated that project activities were carried out regularly at their school (66.5% on a class level and 65% on a school level). Teachers who reported the regular implementation of project activities at the class level and at the school level more frequently applied contemporary work strategies and techniques of critical thinking than The contemporary education process frequently emphasizes the importance of teaching and learning by focusing teaching activities towards research and collaborative work, the encouragement of critical thinking, the creative and productive application of knowledge, an active approach to the teaching content, and solving specific problems in project activities. A survey was conducted on a sample of 220 elementary school teachers from three counties in Croatia (Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Lika-Senj, and Istria) regarding the frequency of implementing project activities that encourage critical thinking in pupils. The objectives of the research were to determine the regularity of implementing project activities at the class level and at the level of the entire school, and to examine possible differences between teachers who estimated regular implementation of project activities in their schools and those who estimated the levels of irregular implementation of project activities, in the application of contemporary work strategies, as well as in the attitudes on the contemporary paradigm of childhood and the education process. The research results showed that the majority of teachers estimated that project activities were carried out regularly at their school (66.5% on a class level and 65% on a school level). Teachers who reported the regular implementation of project activities at the class level and at the school level more frequently applied contemporary work strategies and techniques of critical thinking than The contemporary education process frequently emphasizes the importance of teaching and learning by focusing teaching activities towards research and collaborative work, the encouragement of critical thinking, the creative and productive application of knowledge, an active approach to the teaching content, and solving specific problems in project activities. A survey was conducted on a sample of 220 elementary school teachers from three counties in Croatia (Primorje-Gorski Kotar, Lika-Senj, and Istria) regarding the frequency of implementing project activities that encourage critical thinking in pupils. The objectives of the research were to determine the regularity of implementing project activities at the class level and at the level of the entire school, and to examine possible differences between teachers who estimated regular implementation of project activities in their schools and those who estimated the levels of irregular implementation of project activities, in the application of contemporary work strategies, as well as in the attitudes on the contemporary paradigm of childhood and the education process. The research results showed that the majority of teachers estimated that project activities were carried out regularly at their school (66.5% on a class level and 65% on a school level). Teachers who reported the regular implementation of project activities at the class level and at the school level more frequently applied contemporary work strategies and techniques of critical thinking then their colleagues did. The research results also indicated that those teachers more frequently use established approaches to the educational process (teacher should explain, exhibit facts, and point out important conclusions) then their colleagues do. There were no statistically significant differences in contemporary attitudes between the two groups of teachers. Since the objective behind the implementation of project activities was to create the knowledge that, in the creative act, boundaries of the known or tried are transcended in the direction of new and expanded knowledge, importance should be given to the role of teachers in promoting the development of critical thinking and guiding pupils to explore and discover new knowledge.

We have developed and verified laboratory work as guided inquiry for upper secondary level students, focusing on conceptual understanding of the physical principle that forms the basis of temperature measurement,and on improvement of selected skills. Conceptual pre-test questions initiate the students’ interest and help identify input misconceptions. Using the method of interactive lecture demonstration, the students are introduced to the measurement principles of the Galileo thermometer. The students are then set the problem of how to repair a broken thermometer when tap water is used instead of ethanol. Since the density of water is greater than that of ethanol, the buoys must be adjusted by the students to achieve correct temperature measurement. The next steps of the activity have a hands-on orientation. The students work in pairs, guided by worksheet instructions. At the end of the activity, they complete self-assessment rubrics focused on skill improvement and final conceptual understanding. The results of the conceptual pretest questions and of the self-assessment rubrics from 461 participants are analysed and recommendations are made for teachers.

CEPS Journal 5 (2015) 3, S. 129-155, In the Slovenian language syllabus, teachers are recommended to provide a greater share of group work during class. During types of learning such as cooperative learning in smaller groups or pairs, students actively develop communicative competence. The present article presents a survey that attempted to determine whether teachers from the first to the fifth grade execute cooperative learning in language classes. The purpose of the article is to raise teachers’ awareness and encourage them to design and execute cooperative learning more frequently. (DIPF/Orig.)

CEPS Journal 5 (2015) 3, S. 95-110, The present article examines a teaching experiment undertaken by the author in order to point out not only the importance of the arts and aesthetics, but also their limitations. It also argues that, despite these limitations, the spirit of the arts opens us up to freedom and flexibility. Their purpose is not to give answers or solutions, but to make us question the most troubling aspects of our existence. The last chapter of Aldous Huxley’s novel Point Counter Point invites an approach that should do justice to its musical qualities. Apart from borrowing the counterpoint technique from music, it also references music, therefore lending itself to performance, which renders its dramatic force with a strong impact upon readers. (DIPF/Orig.)

CEPS Journal 5 (2015) 3, S. 183-204, The present article focuses on teacher competencies as a major factor that impacts student learning. Ultimately, all attempts to improve education converge in the teacher and the quality of his/her work with students. With their teaching methods, their communication and their classroom management, teachers can structure the kind of learning environment that will either promote or hinder learning. The purpose of the article is to analyse research on educational productivity in order to select the most important teacher competencies that are related to student achievement. A model of teacher competencies is developed that serves as a framework for understanding the synergetic effects of teacher competencies on achievement thorough promoting students' cognitive, affective and social processes. The teacher competencies that impact each of the processes are described and their impact on student achievement is explained. (DIPF/Orig.)

CEPS Journal 1 (2011) 1, S. 43-66, For decades, the Finnish orientation toward teacher education has committed itself to the development of an inquiry oriented and research-based professional culture. The aims of teacher education are to train students to find and analyse problems they may expect to face in their future work. This study consists of a survey of student teachers (n=545) in two universities in Finland. Web-based surveys with quantitative and qualitative questions were sent to all student teachers in the beginning of May 2010. Students assessed how teacher education had provided them with the competences they need in a high standard profession, what kinds of active learning experiences they had in their TE studies, and how research studies of teacher education had contributed to their professional development. The participants of the study assessed that they had achieved good skills in planning teaching and curricula. They were capable of using different teaching methods. They were aware of their own teaching philosophy and their responsibilities as professionals and life-long learners. They consider the research component of TE valuable to their independent and critical thinking. They were very engaged in studies. Finnish pre-service teacher education seems to function very well and to be effective in providing the skills teachers need to work as independent professionals. The results of the study show, however, that students also need more supervision and guidance on how to collaborate with parents and other stakeholders outside school, such as representatives of working life as well as partners in business life and culture. (DIPF/Orig.)

CEPS Journal 1 (2011) 1, S. 113-131, Elementary teachers are often required to teach inquiry in their classrooms despite having had little exposure to inquiry learning themselves. In a capstone undergraduate science course preservice elementary teachers experience scientific inquiry through the completion of group projects, activities, readings and discussion, in order to develop a sense of how inquiry learning takes place. At the same time, they learn science content necessary for teacher licensure. The course exposes students to different pathways of scientific discovery and to the use of the computer both as a tool for conducting inquiry-based investigations and as a means of collecting and sharing student opinions. The students involved have many misconceptions about science and it is often difficult for them to distinguish science from pseudoscience. Computer simulations are used to help students understand that difference. In addition, a classroom response system using “clickers” is used to poll student opinions on controversial issues and to stimulate discussion. (DIPF/Orig.)

CEPS Journal 3 (2013) 3, S. 9-28, The transfer of knowledge is considered to be a fundamental goal of education; therefore, knowing and understanding the conditions that influence the efficiency of the transfer from learning activity to problem solving play a decisive role in the improvement of science education. In this article, the results of a study of 196 high-school students’ ability to transfer knowledge in explanatory model construction are presented. Three test groups were formed, traditional, prediction and lab groups, in which students were involved in three different learning activities. A week after instruction, students were tested with a foil test and Lawson’s Classroom Test of Scientific Reasoning. According to the results, little knowledge transfer from learning activities to the foil test occurred. Among the three tested learning methods, the one asking for prediction seems to best improve the transfer of knowledge. Time spent on activities had little or no effect on the transfer of knowledge. Some possible reasons for the observed results are presented, and the importance of correct scientific explanation during the learning process is considered. (DIPF/Orig.)