Computer Application in the Initial Education of Children in Natural Sciences / PRIMJENA RAČUNALA U POČETNOM OBRAZOVANJU DJECE U PRIRODNIM ZNANOSTIMA

Abstract At their young age pupils learn the contents of natural sciences by combining different methods and forms of work. This study examined the effect of computer-aided learning on the quality of pupils' knowledge about the natural habitats. A total of 168 third grade primary school pupils (9-year-old) from the Republic of Serbia took part in this research (84 pupils comprising the control group and 84 pupils comprising the experimental group). Causal, descriptive and comparative methods were used in this study. Initial test, final test and retest were used as tools for the measurement of the pupils’ knowledge about the habitats. On the basis of the results obtained, it was concluded that the experimental group of pupils, who had used computers in the learning process, obtained better knowledge about habitats, when compared to the control group of pupils who had been taught in the traditional way. The experimental group pupils achieved better results at the levels of application, analysis, synthesis and the evaluation of knowledge.  Key words: computer-aided learning; initial learning in natural sciences; habitat; pupils;  third-grade elementary school pupils. --- Ucenici vec u ranoj dobi uce o sadržajima prirodnih znanosti povezujuci razlicite metode i oblike rada. Ovaj rad prikazuje rezultate istraživanja utjecaja racunalno potpomognutog ucenja na kvalitetu ucenickog znanja o životnim stanistima. U istraživanju je sudjelovalo 168 ucenika trecih razreda osnovnih skola (devetogodisnjaci) iz Republike Srbije (84 ucenika cinilo je kontrolnu skupinu, a ostalih 84 ispitnu). U analizi su upotrijebljene kauzalna, deskriptivna i komparativna metoda. Inicijalni test, finalni test i ponovljeno testiranje upotrijebljeni su kao sredstva mjerenja znanja o životnim stanistima. Na temelju dobivenih rezultata zakljuceno je da je ispitna skupina ucenika uceci pomocu racunala postigla bolje znanje o životnim stanistima, za razliku od kontrolne skupine ucenika koja je poducavana tradicionalnim nacinom. Ucenici u ispitnoj skupini postigli su bolje rezultate na razini primjene, analize, sinteze i evaluacije znanja.  Kljucne rijeci: racunalno potpomognuto ucenje, pocetno ucenje u prirodnim znanostima, životno staniste, ucenici, ucenici trecih razreda osnovnih skola