A Case Study of Biology Teaching Practices in Croatian Primary Schools

Abstract

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.

Keywords

• biology teacher
• biology classes
• teaching methods
• classroom observation