Abstract:

The study of the human body in primary school is normally faced in the fifth class using a traditional methodology of frontal teaching with the support of the textbook and illustrations or rarely videos. Through this methodology, children are seen as passive subjects who must assimilate the information to faithfully report it at the exams without necessarily having to actively participate in lessons.

Interest and enthusiasm shown for the subject in the early stages of the path generally tend to gradually decline by reducing the internalization of the contents learned by students.

The laboratory and experimental methodology, on the other hand, associated with the scientific and observational-comparative method, aims to put the pupils at the center, helping them to build concepts that are interesting for them to stimulate experience and revive interest and motivation for the discipline.

Starting from these assumptions, the present experimental research was carried out with two main purposes. The first one was to verify the effectiveness of introducing new contents in the treatment of the digestive system such as comparative anatomy and histology also using the optical microscope. The second purpose, on the other hand, was to prove the effectiveness of the laboratory and experimental method by comparing it with traditional methodology.

These two objectives analyzed are based on the intentions declared in the "Indicazioni Nazionali 2012", which recommend the choice of practical activities in the classroom to enhance the spontaneous thinking of pupils, and the "Indicazioni Nazionali 2018". In the latter, it is considered essential to equip students with the necessary skills to detect phenomena, ask questions, observe, experiment, formulate hypotheses and verify them.

The two fifth classes objects of experimentation were chosen in a primary school in Padua. Through a selective pre-test, they were divided into a control group and an experimental group, which was able to take advantage of a laboratory methodology with the macro observation of various biological materials and microscopic of different histological preparations of the digestive system.

The results obtained highlighted how the digestive system is a topic that lends itself well to both laboratory and frontal teaching. However, through the experimental method there was the possibility of profitably proposing contents that are usually dealt with in secondary school thanks to a multiplicity of active methodologies, which allowed students to show curiosity and personal initiative, eliminating boredom attitudes.

Keywords:

Biology, digestive system, laboratory didactics, primary school.