Abstract:

In order to fulfil the main objective of primary education, i.e. the holistic and all-round development of the pupil, it is necessary to ensure that pupils learn on a broad basis and to process the didactic material in the most interesting way possible (Duchová, 2013, Petlák, 2019). A modern curriculum and the stimulating environment in which the educational process takes place play an important role in this. Larsari (2022) refers to it as an environment in which pupils feel confident and happy, as learning should give birth to creative and inquisitive minds. A teacher can ensure this by using a wide variety of teaching methods and forms. In our research, we focused on an innovative method of "gamified learning" (Murugesan, 2019). This modern method is game-based and offers an opportunity for students to learn in a fun way (Lalwani, 2022). Another method used was "questing". The intention of this method is for pupils to find treasure or information in the outdoors through engaging routes in conjunction with specific tasks (Blahutova et al., 2019; Clark, Glazer, 2006)). In combination with the use of information and communication technology, we developed an intervention programme. The starting point of the intervention program was the implementation of innovative methods into the teaching process in social studies education by using cross-curricular relations with the following subjects: Slovak language and literature, computer science, man and nature, man and the world of work, and art education. The success of the implemented programme was verified with pupils of the 3rd year of primary school. We used semi-structured interviews and qualitative content analysis of pupils' statements. The results showed a positive change in pupils' activation during the teaching of the subject of home science and their overall motivation to learn. They also pointed to the high potential of the new curriculum reform in the area of social studies content for integration with other educational content. The reform curriculum also gives more room for the use of innovative teaching methods that are attractive to pupils. The action research carried out in the classroom is part of the intentions of the VEGA project No. 1/0486/24 entitled: Research on teachers' potential and analysis of curriculum documents from the aspect of integration of educational contents of primary education.

Keywords:

Curriculum reform, innovative methods, intervention programme, social science education, inter-subject relations.