Abstract:

The quality of the education depends on several factors, including the teacher's pedagogical competence, which enables them to optimally select and combine teaching methods. When choosing teaching methods, the teacher must consider pupils and their individual characteristics, the characteristics of each stage of the learning process, the learning objectives and content, and the didactic environment. Because of the importance attached in pedagogical practice to the principle of clarity, teachers include the teaching method of demonstration in their teaching, which is also the subject of our research. The paper highlights the importance of the demonstration method for the quality of the education. The research was carried out in the framework of the project Education of teachers as a factor of providing high-quality life-long learning in the learning society/the society of fast socio-economic changes and unsure future, funded by the Slovenian Research Agency. The research included 323 Slovenian primary school teachers, including both general teachers and subject teachers (social studies, languages, science and mathematics, sports, arts). A questionnaire was used to collect data. The results of our research show that teachers use different types of demonstration in their teaching. However, the frequency of use of different types of demonstration varies statistically significantly depending on the teacher's field of teaching. Although teachers use demonstration in their teaching, it is necessary to point out that the use of the demonstration method alone does not necessarily contribute to the quality of the education. Rather, the combination of different teaching methods is crucial. The results of our research raise new questions, especially when planning more detailed analyses of the use of different teaching methods in pedagogical practice in relation to teachers' competence.

Keywords:

Demonstration, teaching methods, primary school, teacher, pupil.