LEARNING ABOUT TREES IN PRIMARY EDUCATION: POTENTIALITY OF IRT TECHNOLOGY IN SCIENCE TEACHING

Teaching natural sciences to children is also a way to make them aware of serious environmental problems in order to develop better attitudes of nature protection. Protection of trees and the forest are of special importance. However, exploring and getting to know the tree as living entity means the simplification of complex scientific concepts. Within the scope of science teaching, images are an effective didactic learning resource. Furthermore the use of images allow us to show the "hidden world" of living beings. With this approach, this preliminary study presents a learning itineraries about the curricular content of the natural sciences of primary education - "The living tree". Thermograms, obtained using infrared thermography technology (IRT), are used to learn the biological similarity between the tree and living beings in which children have close and affective relationships - the pets. This learning and teaching methodology shows the potential of this new learning tool as a means to develop attitudes towards the protection and preservation of trees and nature.