TEACHING IT IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL

Some Aspects of Propaedeutics of Informatics Knowledge

Rumyana Yordanova Papancheva, Krasimira Atanasova Dimitrova

University Prof. Dr Asen Zlatarov, Prof. Yakimov bul. 1, 8000 Burgas, Bulgaria

Krasimir Nedelchev Manev

Faculty of Mathematics and Informatics, Sofia University, Sofia, Bulgaria

Keywords: Informational Technologies (IT), Teaching IT, Primary school, Methodology, Informatics.

Abstract: The paper presents some ideas of the authors about teaching informational technologies in the Primary

School. Usually we talk only for ICT-skills to be formed in the school. But all the education process in the

Primary school, aims in doing propaedeutics of important fundamental scientific knowledge in Math,

Nature, Social sciences, Art and so on. Computers and the informational technologies are not only

educational tool and environment. Together with ICT skills students should obtain some fundamental

knowledge from Informatics on propaedeutics level. Some examples of giving Computer science knowledge

in the Primary School are presented.

1 INTRODUCTION

Science and technologies play important role in the

contemporary life. We say that they are indivisible

parts of a whole. Technologies’ development makes

the communication between people easier. People

live in a society, based on the technologies. The

education should correspond to the social needs.

Education should prepare students for the future.

Together with skills, young people have to obtain

knowledge that to help them in the life. Children

should be prepared for the changes in their life, and

also to be capable to make changes by themselves in

the future (Guest and Postlethwaite, 2000).

Children are curious by nature. Their passion for

discovery, for new and interesting themes, must be

encouraged and developed. Computers give students

the opportunity to see a new world. Children become

familiar with the new technologies fast – they fill

themselves comfortable into this new digital world.

Using ICT in the learning process in the Primary

school gives opportunities for:

• Forming habits for research and creative work;

• Increasing the motivation for learning;

• Forming skill for working with information;

• Developing communication skills;

• Active learning;

• Changing the quality of the control of the

learning process;

• Connecting students to the social achievements.

Educational goals express the society’s

expectations and are closely connected with the

social educational needs and requirements (Saylor,

1981). The development of the science and the

society leads to changes in the curriculums – what

and how to study. As technologies take an essential

part of the students’ live it is very important to

determine the role and the place of teaching ICT at

school.

2 FORMULATION OF THE

PROBLEM

According Duggan and Gott (Duggan, 2002) the

school’s curriculum are overloaded and this cause

problems with students’ motivation for learning.

One possible decision of the problem is the

implementation of some of Dewey’s methods like

“learning by going”. But this could be useful only if

goals of the educational process directed to the

future are well analyzed and correctly formulated.

185

Yordanova Papancheva R., Atanasova Dimitrova K. and Nedelchev Manev K. (2010).

TEACHING IT IN THE PRIMARY SCHOOL - Some Aspects of Propaedeutics of Informatics Knowledge .

In Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Computer Supported Education, pages 185-188

DOI: 10.5220/0002812801850188

 SciTePress

Other possibility is the implementation of

interdisciplinary approach in the learning process.

Goals that are directed to the future change the

learning process now. The first thing, to be thought

in curriculum development process, is to determine

the curriculum aims (Walker, 1997). Thus, the

studies on improvement of the science curriculum

may trigger determining future aims of the science

teaching. The teaching process has to start from the

Primary school with the active interest and

participation of the pupils that to provoke active

learning instead of passive reproduction. Students

have to see the practical aspect of the knowledge, to

realize their necessity and importance for the real

life. According to Jonane (Jonane, 2005), the change

is “from outerdirected, “expert”-driven curriculum

and methodologies to more learner-centred,

experiences-based, connected ways of acquiring the

knowledge, skills, and attitudes required for life in

the world”.

The process of introduction of IT at school is still

unadjusted. It is not based on strong psychological

and pedagogical researchers. The use of IT in

learning process should correspond to the specific

aspects of education and learning. Otherwise, the

efficiency of the implementation of technologies at

school will decrease and some negative

psychological outcomes could arise (Бабева, 1998).

The age of the pupils started to work with IT

decreases. In Bulgaria the new curriculum for

Primary school from 2003 includes subject named

“Informational technologies” as an elective subject.

The main point in teaching IT to 7-11 years old

pupils is the formation of skills. The assertion is

accepted that young pupils can’t understand any

fundamental informatics knowledge. This fact is

common on a world scale.

Now educational goals in teaching ICT are

restricted in acquiring ICT skills from the students.

Many researchers study the problem of the

specificity of interaction between the children and

the computers (Коул, 2000, Papert, 1980).

According them forming only skills at the beginning

leads to continuing and absorption of this tendency

in higher grades – students do acts without

understanding. This goes in conflict with curriculum

in Informatics. There is a lack of interest in

obtaining and developing of fundamental

knowledge. These researches are not taken under

consideration in developing teaching plans and

standards, concerning teaching IT in the Primary

school. Many factors like idiosyncrasy and the

availability of talented children, in context of ICT

are not taken into account. In this sense there is a

need of developing of qualitatively new learning

process, learning plans and teaching systems. ICT

curriculum has to be brought up to date regularly

according to the new tendencies in ICT’s

development.

Certainly, teaching about operational system and

computer architecture to 1

– 4

grade students is

useless. But some ideas of basic computer science

knowledge on propaedeutics level have to be formed

at this age.

3 EXAMPLES

Pupils can be introduced to some fundamental

concepts using interesting examples. Without stating

strong definitions some elementary but important

ideas can be formed.

From the other hand, giving methodology of

realizing propaedeutics of some computer science

knowledge in the Primary school is very useful for

the primary school teachers that are not specialists in

computer science. Usually, in the process of

teaching IT and using technologies in their job,

teachers encounter problems with terminology and

its explanation to student. The development of

appropriate semiotics system is very important and it

would enrich methodologically teacher’s work.

To clear up the idea of form and volume of

informatics knowledge to be introduced to pupils,

some examples are given bellow. The examples are

implemented within the educational system for

teaching IT in the primary school in Bulgaria “ITI”.

The authors are part of the authors’ team of the

system. “ITI” has been implemented in the practice

for two years.

The first example presents an idea of how to give

pre-knowledge about operational system to students

from 2

grade (8 years old pupils).

Figure 1: Introducing the Operational System.

Analogy between operational system and the

carpenter’s tools box is done. The mechanic, the

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carpenter, and all craftsmen have their chests with

instruments. They use them to do their job. In the

same way there is one “most important” program

(the Operational system) in the computer and it

starts automatically when the computer is switched

on. This program “opens” its tools-chest and orders

all its instruments on the working plot (the Desktop).

The instruments of the program are not hammers

and turn-screws but programs and documents.

Actually the chest is not big enough to collect all

programs and documents – only the most important

or most often used items are placed inside. During

the talk with students teacher doesn’t introduce the

term “Operational system”. In the book is only

stated “To use the computer we are helped by a

special program. When we switch on the computer,

this program “opens” its tools-box on the screen. In

it instead of hammers and saws there are icons –

small pictures that help us to start different

programs.” (Manev, 2009, IT 2 grade)

In this way we can form the understanding of the

existence and the need of the operational system.

Later, usually in the Secondary school, students will

be given the term “Operational system” and more

detailed information about it.

The next example is about the introduction of the

file system to 3

grade students (9 years old pupils).

Figure 2: Introducing the File System.

In computer science data are organized in

hierarchical or dendriform system. At school

students are divided in grades, according their age.

Students from the same age are divided in different

classes. The following analogy can be made: The

school is a park of trees. Every tree in the park

corresponds to a grade – we have a tree for the first

grade students, another tree for the second grade

students and so on. Every tree has 3, 4, or more

branches – these are the different classes. A lot of

twigs start from every branch – one per each student.

On every twig there are leafs – the documents,

created by the particular student.

The idea of file’s names can be clarified on an

illustration like that shown on Figure 3.

Figure 3: Introducing the rules about file’s and folders’

names.

The 3

grade (it depends on the concrete national

educational system) is appropriate time for the

introduction of the terms “file”, “folder” and “file

system”. In the student’s book it is stated: “We use

programs to rule the computer. With some programs

we create computer documents. Programs and

documents are stored into the computer as files.

Files are ordered into folders. Every folder can

contain files or other folders. The files and folders

are ordered in dendriform system, called File

system.” (Manev, 2009, IT 3 grade).

After the introduction of the file system, students

start to solve more complicated computer based

school problems with higher level of understanding.

The last example is about the propaedeutics of

the clipboard to the 4

grade students.

Two of the main skills that students acquire are

to do copy and paste, working with text and

graphics. On the next level it is important students to

understand in general the way the mechanism works.

This will give them knowledge how to use this

mechanism in more innovative way and will lead

them later to the need to obtain more detailed

information about it.

The main element of the process of creating

copies or moving objects is the clipboard. It is a

complicated mechanism of the operational system.

To create a basic knowledge about the clipboard to

the pupils it is appropriate some simplification of the

process to be made. The clipboard can be presented

as a part of the computer memory where one can put

temporarily some item, or copy of an item, to use it

later. It is important that students to understand that

the clipboard is a common feature for all programs.

Every item put there during the process of working

with one program can be used by the same program

or by another program. The second accent has to be

put on the understanding that the replaced item

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remains in the clipboard until putting another item in

the box – every new item deletes the item that was in

the clipboard. The item that is put in the clipboard

can be used multiple times by different programs.

Figure 4: Explanation of the command Cut.

The illustration of Figure 4 presents the way of

execution of the Cut command. The girl cuts the

grape cluster and puts it into the crate.

Figure 5: Explanation of the command Copy.

Figure 5 illustrates the Copy command. There is

a magic in this act – after the execution of the

command, the grape cluster is still on the vine, but

there is one more in the crate as well. That’s why the

boy is presented as a magician.

Figure 6: Explanation of the command Paste.

On the last illustration (Figure 6) the

grandmother takes the grape cluster from the crate,

no care if the grape is real or not, and puts it into the

plate. In all tree pictures the crate symbolizes the

clipboard.

After giving the students this basic knowledge

about making copies or moving objects, their skills

can be enriched, applying Copy, Cut and Paste

commands not only for text and graphic but for files

and folder as well.

4 CONCLUSIONS

The main accent in teaching the young students to

work with the informational technologies is

primarily on the formation of the ICT skills. Even

that, it is of substantial importance to give them

basic knowledge of some fundamental process and

objects from Informatics.

The curiosity about the nature of the things in the

world that is typical for the pupils must be support,

intensify and develop.

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