Projekt Vesolje in participacija otrok v vrtcu - Šuštar, Natalija (2017)
V diplomskem delu je predstavljen projekt Vesolje, utemeljen na učenju z raziskovanjem (inquiry-based learning), ki smo ga v študijskem letu 2015/2016 izvedle študentke in študent tretjega letnika predšolske vzgoje na Pedagoški fakulteti v Ljubljani. Poleg predstavitve projekta je bil moj cilj evalvirati uspešnost procesnih in vsebinskih ciljev vsakega posameznega nastopa, zlasti z vidika participacije otrok pri reševanju zastavljenih problemskih vprašanj. Skozi celotno načrtovanje projekta raziskovanja vesolja smo se trudili pripravljati dejavnosti oziroma problemska vprašanja tako, da bi otroci do spoznanj prišli izkustveno, z aktivnim učenjem. V odgovorih na raziskovalna vprašanja sem ugotovila, da sta za izvedbo uspešnega projekta najpomembnejša načrtovanje dejavnosti in tudi pozorna izbira ciljev, ki jih želimo uresničiti, saj se je izkazalo, da smo uresničili prav vse. Delno zagotovo tudi zato, ker se nismo omejili ali se poskušali prisiliti v to, da si otroci zapomnijo vse informacije, temveč smo stremeli k temu, da se z določenimi pojmi seznanijo, to pa jim bo koristilo v prihodnje. Na pridobitev novih spoznanj smo vplivali skozi raziskovalno naravnan način dela in načrtovano aktivnost otrok, saj se je pokazalo (po pričakovanjih), da sta sodelovanje otrok in motivacija dolgotrajnejša, ko so v aktivni vlogi. Poleg ustrezne motivacije in zagotavljanja enakih možnosti za sodelovanje je pomemben odnos, ki smo ga imeli študentje do otrok  bili smo spoštljivi, jih spodbujali, kadar je bilo potrebno, predvsem pa smo sprejemali njihova mnenja in bili odprti za vprašanja. Nekoliko več prilagajanja in spodbud so potrebovali pri izdelavi načrtov (predvsem skupnih), predvidevam, da zaradi pomanjkanja izkušenj s tovrstnimi sodelovalnimi dejavnostmi, in pri komunikaciji, dominantnejši otroci so želeli nekoliko preglasiti ostale in voditi svojo skupino, vendar smo tudi to uspešno premostili – s pogovorom in dejanskim zavedanjem otrok, da so vsi upoštevani in slišani pri izražanju svojih mnenj, domnev oziroma vprašanj. Zelo pomembno je, da smo o temi, ki jo obravnavamo, tudi sami dobro poučeni. To seveda pomeni, da smo morali osvežiti znanje o vesolju in ga tudi dopolniti, da smo lahko vsebine posredovali otrokom in z njimi sočasno soustvarjali – prek literature, uporabe moderne tehnologije, izvirno pripravljenih dejavnosti, igre in predvsem dopuščanja možnosti za uporabo/izražanje domišljije otrok. Njihovo zanimanje smo spodbudili z raznolikimi materiali, ki so jih imeli na voljo, s čimer smo jim zagotovili tudi možnost izbire, glavni namen pa je bil, da je otrok v celotnem procesu spoznavanja v aktivni vlogi. In my thesis I have presented the entire project titled Space, which was formed by the 3rd year students of preschool education at the Faculty of Education in Ljubljana, in 2015/2016. In addition to the presentation of the project, my aim was also to analyse the degree of success of each individual performance in regard to the procedural and content goals and at the same time show the importance of children's participation in the problem-solving process. Through the entire process of planning the project we tried to prepare the activities or rather problem-solving activities in the manner which would encourage the children to become active participants in forming new knowledge. With the help of my research questions I came to the conclusion that if you want your project to be successful, it is of key importance to plan out good activities, which are supported with reasonable goals. In our project specifically, we reached all our goals, partly also because we didn't limit or push ourselves into making sure that the children would remember all the given information, but we strived towards them hearing different phrases which they will be able to use later on in life. We tried to make a difference in the learning process through research oriented activities and active participation of the children, since in this way (according to our expectations) the children's participation and motivation was on a higher level. They did need a bit more encouragement and adjustments when it came to the part of preparing their own plans (especially plans that were made in smaller groups), I suppose this happened to the fact that they don't have many experience with this kind of activities. They also needed some more guidance with their communication, because often the dominant children tried to lead the group and they didn't give the other group members a chance to speak, but we managed to successfully solve the situation – with a discourse and by raising the children's awareness that all of their opinions, assumptions and questions are being heard and taken into consideration. Before presenting a topic to children, it is very important to have a certain amount of knowledge about that topic, which means we needed to refresh and upgrade our knowledge about space. In that way we were able to pass on the information to the children and simultaneously co-create the project through literature, modern technology, original activities, play and most importantly we allowed and prompted the children to use/express their own imagination. We stimulated their interest with different materials that they were able to use. In this way we provided them with the possibility of choice, while following the main purpose which was to make sure the child was an active participant in the learning process.