Changing Horizons in Geography Education - HERODOT Network ...

Field lessons can engage the pupil’s activity to the greatest extent, because it isnot only his/her mind, but also his/her body that is at work. Different senses arestimulated: the incentives sent by the environment are perceived by a child withsight, hearing, smell, and touch. A contact with the environment, its looks and itsquality, are also the source of positive or negative emotions, leading in consequenceto certain reflections, conclusions, and opinions, concerning the proper managementof nature. During observation and research conducted in their immediate landscapesurroundings, pupils begin to understand the phenomena occurring in it. Emotionsaccompanying the process of learning about their neighbourhood, they ground andstrengthen the child’s natural bond with his/her environment. Regional identity isshaped as if “by the way”.It is not always easy to organise field activities in school conditions, especially thatmost of the school year in Poland is in winter, when neither the length of daylightnor weather conditions encourage staying out of doors. There are also organisationaldifficulties, for example the timetable is inadequate to the needs of the teacher whowants to conduct field lessons. In effect, the practicality of realising classes out ofdoors is very limited. In situations when it is difficult to organise observation forpupils in the environment, different teaching aids need to be used. It is important,however, that the contents contained in those materials be also related to the immediatesurroundings. Commonly available school textbooks are, of course, not orientedtowards a specific region, because of their universal character. It is the teacher’s jobto prepare suitable teaching aids. In several schools of Lublin an experiment wasconducted: during the landscape-related lessons, the teachers used a text, slides,and an educational film, prepared especially for the purpose and concerning thesurroundings of the pupils’ residence. The results of the experiment went far beyondthe expectations. The pupils were very positively surprised by the fact that theirvicinity became an object of a scientific project. Using the materials prepared, theywould recognise familiar places and objects, learning new things about them. All theteachers participating in the experiment stated that the children worked with muchmore zeal and emotional engagement than usual. It is thus clear that the contentsrelated to the pupil’s immediate surroundings are interesting for him/her, irrespectiveof the form of classes during which they are introduced.Cultural heritage, a subject of interest of regional education, is sometimes understoodin a narrow sense. It is mainly associated with monuments of architectureand museums. Whereas cultural heritage should also incorporate natural heritage,together with economic heritage. Regional education is thus also connected withecology, whose one goal is to prepare young people for the implementation of theidea of balanced development. All these contents will be taught during the classesthat concern the landscape of immediate surroundings, and thus landscape educationoverlaps to a big extent with regional education, both in respect to the teachingmaterial and the goals to be realised.The preliminary stage of landscape education, takes place during the fourth gradeof primary school, and as it refers to the landscape in the pupil’s place of residence,is of a great cognitive and educational significance. It should be implemented with280