Izvleček
Učenci in dijaki v slovenskih šolah se lahko na svojih področjih nadarjenosti razvijajo v sklopu različnih šolskih aktivnosti, deloma pri običajnem pouku, še v večji meri pa pri dejavnostih zunaj njega. Obstajajo številna različna tekmovanja iz znanj z različnih področij. Posebno vlogo pri razvoju mladih pa ima projekt gibanje »Znanost mladini«, ki ga že vrsto let v sodelovanju s strokovnjaki z najrazličnejših področij dela in iz najrazličnejših ustanov izvaja Zveza za tehnično kulturo Slovenije. Pri tem projektu zgolj obsežna vsebinska znanja ne zadoščajo za dosego vidnih uspehov. Projekt spodbuja timsko delo ter osnovnošolcem in dijakom omogoča, da pod mentorstvom svojega učitelja in z morebitno pomočjo dodatnih somentorjev izvedejo raziskavo na določenem vsebinskem področju, na primer na področju fizike in astronomije. V prispevku podrobneje opišemo namen tega izobraževalnega projekta, in sicer pojasnimo predvsem selekcijske postopke na državni ravni ocenjevanja nalog ter izpostavimo nekaj tipičnih pasti mladinskega raziskovalnega dela. V prispevku poleg vloge mladih raziskovalcev poudarimo še pomen in naloge mentorja, denimo učitelja fizike in astronomije, ki je za uspešnost mladih raziskovalcev ključen. Glavni rezultat projekta je razvijanje kompetenc mladih, pomembnih pri raziskovalnem delu, ne pa sama raziskovalna naloga. Kakovostno mentorsko delo ima lahko tudi pozitivne učinke na učiteljevo siceršnje delo pri običajnem pouku.
Abstract
Young Researchers
Slovenian students have the opportunity to develop their talents by participating in various school activities, in part during regular classes and to a greater extent in extracurricular activities. For this purpose, a series of different competitions are organised where they can advance their knowledge. In this sense, the project of the “Science to Youth” movement, implemented for a number of years by the Association for Technical Culture of Slovenia in cooperation with various experts and institutions, plays a special role in youth development. The project goes beyond acquiring a vast amount of knowledge in order to achieve success by fostering teamwork and allowing primary and secondary school students to carry out a research with the help of their teacher – mentor and co-mentors, if any, in a certain class or subject, such as physics or astronomy. The article describes in detail the purpose of this educational project, explains mainly the selection processes at the state research assessment level and points out a few most common traps that should be avoided in youth research work. In addition to the role of the young researcher, the article also emphasises the important role and tasks of the mentor, such as a physics or astronomy teacher, who is key to the young researcher’s success. The most significant goal of the project is not the research paper itself but developing the competences of young people important for their research work. Furthermore, quality mentoring can have positive effects on the teacher’s regular work in class.