Abstract

Learning environment is a significant factor in terms of achievng meaningful science learning. It is a place in which pupils construct their meaningful knowledge and understanding and in which they seek to make sense of their experiences. Through learning the pupils should deal with everyday contexts in an effective and confident manner. According to many studies this does not always occur. Based on the requirements of Finnish national core curriculum the STS (science , technology and society) teaching approach is seen effective and meaningful in this paper. In STS instruction, science content is connected and integrated into the pupils’ everyday world, and in a manner that mirrors their natural efforts at making sense of it all. In this paper we describe the learning project in which from 11 to 12 (the fifth graders) year old pupils studied electricity from different viewpoint. The project was carried out in one primary school in eastern part of Finland and it consists of seven learning sessions. The learning project strengthened the pupils’ understanding of electricity scientifically, but also societal and environmental phenomena were learned. The pupils’ motivation in the learning project was relevantly high.