Science courses, as biology, chemistry and physics, constitute significant real subjects it is necessary to rely mainly on experiments and observations. In other words, the practical training is the hallmark of science. Practical training has a positive effect on increasing the attractiveness of individual objects, but in meaning of cognitive function is still debated its merits. What stand the laboratory work for the teachers, as a mediator of the teaching process? Research shows that the practical training teachers perceived positively mainly because of the perfect linking theory with practice, the lower the number of pupils and their proactive approach in teaching. Negatively seems time consuming, consisting mainly of get and preparation the material. Keywords: biology education and science courses, lab courses, school laboratory, time allocated to science practices

The aim of this thesis was to carry out an analysis of primary school textbooks considering bryophytes and bracken, as well as to plan a biological excursion in the area of Dolský Mlýn which would include mapping the terrain. The sixth chapter contains the analysis of nine textbooks from different publishing houses. I have compared them in terms of the number of pages dedicated to bryophytes and bracken and in terms of the number of stated bryophytes and bracken representatives. I have also compared whether the textbooks are provided by workbooks, methodological guides and other material, which could variegate biology and natural history teaching. The seventh chapter characterises the location. Mapping of the terrain for the planned excursion took place in September 2012. I chose fourteen suitable sites which are were easily accessible. The eight chapter includes methodical instructions of the excursion for teachers, worklists and the key to determining types of bryophytes. The practical verification of my thesis took place in April 2013 during an excursion of seventh grade pupils from the school ZŠ a MŠ Děčín IV. Laboratory training, which represents an integral part of the excursion took place in March due to unfavorable chmate conditions. Pupils determined mosses of genus Merike according to their...

The thesis deals with environmental education for the pupils of primary education in the natural localities near Kolín and shows teachers how to undertake the so called place- based education. The theoretical part is focused on the characteristics of excursion and environmental education that are based on available scholarly literature. Furthermore, it discusses documents which delimitate environmental education as a cross-disciplinary topic at primary schools and describes natural conditions in the chosen region. The aim of the research part was to find out which localities teachers use for outdoor activities and to create a methodical proposal of environmental excursion for the most frequently visited localities. Subsequently, these excursions were realized. KEY WORDS: - environmental education - excursion - qualitative research - Central Bohemia region - place-based education

This thesis adopts a historical point of view to analyze Wordsworth¡¦s concept of education in relation to nineteenth-century English educational reform. In the nineteenth century, mass education, following the pace of the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution, became an indispensable social issue. Among the diverse educational reform movements, Joseph Lancaster and Andrew Bell¡¦s monitorial system was most prominent in that they provided a pedagogy that utilized teaching assistants to achieve efficiency and sufficiency in a large classroom and thus fulfilled the need of large-quantitative education of the age. Featured by efficiency, sufficiency, and materialism, the monitorial system best embodies the spirit of the Industrial Age. On the other hand, Wordsworth insisted on a community-based educational philosophy that urged people of his age to cherish old moral concepts such as harmonious, affectionate, and cooperative communal spirit inherent in traditional rural communities. The poet, representing the eighteenth-century rural tradition, observed with anxiety those children raised in an materialistic atmosphere. He delineates in his major works, especially The Excursion, a social vision that provides the best environment for the development and education of a spiritually mature man in which nature, man, and society are incorporated into a harmonious unity. This insistence on the old rural tradition distanced Wordsworth from his contemporary educational reformers and caused him to withdraw from his original support of the monitorial system.

Moment arms are important in many contexts. Various methods have been used to estimate moment arms. It has been shown that a moment arm changes as a function of joint angle and contraction state. However, besides the influence of these anatomical factors, results from recent studies suggest that the estimation of moment arm is also dependent on the methods employed. The overall goal of this thesis was to explore the interaction between the methodological and anatomical influences on moment arm and their effect on estimates of muscle-tendon forces during biomechanical modelling. The first experiment was a direct comparison between two different moment arm methods that have been previously used for the estimation of Achilles tendon moment arm. The results of this experiment revealed a significant difference in Achilles tendon moment arm length dependent on the moment arm method employed. However, besides the differences found, results from both methods were well correlated. Based on these results, methodological differences between these two methods were compared across different joint angles and contraction states in study two. Results of experiment two revealed that Achilles tendon moment arms obtained using both methods change in a similar way as a function of joint angle and contraction state. In the third experiment, results from the first two experiments were used to determine how methodological and anatomical influences on Achilles tendon moment arm would change muscle-tendon forces during the task of submaximal cycling. Results of the third experiment showed the importance of taking the method, ankle angle and contraction state dependence of Achilles tendon moment arm into account when using biomechanical modelling techniques. Together, these findings emphasis the importance of carefully considering methodological and anatomical modifiers when estimating Achilles tendon moment arm.

The Diploma Thesis is focused on the technical monuments in Křivoklátsko region which are used in the education at primary school via educational excursions. The theoretical part of my Diploma Thesis concentrates on the technical education and its position at primary school. It also concerns the technical monuments, their typology, protection, and the declaration of the monuments as technical monuments of Křivoklátsko. The final part is dedicated to ten technical monuments in Křivoklátsko. The practical part of my Diploma Thesis contains particular educational excursions to the chosen technical monuments which are aimed to the education at primary school. The information background for teachers is the part of each educational excursion. The final section of the practical part is focused on the indicative verification of use of the educational excursions at primary school.

This diploma paper describes various possibilities of how to make the best account of Jihlava ZOO excursions in the primary school lessons of Homeland study and Biology. This work also reports methodical instructions on the realization of these excursions. The theoretical part of my thesis deals with the basic characterization of Primary School Educational Program, on which basis mentioned excursion projects were drawn and, in addition, this part also shows us some essential information about Jihlava ZOO. In following four chapters, the author explains the organization of these proposed excursions and gives us basic data about the concrete possibilities of their usage.

This thesis deals with the basic characteristics of the České středohoří protected landscape area and advances proposals of excursions in a three important localities of Středohoří (Bílé stráně, footpath running through reserve Lovoš and Radobýl). Proposed excursions are appointed for secondary school students and describes both the route and the activities that can be performed during these excursions. There are two global biological excursions and one excursion is botanical. This thesis includes a summary of tuitional methods and didactical rules that can be used for excursions.

The main goal of the thesis is to emphasize the importance of environmental protection in an appropriate way. In the theoretical part, geographical, historical, and cultural interests of the region are presented. It also describes the region in the aspect of orography, geology, mineralogy, and hydrology. A part of the thesis is devoted to a specific destination around the karstic system. It describes not only this geological phenomenon, but also the wild life in its vicinity. Exploration of the locality is realized by a scientific walk. It leads through ten standpoints, each of which serves for presentation and explanation of a particular phenomenon, natural rarity, or historical event. For each standpoint, an answer sheet with questions related to it is repared. The walk is intended for students of the fourth and the fifth grade of the elementary school.

INTRODUCTION: Cerebral Palsy (CP) is the most common disabling motor disorder found during childhood, occurring in 2.1-3.2 of every 1,000 births. Motor functionality of children with CP is commonly compromised and is classified with a gross motor function classification score (GMFCS) and with the gross motor function measure (GMFM). Balance ability has typically been assessed using single leg stance test (SLST) time but more recently, center of pressure excursion (COPE) has shown to be a more valid measurement in populations with altered motor abilities. However, COPE has not been used to test balance in the CP population, yet. This study aimed to determine if relationships were present between COPE measurements, functionality measurement scores (GMCS and GMFM) and reported fall frequency. It was hypothesized that i) larger COPE measurements would be associated with a higher GMFCS level and lower GMFM score, and that ii) COPE measurements would be significantly higher in children with a high reported incidence of fall frequency. METHODS: Gross functionality was measured using a GMFM score and GMFCS level. Balance ability was assessed using COPE measurements on a force plate and SLST time. Fall frequency was determined by a short questionnaire. A Pearson correlation analyzed COPE measurements vs. mean GMFM score. A one-way ANOVA was used to compare COPE measures between GMFMCS levels, with a Bonferroni post-hoc test. Lastly, an independent sample t-test analyzed differences in COPE measurements and SLST time between fall frequency groups. RESULTS: Significantly larger COPE velocities were demonstrated in children who reported a greater number of falls in the past month and were considered high risk for falling (p = 0.02). No relationships were demonstrated between COPE measurements and GMFM score. GMFCS level III participants demonstrated statistically significant lower COPE velocity compared to GMFCS level II participants (p = 0.05). There were no significant differences in SLST between high and low risk fall groups (p = 0.07). DISCUSSION: Children with higher reported fall frequencies demonstrated a 60% increase in COPE velocity, compared to those with little to no falls. Clinical GMFM scores did not demonstrate significant correlations to COPE measurements and may not be an appropriate identifier for falling in children diagnosed with CP. This is the first trial to evaluate COPE measurements and reported fall frequencies in children diagnosed with CP. The use of a force plate to determine COPE velocity during a SLST is useful in identifying children with CP who may be at an elevated risk for experiencing a fall. COPE velocity was able to provide intricate quantitative data regarding fall risk that could not be obtained during a normal SLST.