This study investigated the effectiveness of flipped classroom model (FC) and traditional classroom model (TC) in Biology on the quality of the high school students‘ performance. The research sample consisted of a total of 280 first grade high school students in Novi Sad, Serbia. The students in the experimental group learned Biology topic through the FC model, whereas the students in the control group were taught the same topic by the TC model. The instruments used in the research (the pretest and the posttest) contained the questions belonging to three different levels of cognitive learning according to the revised Bloom’s Taxonomy. The results indicated that students that were instructed by the flipped classroom in Biology performed better on the posttest as a whole, and in solving the tasks of all three levels of knowledge (remembering, understanding, and applying) than those instructed by the traditional teaching method. On the basis of the obtained results, a grater implementation of FC model in high school biology teaching is recommended as a way of improving the quality of biology teaching in our and other countries over the world and the level of our students‘ digital competencies.

The Flipped Classroom (FC) is a teaching approach in which students gain the first-exposure learning with online materials outside the classroom, and then, in the classroom, they focus on interactive or engaging exercises. Despite its considerable publicity, the studies focused on the FC in primary education are deficient. The aim of this research is to determine efficiency and students’ involvement in the flipped Biology classroom in primary school, compared to the conventional classroom (CC) approach. Educational efficiency and students’ involvement are measured by combining the values of the students’ performance and mental effort on the test. Each task in the test was followed by the 5-point Likert scale for evaluation of invested mental effort. The total sample of this research included 112 students, aged from 12 to 13. The results show that the FC approach contributes to the reduction of the students’ mental effort and an increase in the students’ performance. On the basis of calculated efficiency and students’ involvement of applied teaching approaches, it was concluded that the FC represents a feasible and efficient approach to Biology primary education. Keywords: biology education, flipped classroom, educational efficiency, students’ involvement, mental effort, primary school.

The paper analyzes the comparative effectiveness of Computer-Assisted Learning (CAL) and the traditional teaching method in biology on primary school pupils. A stratified random sample consisted of 214 pupils from two primary schools in Novi Sad. The pupils in the experimental group learned the biology content (Chordate) using CAL, whereas the pupils in the control group learned the same content using traditional teaching. The research design was the pretest-posttest equivalent groups design. All instruments (the pretest, the posttest and the retest) contained the questions belonging to three different cognitive domains: knowing, applying, and reasoning. Arithmetic mean, standard deviation, and standard error were analyzed using the software package SPSS 14.0, and t-test was used in order to establish the difference between the same statistical indicators. The analysis of results of the post?test and the retest showed that the pupils from the CAL group achieved significantly higher quantity and quality of knowledge in all three cognitive domains than the pupils from the traditional group. The results accomplished by the pupils from the CAL group suggest that individual CAL should be more present in biology teaching in primary schools, with the aim of raising the quality of biology education in pupils. [Projekat Ministarstva nauke Republike Srbije, br. 179010: Quality of Educational System in Serbia in the European Perspective]

The paper analyzes comparative effectiveness of the use of educational software and traditional teaching methods in biology instruction for high school students. A random sample consisted of 173 students of grade 12 of a high school in Zrenjanin, Serbia, who were randomly distributed into the control and experimental groups. The students in the experimental group learned biology content (Mechanisms of Heredity) using educational software, whereas the students in the control group learned the same content using the traditional teaching methods. The research was carried out using the pretest - posttest equivalent groups design. All instruments (the pretest, the posttest and the retest) contained the questions belonging to three different cognitive domains: knowing, understanding and reasoning. The analysis of the posttest and the retest results showed that students from the experimental group achieved significantly higher quantity and quality of knowledge in all three cognitive domains than the students from the control group. It can be concluded that educational software has a positive impact on improving students’ achievement in biology teaching.Key words: achievement; genetics; teaching efficiency; traditional teaching.---SažetakU radu se prikazuje komparativna analiza učinkovitosti upotrebe edukativnog računalnog programa i tradicionalnih nastavnih metoda u nastavi biologije u srednjoj školi. Stratificirani slučajni uzorak sastojao se od 173 učenika 12. razreda srednje škole u Zrenjaninu u Srbiji, a koji su bili nasumično svrstani u kontrolnu i eksperimentalnu skupinu. Učenici u eksperimentalnoj skupini učili su nastavne sadržaje biologije („Mehanizmi nasljeđivanja“) uz pomoć edukativnog računalnog programa, a učenici u kontrolnoj skupini učili su iste sadržaje primjenom tradicionalnih nastavnih metoda. Istraživanje je provedeno s pomoću istraživačkog dizajna s predtestom i posttestom u ekvivalentnim skupinama. Svi instrumenti (predtest, posttest i retest) sadržavali su pitanja iz tri različite kognitivne domene: znanja, razumijevanja i razmišljanja. Analiza rezultata posttesta i retesta pokazala je da su učenici iz eksperimentalne skupine postigli znatno veću kvalitetu i kvantitetu znanja u sve tri kognitivne domene nego što je to bio slučaj kod učenika iz kontrolne skupine. Može se zaključiti da edukativni računalni programi imaju pozitivan učinak na poboljšanje učeničkih postignuća u nastavi biologije.Ključne riječi: postignuće; genetika; učinkovitost poučavanja; tradicionalna nastava.

At this moment in time, which is marked by extremely negative human influences on the environment, and when a sustainable development of nature is needed, school has a significant role in developing students? knowledge, skills and attitudes towards natural sciences. In European countries, students gain biological knowledge during primary school either through integrated or specific subjects. This paper contains the results of a comparative analysis of the biological content in teaching programs and curricula in three European countries - Serbia, Finland and England. In Serbia, biological contents are included in two integrated subjects (The World Around Us and Nature and Society) during the first cycle of compulsory education, while during the second cycle they are included in a separate subject - biology - and are linearly arranged. Throughout compulsory education in Finland and England, biological contents are concentrically arranged and are realized through the students? research work in their surroundings in several school subjects.