Education (e-books)

E-book

Ľubica Jamborová et al.

Textbook from Module 2 "Open Access Infrastructure." This module deals with open access resources across all types, their characteristics, nature, features, planning, execution, selection of appropriate technical standards, establishment of basic procedures, and sustainability practices.

All stakeholders are addressed, including institutions, sponsors, users, and future content creators. Emphasis is placed on e-journals and e-repositories, as well as new trends in open access.

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E-book

Johann Berti et al.

The manual is part of the collection Path to Open Science by the French Ministry of Higher Education and Research. It is designed to guide postgraduate students at every step of their research, from planning the scientific approach to publishing the research results.

It provides a set of tools and best practices that can be directly implemented in research across any discipline.

We hope this manual will motivate doctoral students and equip them with the tools to realize their ambitions in open science through sharing findings and data with the broadest possible audience.

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E-book

Katarína Kimáková

The textbook is intended for university students who are preparing for the profession of biology teacher. The structure of the book is similar to an encyclopedia, with one page devoted to each content item, but the topics of the chapters and subchapters follow each other.

The explanatory text on the page illustrates the diagram and there are notes and links to other sources of information. For better orientation, the content of the textbook is divided into 8 sections, which cover several chapters. It follows the general didactics, which it connects with the teaching of biological content. The book provides a basic orientation in the approaches to learning this subject, and also explains the relationship between biology as a science and the didactics of biology. It deals with teaching standards and curricula, advises on how to master biological concepts and understanding, how to communicate with students in biology classes, when and why are effective visual and practical methods. It acquaints the reader with the issue of setting goals for biological education in the cognitive, psychomotor and affective areas in relation to formative and summative assessment.

Hopeful as well as experienced teachers will find in this publication not only a look into the history of teaching biology, but also a look into the future. Current trends in biology teaching, the connection of teaching with digital technologies, the virtual learning environment and interactive simulations and models belong to science lessons today.

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E-book

Peter Getlík

The main goal of the monograph "Moving Towards Cognitive Adaptation Studies: Adaptation as Play" was to orient current research in adaptation studies towards the empirically responsible cognitive branch of non-radical constructivism.

This intention results from the rapid progressive differentiation of adaptation studies research, which has mainly manifested itself in this area in the last two decades. With the model of adaptation as play in a cognitive-scientific perspective, author provides the possibility of predicting the nature (also in a broader sense) of the experience of adaptation. Since the form of this experience significantly shapes the products of the adaptation process into their final form, the model of adaptation as play can be applied even in the interpretation of individual adaptations. In the monograph, the author synthesized the model of adaptation as play based on the knowledge of various disciplines. In the field of cognitive sciences, he saw help from the starting points of philosophy, linguistics, informatics, psychology, anthropology, biology and neuroscience – especially affective neuroscience, which also deals with the emotional dimension of the play.

In the intersection with the essential interdisciplinary components of adaptation research, he also used the knowledge of classical and cognitive variations of literary science, film science (also theatrology) and media studies to a large extent. Consistent with other similar results of cognitive sciences, it turns out that even seemingly serious adaptations, like in many aspects of our culture, have a ludic base.

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E-book

Mária Bačíková - Anna Janovská

The textbook "Foundations of Methodology in Pedagogical-Psychological Research" is primarily intended for students of teaching academic subjects, but it will enrich anyone who needs to familiarize themselves with research methodology focusing on psychological and pedagogical sciences. In the textbook, students become acquainted with the basic principles of conducting research, the process of research implementation, and the basic methods of quantitative or qualitative approaches. The examples used in the textbook are mostly focused on research conducted in a school environment.

By mastering the basic knowledge presented in the textbook, the reader will be able to conduct simple research in school conditions. At the same time, understanding the principles of research methodology helps with the critical evaluation of information from various sources. In preparing the textbook, we utilized our long-term experience with teaching the subject of research methodology, as well as with implementing many research projects. We believe that the simple language of the textbook and the abundance of practical examples will help students understand the basics of such complex issues as research methodology.

We would like to take this opportunity to thank the students of the Faculty of Arts and Natural Sciences at P. J. Šafárik University in Košice who attended the course "Foundations of Methodology in Pedagogical-Psychological Research" in the previous academic year for their inspiration, constructive comments on previous versions of the text, and ideas (or mistakes) that we drew upon in the textbook. We also thank other students who allowed us to use examples from their final theses in the textbook. The conclusion of the work is open because, as it turns out, we do not have a common denominator for both concepts that could decide on the correctness of one or the other concept. It is precisely in this that the Socratic question remains a serious philosophical problem today.

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E-book

Renáta Orosová - Lucia Diheneščíková - Katarína Petríková - Lívia Nemcová

Proceedings of Abstracts from the International Scientific Conference: Education and Training 2018: The 21st Century Educator and Their Perspectives in Educational Practice

The international scientific conference focuses on issues related to education and training in primary, secondary, and higher education institutions from the perspective of educators.

It emphasizes the current state and future perspectives of 21st-century educators in educational practice, addressing pedagogical and sociological aspects of education within foundational educational institutions. Additionally, it explores contemporary aspects of pre-service teacher preparation.

The conference is aimed at researchers, young university lecturers, doctoral students, as well as professional and educational practitioners. Its goal is to present the educator—whether a teacher, social pedagogue, or special educator—in a modern perspective, highlighting their essential collaboration in the context of education. Furthermore, it seeks to stimulate discussions on pressing issues within the fields of education and training in light of the current situation in the education sector.

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E-book

Veronika Vasiľová - Soňa Lovašová

The formation of social work as a scientific discipline is not a completed process because of with changes in society also change social problems that need to be identified and analyzed with the intention to develop methodological solutions aimed at preventing and interventing these social problems.For this reason, the field of social work as such is constantly expanding, as its dynamic nature makes it possible to respond to emerging social problems and react to the needs of society.

Social work in the school environment is a functioning science field abroad.In the conditions of the Slovak Republic, this area of social work is still missing.Therefore, the monograph deals with the possibilities of social work in the school environment in Slovakia. 

The monograph is primarily intended for the professionals working in the field of social work and in the third sector with children and youth.

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E-book

Renáta Orosová - Katarína Petríková - Lucia Diheneščíková

Based on the analysis of self-reflection competences in future teachers, opinions of the mentor teachers and their recommendations and the set of pupil-oriented and educational process-oriented competences, a protocol for using self-reflection methods has been created. More precisely, it is a self-reflection teaching diary. It is an innovative method of self-reflection competence development in teaching students in their practical specialized preparation, particularly the self-reflective observation practice and conversation.

The Self-Reflection Teaching Diary is the outcome of the VVGS “Innovation in self-reflection competence development teaching methods in the practical specialized training of future teachers” grant project solving. It is an innovative and creative text-based tool not only for teaching students but also for university teachers specializing in their practical preparation as well as mentor teachers in primary and secondary schools. Its English version can be used by teaching students on their study stays abroad. It is also a transparent and unified tool in the practical preparation of future teachers aiming at the development of their self-reflection competences.

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E-journal

Renáta Orosová (výkonný redaktor)

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The scientific-professional journal Edukácia focuses on issues of education and upbringing in the fields of primary, secondary, and higher education.

It emphasizes the current state and perspectives of educational practice, contemporary aspects of pre-service teacher training, social pedagogy, special pedagogy, as well as pedagogical and psychological aspects of upbringing in basic educational institutions from the perspective of the broader educational community.

It is intended for researchers, young university lecturers, doctoral students, and professional and pedagogical staff, with the aim of presenting trends in education and stimulating discussion on current issues in the presented areas of upbringing and education.

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E-book

Silvia Kontírová a kol.

This revised and supplemented text aims to be a comprehensible and practical aid for students of the Master's degree in teaching academic subjects at the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Natural Sciences of the University of Applied Sciences in Košice taking compulsory courses in pedagogical practice.

Its general part deals with the mission, primary human factors, types and forms of pedagogical practice as one of the compulsory organizational forms of teacher studies and specifics of pedagogical practice in the conditions of UPJŠ.

The special part contains basic information and compulsory documentation of trainees on chronologically arranged types of pedagogical practice at UPJŠ. The authors would be grateful if you would point out any errors and shortcomings of the text to them via e-mail silvia.kontirova@upjs.sk.

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E-book

Mária Ganajová

The current teaching of chemistry has its specific problems. On one hand, due to the shift of the focus of chemistry curriculum towards theoretical content, the difficulty of chemistry material has increased, and in connection with this, students' interest in chemistry has decreased.

The lack of student interest in chemistry is mostly supported by the opinion that it is precisely chemistry that significantly contributes to the deterioration of environmental quality. On the other hand, we live in an era where we encounter chemical products practically everywhere. It is necessary to learn the basics of chemistry as well as possible, which makes the question of increasing interest in chemistry education and improving its effectiveness very relevant. State educational programs have been introduced into Slovak schools as a foundation for the creation of school educational programs. These emphasize not only acquiring a certain amount of knowledge but also the development and enhancement of key and specific competencies of students, preparing them for lifelong learning and their application in life.

Therefore, increasing attention is being paid to one of the fundamental didactic tools for raising student activity in teaching, and thus improving the effectiveness of chemistry education – learning tasks. From both theory and practice of chemistry teaching, we know that learning tasks, questions, examples, exercises, etc., are among the important components of every teaching lesson. Learning tasks are applied in all phases of teaching – in the motivational phase, the phase of acquiring knowledge, the phase of consolidating knowledge, and the phase of checking the acquired knowledge. It is therefore clear that every teacher will sooner or later find themselves in a situation where they will have to select learning tasks from textbooks, workbooks, collections of problems and examples, or create them themselves.

This scientific monograph is intended for educational specialists and chemistry teachers, aiming to familiarize them with examples of various types and forms of learning tasks and the basics of their creation in chemistry. It can also be helpful for them in preparing certification works focused on test creation and their statistical evaluation.

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E-book

Ján Juščák - Milan Darák

The aim of the monograph was to analyze the pedagogical possibilities of educational systems within children's and youth organizations, with an emphasis on those targeting the age group of children up to 15 years.

The starting point was an analysis of the current state of theory and practice in children's and youth organizations, with the intention of describing prevailing trends in their development and activities. This publication closely follows the previous monograph (Juščák, J. – Darák, M.: 2015), in which we processed, according to a unified methodology and using generally accepted pedagogical terminology, the collected available materials on the educational systems of selected (most representative) children's and youth organizations in Slovakia. Through a subsequent comparison of the obtained empirical data on educational systems, we aimed to identify their similar (identical) as well as specific (distinct) elements as a basis for establishing categorization criteria for their classification.

The culmination of our efforts was an attempt to characterize a children's organization as an educational institution, describing its characteristic features, functions, aims, content, principles, and educational methodology.

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E-book

Ján Juščák - Milan Darák

 The aim of the monograph was to analyze and address the issue of educational systems within children's and youth organizations, with an emphasis on those focused on the age category of children up to 15 years.

The starting point was an analysis of the current state of the educational environment in terms of the systemic nature of education and the basic categories of the educational system. The collected available materials on the educational systems of selected (most representative) children's and youth organizations in the Slovak Republic were subsequently processed according to a unified methodology and using generally accepted pedagogical terminology.

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E-book

Soňa Gabzdilová

The educational system (schooling) is one of the most effective tools for shaping the young generation in any advanced society. Schools not only create the knowledge base necessary for fulfilling the demands of the economy and the social sphere, but they also shape the national and ideological identity of each member of society. The school plays a decisive role in forming positive values, but it can also become a breeding ground for xenophobia and racist attitudes. The school has an irreplaceable role in creating national consciousness, identification with one's own nation, its history, the heroic deeds of ancestors, and the meaning of its existence.

After the dissolution of Austria-Hungary, there were fundamental geopolitical changes in Central Europe. One of these was the creation of Czechoslovakia, a state founded on radically different principles than pre-war Hungary. The founders of the Czechoslovak Republic (CSR), the personalities who decisively determined the character of the political system in the newly established republic, did not belong to the privileged classes of the previous regime. Unlike Hungary, where political power was controlled almost without exception by the nobility, the elite in Czechoslovakia consisted of men who were radical critics of Austria-Hungary.

A fitting example was the most influential figure of interwar Czechoslovakia, President Tomáš Garrigue Masaryk. Despite his origins, Masaryk was perceived by both Czechs and Slovaks as the founder of the state, a legendary figure whose political and social influence far exceeded the powers of the presidential office.

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E-book

Zuzana Boberová

The aim of this university textbook is primarily to provide a comprehensive and systematic overview of the basic legislative documents related to pedagogical activities and the educational work of teachers in school practice. The textbook is primarily intended for students of academic teacher training programs, as well as recent graduates of teacher education who are beginning their teaching careers.

This publication is unique in that it does not focus on specific legislative documents and their descriptions, but rather presents the meaning and wording of various legislative documents in the context of key concepts of educational activities and typical school situations. The publication does not include the full text of cited paragraphs from laws, decrees, and ministerial guidelines, but only excerpts that are relevant to the focus and needs of the textbook.

In this way, we aim to help teacher training students and beginning teachers orient themselves regarding their rights and responsibilities as defined and delineated by school legislation, and especially to help them understand the basic legislative requirements placed on every teacher in school practice. This includes participation in the preparation of the school educational program, understanding the professional development of teachers, student assessment, approaches to students with special needs, as well as handling common school situations such as disciplinary measures, school accidents, ski training, or school events.

Given the scope of these areas, we have divided the topics into two publications according to their thematic focus.

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E-book

Renáta Orosová - Zuzana Boberová

The university textbook "Pregraduate Teacher Preparation – Organization of Pedagogical Practice at UPJŠ" reflects the changes that have occurred in the pregraduate preparation of students of academic subject teaching in connection with the comprehensive accreditation in 2015. It is intended for students of the second level of university studies in the study programs of Academic Subject Teaching at the Faculty of Arts and the Faculty of Science at UPJŠ in Košice. The aim of the university textbook is to provide theoretical foundations and methodological guidelines for the organization of all types of pedagogical practice carried out under the conditions of UPJŠ.

Preparation for the teaching profession has both theoretical and practical components. While theoretical academic preparation focuses on acquiring and developing knowledge, skills, and competencies in pedagogy, psychology, and the scientific disciplines of the teaching subjects, practical professional preparation is oriented towards preparing for the actual performance of the profession, i.e., the didactic aspect of the teaching process. A significant part of the practical preparation for the teaching profession is realized within the subject of pedagogical practice, which at UPJŠ takes four forms/levels – Observational pedagogical-psychological practice, Ongoing teaching practice, Continuous teaching practice I, and Continuous teaching practice II.

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E-book

Renáta Orosová - Zuzana Boberová - Emília Marcinová (eds.)

Proceedings of Abstracts from the International Scientific Conference, 12–13 September 2016

The international scientific conference is focused on issues of education and upbringing within primary, secondary, and higher education, as well as school institutions, from the perspective of the educator. Emphasis is placed on the current state and prospects of educators in educational practice, pedagogical and sociological aspects of upbringing in fundamental educational and upbringing institutions, as well as current aspects of pre-service teacher training.

The conference is intended for researchers, young university teachers, doctoral students, as well as professional and pedagogical staff, with the aim of presenting the educator-teacher, social pedagogue, and special pedagogue-from a contemporary perspective, highlighting their essential cooperation in relation to education, and stimulating discussion on current issues in the presented areas of upbringing and education within the context of the present situation in the school system.

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