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Being in the natural environment and experiencing nature are fundamental in children’s life and for their learning experiences. Experiential learning about the environment through practical activities is important for students as it is motivating, stimulates learning and has a positive effect on the understanding of natural sciences (Abrahams & Reiss, 2012; Holstermann et al., 2009). At the beginning of the 20th Century, Dewey had elaborated the gap between real life and school: knowledge needed to be taught in a decontextualized way, with written and spoken symbolic representation, in school, isolated from real life. Hence, forward, students learned, detached from their real-life, through abstract and text-based methods (Dewey, 1915). However, later it was reasoned that student’s capability and experience, needed to provide a basis for teaching strategies (Dewey, 1938). Nowadays, most theory and pedagogical practices highlight among others the basic principles of instruction, with ongoing differentiation and individualisation, through contextualised learning in real life. With differentiation and individualisation as basic principles, student’s needs and abilities were recognized, and had become in interplay with the principle of contextualised learning in real life. Furthermore, the principle required the inclusion of authentic learning activities and experiences, as compared to verbalism and narrative only (Blažič et al., 2003). Mannion et al. (2011) critically discussed the teaching approaches, relying on propositions that science teaching relied on declarative knowledge and mental schemes, adjusted according to the cognitive level. Students learned to develop and manipulate representations of learning concepts and phenomena when engaged in authentic learning environments, and not just when using them cognitively. Ross and Mannion (2012) referred to Jardine et al. (2008) who indicated the need for the curriculum with real-life integrated, authentic activities (Jardine et al., 2008), firmly connecting school life with life experience. Dewey’s theory of experience and inquiry, combined with the model of reflective thinking, had given ground to outdoor learning that Nastja Cotič, Janja Plazar University of Primorska, Slovenia Andreja Istenič Starčič University of Primorska, Slovenia; University of Ljubljana, Slovenia; Kazan Federal University, Russia Darjo Zuljan University of Primorska, Slovenia Abstract. Experiential learning was introduced to support a child’s concept development towards evolution scientific literacy. This study examined the effect of an experiential learning model (The Mobile Natural Science Learning MNSL) on the knowledge of 4th grade primary school students in Slovenia, during natural science school lessons at the seashore through the use of tablets. Mobile technology provides authentic learning, assisting outdoor lessons providing material and environmental context in learning, which support the experience of a learner. In the experimental group (N = 95), outdoor learning in the seashore included Kolb’s experiential learning cycle with the integration of tablets. In the control group (N=97), the teachers used concrete experience for exploring the seashore, excluding the Kolb’s cycle. The data were collected by using two science knowledge pre and post – tests. The test items were classified into three TIMSS’ cognitive domains: 1) factual knowledge, 2) conceptual understanding, and 3) reasoning and analysis. Differences between groups were analysed through Mann-Whitney U-test and showed that the experimental group had better learning outcomes than the control group. Findings indicate that the MNSL-model had a positive effect on students’ achievement in science, more precisely in knowledge on marine organisms and life at the seashore.

THE EFFECT OF OUTDOOR LESSONS IN NATURAL SCIENCES ON STUDENTS’ KNOWLEDGE, THROUGH TABLETS AND EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING