Welche Faktoren im Unterrichtsgeschehen der Ulmer „Zooschule“ sind für Schulkinder besonders einprägsam?

The “Zoo School” in the Zoological Garden of Ulm is a learning forum outside school. Its educational concept is based on experiential learning and is geared towards expanding students’ biological knowledge and developing positive attitudes and emotions towards the animals that are presented during the lessons there.

In this study, 142 secondary-school students (grade six and seven) were asked to write an essay about their visit to the Zoo. Although the students spent only one morning in the “Zoo School”, the students were able to describe their visit in most cases very exactly; what they remembered best were teaching elements during which scientific facts were explained, elements that enabled a direct encounter with living beings (vertebrates and invertebrates), and hands on activities. Gender specific results showed that the girls wrote more about the hands on activities and emotional learning whereas the boys wrote more about the scientific facts.