Andrej Sorgo

• prof. dr.
• Chair at University of Maribor

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has faced students with many challenges, contributing to their mental distress. This article explores the role of demographic characteristics, psychological status, year of study, and social support during the COVID-19 pandemic in explaining Slovenian university students’ mental health problems and help-seeking be...

Despite numerous studies indicating the positive contribution of 3D modeling and printing (3DMP) in learning settings, its current educational use is still rather limited. For the adoption of 3DMP in classrooms, it is critical to understand the views and perceptions of teachers on such new technology. To better understand how teachers perceive 3DMP...

Biodiversity can be recognized as a natural and cultural heritage that must be preserved. In field work with organisms, everything begins with their identification , and traditionally identification keys have been used in dichotomous and pictorial form. With the advent of mobile devices, new forms of identification based on image recognition and ar...

This study aimed to explore the familiarity with and opinions toward Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) among Montenegrin students at the end of their basic school years and upon entering upper-secondary school. The participants of the study were gathered in 2022, and the data were recorded via an online survey platform. The results were o...

This article explores the potential of smart mobile devices (smartphones and tablets) to promote transdisciplinary, interdisciplinary, and transversal scientific competences in STEM education. The article focuses on the integration of content taught in different subjects and the potential role of smart mobile devices in fostering collaboration betw...

Background Suicidal ideation is a depression symptom which represents a key (cognitive) component of suicidality and plays an important role in suicide risk detection, intervention, and prevention. Despite existing research showing the importance of certain factors of depression symptoms and suicidal ideation, less is known about the interaction be...

Due to the many possibilities offered by smartphones, the question arises as to how they can be used as a didactic tool in the classroom if they clearly support learning. Such use can provide new opportunities for students to demonstrate their understanding of subject matter by using smart cell phones that enable m-learning (learning anywhere, anyt...

It is no longer just an opinion but a fact that the only way to prevent a catastrophic future for humanity on a planetary scale is to introduce sustainable practices in all areas of human endeavour. The key role in these processes is activity to education. The aim of this study is to investigate the perceptions of Slovenian secondary school student...

Motivation for biology can be considered as one of the most important factors influencing the teaching and learning of biology. Thus, the main objectives of this research were to test the validity of an instrument that measures students' motivation for the subject of biology, and to determine the situational motivation of Slovenian secondary school...

Poučevanje in učenje sta v sodobni dobi v hitrem spreminjanju. S prihodom digitalne tehnologije so se odprle nove priložnosti za inovativno in interaktivno poučevanje, ki omogoča prilagodljivo učno okolje (Buchholz idr., 2021; Walan, 2020). Digitalne tehnologije in s tem različne spletne aplikacije, omogočajo učiteljem različne pedagoške in didakti...

Sensors in a smartphone are a useful and effective tool for scientific experiments. It has been shown that experiments with smartphones can effectively motivate students by giving them the opportunity to experiment with their own tools. In addition, these experiments are more accessible, and the measurement applications are user-friendly, even for...

Smartphone-based microscopy is a burgeoning technology that shows particular promise in biology education. In the first part of study, prospective biology teachers were guided in building microscopes using smartphones and readily available household materials. The second part of study addressed the consequences and impact of this innovative pedagog...

Smartphones and tablets have permeated various aspects of life. This study explores the differences in wishes between students, parents, and teachers regarding the use of smartphones and tablets in biology classes in the upcoming school year. An online questionnaire was used for the study, which provided eight different scenarios for the use of sma...

Existing research indicates that the relationship between digital technology use and insomnia can largely depend on which digital technology measure and which insomnia measure is considered. Data on 4261 Slovenian tertiary students was gathered through an online survey in February 2021, which included measures of depression and insomnia symptoms, a...

Digital technologies in all forms have become ubiquitous in our media-rich, modern information society, but the connection between their use and information literacy is not always clear. This paper examines the impact of daily use of digital technologies on the reading and information literacy skills of 15-year-old students in Slovenia, based on da...

Efficiency of time use is a key factor in chemistry calculation tasks, affecting both, personal and professional domains. This study is dedicated to finding the fastest methods for accomplishing chemistry tasks. Our investigation delves into the comparative temporal outlays made by students as they engage three different approaches: using an electr...

The COVID-19 pandemic reshaped the educational landscape, including the training of prospective teachers. This study explores prospective teachers’ experiences of transitioning to online distance education (ODE) and their intentions regarding the preferred teaching scenarios they wish to use in their future in-service practice. In the sample of 281...

Owing to its advantages such as producing durable models and easy accessibility, 3D modeling and printing (3DMP) has become increasingly popular in educational practice and research. However, the results of many studies have shown that the adoption rate of 3DMP among teachers is still low, especially in elementary schools. Therefore, research is ne...

Biodiversity can be recognized as a natural and cultural heritage that must be preserved. In field work with organisms, everything begins with their identification, and traditionally identification keys have been used in dichotomous and pictorial form. With the advent of mobile devices, new forms of identification based on image recognition and art...

An involuntary international experiment in which the entire student population was switched to digital remote learning due to the measures to stop COVID-19 put the paradigm of "anytime, anywhere learning" to the test. Online survey responses were obtained from 281 preservice primary and subject teachers. Using Structural Equation Modelling, connect...

Smartphones and tablets (SPT) have become an integral part of daily life, and their added value for biology education was seriously tested during the COVID-19 pandemic in distance education. We collected data from 355 elementary-aged children attending 6 th to 9 th grade; 30% of the participants were from rural schools and 70% from urban schools. R...

This paper focuses on the impact of out-of-school and in-school use of digital technologies on the reading and information literacy skills of 15-year-old Slovenian students who participated in the PISA 2018 study. For our study, we selected PISA 2018 variables related to the use of digital technologies in school or outside school. The sample (N = 2...

The quality of botanical education depends on the quality and interests of the teacher. The aim of our paper was to conduct an initial study on the attitudes of primary and secondary school teachers about plants and botany. We initiated a study in which 211 biology and 168 teachers of different subjects, from primary to secondary schools in Croatia...

Hands-on dissections of animals are traditionally regarded as an essential part of biology education. Nowadays, regardless of the reported educational benefits, there is a gradual change in the concept and acceptance of hands-on dissection, leading in many cases to its abandonment in schools and its replacement with alternatives such as 3D models,...

Over the past 20 years, the first author and numerous collaborators have attempted to introduce computer-based laboratory exercises in science, particularly in biology classes. While working with secondary and post-secondary students, it was realised that it was possible to simultaneously develop cross-cutting competencies that bridged several key...

A group of prospective biology teachers were given the task of building a microscope out of home appliances and a smartphone. At the end of the course, they built their own microscopes in different designs and took photos of different animal tissues and other material objects. They showed great creativity and tested a variety of solutions. Their wo...

The scientific monograph entitled "Perspectives on teacher education and development" is the work of authors from different professional and scientific backgrounds, coming from a broader international area. The publication consists of 38 original scientific contributions addressing different aspects of teacher education and training and highlightin...

After the appearance of the first smartphones in 2007 and shortly thereafter, tablets became not only useful communication tools, but also objects that function as life organisation units. However, although they are ubiquitous, their actual and potential role in biology education has not been sufficiently explored. The objectives of the survey were...

Amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, university students and teachers had to adapt to distance learning during the closures. To better understand the student experience during the second closure, a study was conducted at the University of Maribor, Slovenia. The study aimed to analyze the views and experiences of 244 prospective primary and secondary...

Education for sustainable development (ESD) is a complex concept that encompasses a wide range of interrelated and conditional social, economic, and environmental issues, problems and goals. Education is an indispensable social component and an effective tool for the development of a sustainable society, and the role of the teacher in this process...

The aim of the present study was to explore the influence of anxiety and fear of COVID-19 on vaccination hesitancy among Slovenian postsecondary students. A cross-sectional study using a set of previously tested instruments and ad hoc questions created by the authors was chosen as the method to gain insight into various health and sociodemographic...

This article presents the outcomes of an investigation to identify factors that inspire young people to pursue careers in engineering. In order to increase interest in engineering careers, it is necessary to know the factors on the basis of which young people decide to continue their education after completing elementary school. The study started f...

In the context of improving the quality of teacher education, the focus of the present work was to adapt the Mentoring for Effective Primary Science Teaching instrument to become more universal and have the potential to be used beyond the elementary science mentoring context. The adapted instrument was renamed the Mentoring for Effective Teaching P...

In this research, a model to determine chemistry teachers’ acceptance of educational software in secondary education is proposed. The model extends the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) model. Data were collected from 556 Czech chemistry teachers and analysed using structural equation modelling. With respect to the signific...

Plants are found almost everywhere, but for most, with some exceptions of very common or useful plants, their names are a mystery. Even more, some have called the attitude toward them "plant blindness". There are several ways to identify plants, and most of them rely on identification keys that are available in print or online. The traditional meth...

With the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, social media became one of the most utilized sources of information relating to the disease. With the increased reliance on social media, the risk of excessive use and the development of social media addiction emerges. The aim of the present study was to explore the psychometric properties of the Slovenian v...

Promoting 21st century skills and teaching them to prospective teachers became a challenge during the closure. The main problem was the lack of didactics for practical exercises, of which practical and hands-on activities are an essential part. Based on previous experiences, three activities were systematically planned and evaluated. The case studi...

Introduction: The purpose of this study is to evaluate compliance with preventive measures and COVID-19 vaccination acceptance among Slovenian students of healthcare and medicine, identify the predictive socio-demographic factors, establish the possible causes, and propose vaccination strategies and programs in response to the findings. Methods:...

Mobile smart devices are in the pockets of virtually all young people, but for one reason or another they are rarely used in biology classes, even though many opportunities are opened up. This paper presents an example of a task given to prospective biology teachers: They were asked to build a microscope from a smartphone and household materials an...

Sensors in a smartphone are a useful and effective tool for experimenting in science. We examined an example of a laboratory exercise on the topic of protein coagulation using a mobile phone and a light meter. Laboratory exercise is suitable for implementation in primary and secondary school as a study of the influence of various factors on protein...

It is hard to imagine biology education without the identification of the species of interest, mostly with the implementation of a dichotomous key. Digital identification keys (DIKs) have been developed and made available to teachers in Montenegro. We investigate the factors, which influence teachers', who had applied the DIK, in their continuing i...

One of the major causes of biodiversity loss is invasive alien species (IAS). Successful IAS management requires collaboration between multiple public groups. For effective collaboration, to avoid misunderstanding and conflict, knowledge about and understanding of people's perceptions and attitudes toward IAS and their management are crucial. There...

Background: The purpose of this study is to fill the research gap regarding the influence of satisfaction with distance learning on the correlates of mental health during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: An online cross-sectional study was conducted in February and March 2021, involving 4661 postsecondary students. Five validated instruments-PHQ-...

Courses on basic life support (BLS) and automated external defibrillator (AED) in schools lead to increase in knowledge but its retention is less well explored. We aimed to explore the long-term retention of knowledge and practical skills among schoolchildren after a BLS and AED course to be able to tailor future courses accordingly. Study was cond...

In recent years, the Hooded crow (Corvus cornix) has become one of the most successful wild bird species in urban environments across Europe. Hooded crows can cause several problems in cities, including trash scattering, noise disturbance, and aggressive behavior toward humans or pets, and they can be potential vectors of pathogens. To find effecti...

Biology education should not only provide students with a body of knowledge, but also create an awareness of the importance of biological knowledge in everyday situations. The importance is thought to be influenced by the difficulty and perceived popularity of the subject of Biology. In this study, we examined the perceived ranking of ten dimension...

According to many, scientific literacy is one of the most important personal competences (Hurd, 1998). To be scientifically literate in biology and related life sciences, a person should acquire not only content knowledge but also skills and attitudes. The development of smartphones has brought many changes and challenges to our lives and also has...

Spatial visualization ability is an important factor in a child’s cognitive development. Its development is affected by numerous factors such as general intelligence, problem-solving skills, gender, playing building games, experience with engineering drawing and 3D modelling, etc. The study aimed to explore how engineering 3D modelling with SketchU...

In most Slovenian classrooms, computers combined with projectors are standard multimedia equipment, and Microsoft PowerPoint (PPT) is the most commonly used multimedia presentation tool. The aim of this study was to determine the status of PPT use in lower secondary school biology classrooms and to use the findings as a basis for possible evidence-...

Background One of the most significant changes in the majority of postsecondary educational institutions was the closure of those institutions and the shift of educational activities to online distance learning formats as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Closure combined with forced online distance education (FODE) was a cure with many side effec...

The global demand for technically educated persons is greater than the supply. It is believed that interest and school experience can influence career choice. 624 Slovenian high school students participated in the survey. Exploratory and Confirmatory Factorial Analysis procedures were used to investigate the influence of school and out-of-school-re...

Teaching in a formal learning environment mainly focuses on gaining knowledge, and scarcely on the development of pro-environmental attitudes. Knowledge can also be gained in informal learning institutions, such as zoos, and their potential use in general public education should not be neglected. This paper explores factors influencing the conserva...

The aim of this study was to obtain data on the experience of the Covid-19 epidemic, related measures and changed living conditions of full time post-secondary Slovenian students. Data collection was conducted through a self-reported empirical web based survey as a part of a large cross-sectional study. Questionnaire was divided into 13 thematic se...

As knowledge and attitude towards performing basic life support and using an automated external defibrillator (BLS and AED) contribute equally to improving survival after out-of-hospital cardiac arrest, we aimed to develop a measuring instrument for a validated assessment of schoolchildrens' attitude towards BLS and AED. The objective was to identi...

Two online surveys among 1105 university students and 656 employees were conducted with the inclusion of the construct Personal Innovativeness in the domain of Information Technologies (PIIT). After calculating descriptive statistics, statistically significant differences between personal innovativeness of university students and teachers were soug...

While the core ideas about the importance of including entrepreneurship in education are sufficiently elaborated, a problem arises in the day-to-day practice of an individual teacher working in the school. Who is competent enough to teach about entrepreneurship? Teachers or entrepreneurs? The research was conducted online using Google form applicat...

The outbreak of COVID-19 forced most universities into distance education. Three didacticians and researchers from the University of Maribor, Slovenia: Kosta Dolenc, Mateja Ploj Virtič and Andrej Šorgo formed a self-initiated initiative project group during the COVID-19 epidemic and started the project with the working title: The Side Effects of Fo...

Background Investigations of evolution knowledge and acceptance and their relation are central to evolution education research. Ambiguous results in this field of study demonstrate a variety of measuring issues, for instance differently theorized constructs, or a lack of standardized methods, especially for cross-country comparisons. In particular,...

The response of most universities to the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic was Online Distance Teaching (ODT), which was a new experience for many educators and students. The aim of the study was to investigate the response of university teachers to ODT. A questionnaire was sent to all university teachers (N = 914). We received 290 usable res...

SARS-CoV-2 has affected all areas across the world, but especially education. Distance education was the only option at the time of complete closure of schools, and because it did not allow the option of blended learning, the authors call it forced distance education. School subjects such as technics and technology, biology, physics, and chemistry,...

The lockdown and consequent closure of the University have led to unequal working conditions for both students and staff in areas of study where much emphasis is placed on practical work. In the course Didactics of Science and Technology II, the content of the course was adapted and designed to focus on technical creativity. This was done by introd...

The emergence of SARS-CoV-2 measures in 2020 required a rapid transition to online learning. This posed significant and specific challenges to practise-based subjects such as biology, chemistry, physics, technology and engineering, collectively referred to as STE subjects. The problems arise at several levels. The first level was the complete lack...

Background The COVID-19 pandemic and the preventive measures associated with it radically affected educational processes in Slovenia. Schools were suspended and teaching was shifted to home-based distance learning models, with higher education institutions carrying this out for the longest period of time. The pandemic has also had an impact on ment...

During the first lockdown due to the COVID -19 outbreak, a group of authors launched a survey among university students about various aspects of their experiences and opinions about their learning experiences. Based on the responses new questionnaire was created with 30 declarative questions to be answered on a 7-point scale. The new questionnaire...

The study aims to explore and analyse the perceived experiences of Slovenian pre-service teachers with their mentors during their teaching practicum, by using the 'Mentoring for effective teaching practice instrument (METPI)'. Conclusions were based on 105 responses using paper and pencil, collected from Slovenian pre-service teachers in their 4 th...

Background The microbiology should be a part of curricula; especially after epidemic COVID-19. Purpose The study reports the level of knowledge and opinions of Slovenian citizens about microorganisms. Sample The target population of the online survey was Slovenian citizens older than 14 years. Design and methods We collected 405 complete surveys...

The paper provides evidence as a baseline for action to prevent the educational catastrophe that would result from the predicted shortage of STEM teachers in lower secondary schools in Slovenia. Based on the data, obtained from the relevant institutions, we can predict that, without a change in educational policy towards encouraging students to cho...

General education of visually impaired individuals is a significant challenge for educators, policymakers, and researchers. This study investigates the specificity with which people with blindness or ultra-low vision (acronym PU is used for the purpose of this paper) perceive the characteristics of reproductive plant parts (spore-bearing parts of m...

BACKGROUND One of the most significant changes in the majority of postsecondary educational institutions was the closure of those institutions and the shift of educational activities to online distance learning formats as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Closure combined with forced online distance education (FODE) was a cure with many side effec...

The aim of the first study, conducted during the first wave of the epidemic in March 2020, was to investigate the response of university teachers to the new situation. The project documentation provided for the Forced Online Distance Teaching (FODT) consist of: abstract, instrument, copy of the descriptive statistics, and an SPSS dataset.

The aim of the second study, conducted during the first wave of the epidemic in March 2020, was to investigate the response of university students to the new situation. The project documentation provided for the Forced Online Distance Learning (FODL) consists of: abstract, instrument, copy of the descriptive statistics and SPSS dataset.

The aim of the study was to investigate the different views of educators and students on Forced Online Distance Education during the Corona virus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lock-down. Such differences in views can be a source of misunderstanding, leading to unintended side effects. Online open-ended surveys resulted in 1341 comments received from 210...

Slovenian translation and adaptation of the "Mentoring for Effective Teaching Practicum " (METP) instrument, designed for tracking mentoring and student-mentor relationships during the teaching practicum. The METP instrument is proposed to be useful for follow-up studies and for improving learning outcomes and feelings about teaching practice in t...

The lack of standardised assessment of evolutionary knowledge and acceptance of evolution across Europe makes comparisons between studies difficult. The Evolution Education Questionnaire on Acceptance and Knowledge (EEQ) was constructed to measure attitudes and understanding across Europe and beyond. We aimed to compile a brief instrument to allow...

Because of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak, most universities were forced to choose Online Distance Learning (ODL). The study aimed to examine the response of university students to the new situation. A questionnaire was sent to the entire university student population. Based on responses from 606 students, it was revealed that use...

A deficit of engineers all over the world requires stakeholders to promote engineering careers among young people and especially females, who are stereotypically uninterested. The authors built predictive models of factors influencing career choices to become an engineer, and explored the differences between genders. Six hundred and twenty-four gen...

The focus of the paper is on the study of differences between information literacy (IL) capabilities and IL self-assessment among Slovenian lower secondary school students. A total of 229 students coming from eight urban and suburban schools answered the tests. The shortened Information Literacy Test (ILT-B) used in this study contained selection o...

One of the teacher’s basic tasks should be to ensure that the quality of his/her educational work is continually enhanced by the application of practitioner research, as a recognised genre of educational research. The aim of this study was to explore factors that can motivate or demotivate teachers to include research in their educational practice....

Zaradi izbruha CoVID-19 je bila večina univerz, v Sloveniji in po svetu, prisiljena vzpostaviti proces vsiljenega poučevanje na daljavo, z uporabo spletnih učnih okolij – SUO (Moodle, MS Teams). Cilj raziskave je bil preučiti odziv univerzitetnih učiteljev na novo situacijo. Vprašalnik je bil poslan celotni univerzitetni učiteljski populaciji (okol...

Inovativnost je ključni dejavnik napredka v vseh gospodarskih in negospodarskih sektorjih. V tem napredku imajo ključno vlogo informacijske in komunikacijske tehnologije, katerih vpliv pa je ničen, če jih uporabniki, kljub dostopnosti, niso pripravljeni uporabiti na inovativen način. V dveh raziskavah, s ciljem ugotavljanja dejavnikov, ki vplivajo...

Zaradi izbruha CoVID-19 so bile univerze primorane vzpostaviti študijski proces vsiljenega študija na daljavo, z uporabo spletnih učnih okolij (SUO). Namen raziskave je bil preučiti odziv študentov na novo situacijo in njihove prednostne izbire informacijske tehnologije za študij na daljavo po ponovnem odprtju univerze. Vprašalnik je bil poslan cel...

We compared the experience with nature of today’s children with data from the beginning of the 20th century to determine whether we can confirm a loss of experience and contribute to the description of changes in children’s relationship with nature. We used a questionnaire originally published in 1900 for this survey. Results from contemporary part...

The purpose of this study was to explore the inter-relationships among students’ self-esteem, bullying victimization/perpetration behaviours, and perceived parental support, with a focus on how self-esteem mediates the association of parental support and bullying behaviours and how bullying mediates the association of parental support and self-este...

Health is coconsidered as goodness; therefore, schools should be places where healthy habits, along with evidence-based medical knowledge and practices, are taught and practised. The key persons in education are teachers, so their opinions and worldviews should not be neglected. The objective of this work was to identify opinions about health educa...

In Slovenia, as in many other countries, interest in seeking careers in science, technology and engineering-related disciplines is low, which can be recognized as a problem. The influence of general interest in biology, the content, and teaching of Biology in 9-year basic school (age 14 -15) and general upper-secondary schools (age 15 – 18) on the...

Decisions made by grassland owners are crucial for the conservation of extensive grasslands (EGs); however, the predispositions determining how adults decide to act in certain situations are developed during childhood. Children are future decision-makers and potential grassland owners; therefore, the factors that form and affect their attitudes tow...

Information literacy (IL) education in secondary schools should adequately prepare students for research activities in higher education and guide them toward becoming informed and responsible citizens. The existing international IL frameworks and tests are only partially aligned with the IL curricula in Slovenia. Therefore, a new IL framework for s...