THE EFFECTIVENESS OF EXTRACURRICULAR EDUCATION IN THE FORMATION OF SUBJECT COMPETENCIES IN BIOLOGY AND HUMAN HEALTH IN SECONDARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

The possibilities of out-of-school education in the formation of subject competencies in Biology and Human Health in secondary school students have been studied. Peculiarities of out-of-school education and their role in ecological-naturalistic education of students are revealed. The pedagogical experience of creating out-of-school circles on Biology, Ecology and Human Health in Novomoskovsk district of Dnipropetrovsk region is investigated. A pedagogical experiment was conducted to test the effectiveness of extracurricular education in the formation of subject competencies in Biology and Human Health in secondary school students who additionally attend the society ‘Young Nature Conservationists’. It is shown that the training load provided by the Curriculum ‘Young Nature Conservationists’ for the study of the section ‘Natural resources of Ukraine. The flora and its protection’ (60 hours) offers an opportunity to consider in detail such topics that according to the programme of the Biology course for the 6th grade at the secondary school have an insufficient number of learning hours. In the process of learning different methods of teaching and learning were used, practical methods and hands-on experience were prevailing. Thus, excursions are the major learning forms to study the local nature reservation areas in Novomoskovsk district of Dnipropetrovsk region. During the excursion the members of the society were learning about the geography, soils, flora and fauna of their environment, were strengthening their health, and became aware of the necessity to keep fit and healthy and preserve nature. The members of the society ‘Young Nature Conservationists’ also participated in a range of contests aimed at developing ecological thinking, preserving nature, creativity and forming major competences in Biology, Ecology and Human health. It is established that the developed set of educational classes increases the efficiency of formation of competences in Biology and Human Health and their components (logical-semantic, ...