Laboratory Experimental Method with Instructional Approach – “Hands-on” Experiments

The application of the laboratory experimental method (LEM) in the teaching of natural sciences implies the application of experiments. In the initial teaching of natural sciences, for ages 7 to 11 (teaching of integrated natural sciences), experiments are most often called (hands-on experiments) HOE in the available literature. There is no unified opinion among researchers as to whether one or both types of instruction (explicit or implicit) should always be applied in the realization of the content of natural sciences when conducting experiments in the teaching of differentiated or integrated natural sciences, as well as whether to give preference to LEM over others learning methods or LEM to combine with other methods. The goal of the work is the analysis and evaluation of previous research LEM in natural science teaching with special reference to the application of HOE in the initial teaching of natural sciences in order to see more clearly the guidelines for their application in the realization of different contents of natural sciences in a differentiated and integrated form. Researches that include systematic reviews and meta-analysis of the application of LEM, that is, HOE in the teaching of differentiated and integrated natural sciences until April 2024, were selected. The results are systematically consolidated in a narrative form. Recommendation, assessment and evaluation systems were used to analyze scientific research on this topic. The following scientific databases were used: Scopus, Web of Science (WOS), Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ), Directory of Open Access Books (DOAB), OPEN J-Gate, Serbian National Citation Index (SCIndeks) and Hrčak Portal of Science magazine of the Republic of Croatia (Hrčak). In the research, the results mainly point to the advantages of applying LEM and HOE in relation to the traditional approach to work and that LEM can be combined with modern teaching methods, while in the comparison of the application of different types of instruction, the positive sides of both approaches are observed, which points to a broader view of the application of the mentioned educational methods. approaches.