Perusilmiö

Perusilmiö, plural perusilmiöt, is a term used in Finnish science education to denote a set of basic phenomena that illustrate core scientific concepts. Perusilmiöt are chosen for their visibility and teachability, enabling students to observe, measure, and reason about natural phenomena. The aim is to build intuitive understanding and to connect everyday experiences with scientific explanations. The concept emphasizes inquiry-based learning, where students engage in guided observation, formulate questions, test hypotheses, collect data, and develop explanatory models.

Common categories of perusilmiöt include mechanics and motion (such as a pendulum or rolling ball, inclined planes), light and optics (reflection, refraction in mirrors and lenses), heat and temperature (conduction, convection, radiation, thermal expansion), waves and sound (vibration, pitch, resonance), electricity and magnetism (circuits, magnetism, induction), and phase changes or properties of materials (changes of state, buoyancy, solubility). The exact list can vary by curriculum but aims to cover phenomena that are observable and controllable in classroom settings.

In education, perusilmiöt serve as organizing anchors across physics, chemistry, biology, and geography, helping students relate everyday observations to scientific theories. They support developing foundational reasoning, model-building, and scientific literacy, while also providing a basis for assessment of conceptual understanding and inquiry skills.