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Exploring
alternative approaches to practical work in
science. |
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School:
Wilberforce Sixth Form College, Hull |
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Fellow: Caroline Keam |
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Email: ck@wilberforce.ac.uk |
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Rationale of my project |
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I began recently to question
why I did practical work with my students
and what my learning objectives for the activity
were. My objectives were to reinforce the
knowledge and application of content learned
in lessons, to teach practical skills and
to motivate my students. I began to reflect
on the practical activities I was providing
my students with and tried to see if this
work was meeting these objectives. My approach
to practical work was to provide students
with a sheet detailing the method and for
them to follow the instructions, observing
and measuring as directed. Usually the students
then plotted a graph and took a value from
the gradient. This is how activities are presented
in most books, which I believe, is the traditional
approach to practical work. My standard practice
is to follow up practical work by sharing
the results of their work with my students,
who found these activities motivating in many
cases, especially if the activity was enjoyable.
I became aware though, from the follow up
discussions, that in many cases, students
were not really thinking about the science
involved. Success was judged by getting the
correct answer for the gradient with little
value placed on the process. The students
were learning practical skills but in a very
prescriptive way. I have moved to a more student
centred approach when teaching other parts
of the specification, and I began to look
at alternative approaches to practical work.
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First ideas |
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At first I explored my ideas
regarding practical work with the emphasis
on the students rather than the teacher. I
noted down my reflections on the activities,
observing what achieved the objective and
what did not. I visited the local university
library and researched the ideas of others.
Quite a lot of what I read criticised the
traditional procedure that I had followed
previously. The most common criticisms are
that: |
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| 1. |
The activities
do not satisfy students as they are
often staged carefully and sometimes
do not work convincingly (especially
in physics). |
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In order to see the
demonstration prove the theory, it is
necessary to interpret the observations
in a certain way, which demands that
the view offered is accepted. |
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Practical work in schools conveys
the idea that scientists collect lots
of data and the theory produced is the
only logical conclusion. This does not
allow any room for creativity or inspiration
in science. |
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Edgar Jenkins (1998) suggests
that practical work was introduced to provide
a type of apprenticeship to those who would
go on to become research students and work
for scientists. These students needed to follow
instructions carefully and accurately in order
to set up experiments, and be capable of taking
a series of measurements with precision. It
was unnecessary to consider the science at
this stage. The purpose of these activities
was not to convince the students of the theory,
but simply teach them the necessary practical
skills.
Most of the literature I found supports the
idea that practical work teaches practical
skills effectively. Another argument in favour
of the traditional approach is that these
practical activities provide students with
a concept to hang unfamiliar words on. I was
reading the literature in order to find alternative
approaches to practical work. Some examples
that I have found and used are: |
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historical
case studies |
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students taking part
in authentic science |
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student led inquiry |
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problem solving |
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free exploration |
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investigations |
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demonstrations (by teacher or students)
with a supporting activity |
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choosing a method from a variety
of similar ones and justifying that
choice. |
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For the last five years I have taught the
Salters Horners physics specification. I recognised
many of the examples listed from the practical
activities set out in that scheme of work.
From experience I also know why the activities
are rejected by teachers. The main objection
is time, particularly when the time available
for the exam specification is limited. Part
of the Salters Horners specification, the
practical of A2 physics, allows the student
to spend two and a half weeks on a project
of their choice. I have found that this practical
activity, although time consuming, results
in profound student learning. |
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Aims of my project |
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My aim in doing this project
is to find approaches to practical activities
that encourage students to take a more active
role and, through the process, help students
to construct knowledge. |
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What I’ve done so far |
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From September I began to
try out different ways of presenting practical
work to my classes. My preferred approach
is free exploration, which involves presenting
the students with some equipment and leaving
them to explore it. I found the challenge
of this approach was to focus the students
to the point where the activity was clarified,
while highlighting those elements that drew
their interest. The students were very motivated
by these activities, and were able to explore
different aspects of a topic using the same
equipment. Often students explored a single
concept from several points of view.
In the problem solving activities I tried,
the students had a goal to work towards. The
challenge here was to convince them that the
process of reaching the solution, and the
learning that took place on the way, was more
important than perfecting the solution. Many
of the students felt frustrated when the activity
ended before the perfect solution had been
found.
I tried one ‘choose-a-method’
activity but discovered it needed a lot of
preparation. It also took the students far
more time than I had anticipated, possibly
because this was the first time either of
us had tried such an activity.
I have not abandoned the more traditional
way of doing practical work, but I am now
much clearer regarding my objectives. Often
my intention is to teach practical skills
and the literature suggests that this type
of activity fulfils these aims. I have now
begun to consider how these activities might
be evaluated. What makes these activities
better? I believe that when practicals are
approached in this way, there is more discussion
between students and the quality of the discussion
is enhanced – it is more focussed on
science and concepts, rather than procedures.
I set out to gather evidence in order to consider
this further. Initially I tried taping classes,
which had a few drawbacks. First, the students
were silent when presented with a microphone.
Second, a lot of background noise was recorded,
making it quite difficult to distinguish between
the group discussions. Third, there was too
little time to listen to and analyse all the
tapes.
I have now developed a recording sheet to
use when trying out practical activities.
This allows me to keep a tally of the types
of discussion I overhear. As most of my students
have exams in January I have had limited opportunities
to use my recording sheet. On the occasions
it has been used, the difficulty has been
trying to record details as well as fulfil
the role of teacher as I am drawn into discussions
with the students and forget to record my
observations! |
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Reflections |
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The work I have done so far
has produced more questions than answers.
Many of the questions are about actually organising
and managing the activities. I teach two AS
groups, so have the opportunity to refine
an activity before presenting it a second
time. Often, I have used a completely different
lesson to try out an alternative way of approaching
an activity. I have managed to provoke the
students into some very good discussions,
but left to themselves their discussions show
less depth of thought. Follow up activities
show that the tasks have been given a great
deal of consideration. My GCSE group is less
enthusiastic than my other students about
the variety of approaches to practical work.
This group is taught for only one hour a week
and so has a limited chance for practical
work. The full group is re-sitting GCSE science
having failed to achieve a C at school. This
GCSE group prefers fewer open-ended activities
and would rather have definite success criteria.
These students seem unable to see learning
as the objective. They have to get the right
answer and lack the confidence to begin exploring.
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What next |
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I plan to use the recording
sheet to gather evidence about discussions
that take place during practical work. I intend
to try different approaches to some standard
practical physics lessons, as well as trying
different ways of managing activities. I hope
to find common strategies that work with one
type of practical activity. For example, in
a free exploration activity, I have found
that the maximum group size should be three
and the equipment should not be too familiar.
Three observations should be requested, providing
focus for the students and a starting point
for follow up discussions. I will continue
to invite colleagues to observe, as I have
found discussing activities with them invaluable.
I intend to get more student feedback on practical
work, using questionnaires. Finally, I am
considering the possibility of scheduling
liaison with our feeder schools during the
summer term. I would like to see if younger
students respond in the same way. |
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Final Product |
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I would like to produce a CD-ROM
for teachers that presents these alternative
approaches to standard physics practical activities
and strategies for different types of activity.
The CD-ROM will be used to disseminate the
findings of my project. |
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Finances |
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So far I have spent £3
on a photocopying card at the library. All
the activities I have tried have used equipment
available in college. I do have some ideas
for activities that may need extra equipment
but I think my main expense will be in the
production of the CD Rom. I will need to finance
training and/or help in producing this resource
as well as the actual CDs. |
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Bibliography |
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Gough, N. (1998) ‘‘If
this were played upon a stage…’:
school laboratory work as a theatre of representation’,
in Wellington J. Practical work in school
science: Which way now? London, Routledge. |
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Jenkinson, E. (1998) ‘The
schooling of laboratory science’, in
Wellington J. Practical work in school
science: Which way now? London, Routledge. |
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Soloman, J. (1998) ‘’Imaging’
or ‘Envisionment’ in practical
work: developing the link between action,
thought and image’, in Wellington J.
Practical work in school science: Which
way now? London, Routledge. |
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Tamir, P. (1998) ‘Practical
work in school science: an analysis of current
practice’, in Woolnough, B. Practical
science: the role and reality of practical
work in school science. Milton Keynes.
Open University Press |
