Implementing effective practical work in GCSE science
Practical work is assessed through required practical activities, chosen to cover a range of apparatus and techniques and also through working scientifically skills. As teachers, it is our job to ensure that our students learn how to carry out practicals safely, so that they understand why they are doing things in a particular way, and they can interpret and explain what the outcomes of the activity are. As a result, we choose which practical activities to include and the best approaches to help develop an understanding of concepts.
Required or core practicals give us suggested ways of ensuring that our students learn about particular techniques and the equipment used to carry them out. But these are not the only methods. Having a variety of methods means that we can choose the experiment that will best help our students understand. For example – when introducing rates of reaction, I often start with some simple practicals using fizzy vitamin C tablets through which we can qualitatively investigate the effect of temperature or surface area before progressing to a quantitative approach using rhubarb or marble chips to look at the effect of surface area.
Each year examiners reports give feedback on the previous summer’s GCSEs, and this provides us with an opportunity to pause, reflect and consider our own practice. We can look at the question commentary and then compare how our own students have performed. It isn’t always easy, but it does provide us with guidance on where we may need to improve.
If students can describe practical activities well, can they also consider the impact of changing a particular variable? How well do they understand the choices of equipment – well enough to be able to suggest alternative methods? Do they understand the limitations – of the method and the equipment? How can we build these opportunities into our lessons?
Slow practicals, microscale approaches (particularly combined with the visualiser), and simulations all allow us to break things down, focus on key aspects and target our questioning to really illicit pupil understanding in order to address misconceptions. There are also some really helpful questions in the Best Evidence Science Teaching resource packs (you can see them in the previews of each of the topics).
If you are looking to enhance your teaching of GCSE practical, STEM Learning’s Effective GCSE practical work: with separate versions for biology, chemistry and physics has been designed to suit subject leaders and non-specialists as well as teachers of each subject. It covers the core practicals, offers alternative approaches; and looks at developing conceptual understanding, before considering effective questioning including those requiring evaluation and application skills. However – as with the practical itself, it's better to experience it than just read a report.
Take a look at the course below which all come with generous subsidies to help you attend:
Effective GCSE Practical Work: biology
Effective GCSE Practical Work: physics
Effective GCSE Practical Work: chemistry
