Planning for progression in practical skills
This set of resources supports Heads of department and classroom teachers in developing strategies for progression in practical and enquiry skills, and accompany the Triple Science Support guide Developing progression in practical skills.
The Triple Science Support intervention guides and supporting resources are packed full of ideas and examples of evidence-based good practice, and will support you in going beyond short term, bolt on interventions to look at issues such as progression, tracking progress and how best to structure learning so students gain a deep, long term understanding of the science.
Practical Science
This is a great resource for anyone looking to improve the quality of learning in practical science sessions. It's not a set of suggested practical activities to use in the classroom. Instead, it provides a framework for clarifying and achieving learning outcomes through engaging practical work. There are four modules, with plenty of supporting resources.
1. Reflecting on practical work.
2. Reflecting on your own practice.
3. Planning for effective practical work.
4. Action research. Each section contains a range of support materials including evaluation tools, relevant research, interactive presentations, planning tools and links to external websites
Successful Science Practicals
'Good practical lessons don’t just happen, they are well-planned, prepared, introduced and concluded.'
This guide, from CLEAPPS, collects the many helpful hints and ideas which teachers and technicians have found lead to smooth-running and successful practical work. It will be useful to trainee teachers, those who are newly qualified, and the technicians who support them. It can also remind those more experienced that good practical work is welcomed by pupils and remembered by them long after the event. Finally, it can kickstart an interest in science which never leaves them.
To be successful and effective, practical work has to:
• be interesting, and even exciting;
• have a clear purpose, shared with pupils;
• be well planned, timed and managed to achieve its purpose;
• be manageable by pupils.
This guide presumes that the practical activities you plan are both interesting and exciting, and that you know why you are doing them. This guide is to help you make sure your practicals are well planned and managed so that you and your pupils can get the most from them.
Practical work for learning
This website looks at how to apply different pedagogical approaches to practical activities. The approaches used are: argumentation; model-based inquiry; and science in the workplace.
For each approach there are example lesson plans, resources and guidance. A general introduction for each topic encourages teachers to transfer the approaches exemplified in the resources to new topics of their choice.
Getting Practical: a Framework for Practical Work in Science
This booklet from SCORE (Science Community Representing Education) aims to help teachers to recognise and plan for a wide variety of high quality science practical work, ranging from out of the classroom learning to opportunities for students to practising specific techniques and procedures.
The booklet defines practical work in science and explains its purpose and importance. It also shows how to recognise high quality practical work, listing the learning points and skills development that it should include such as self-directed enquiry, team-work, use of ICT, using real data and challenging existing ideas and established concepts.
The resource also examines how teachers and schools can improve the quality of practical work and what government, local and national bodies can do to.