Effective practical work in science:

A benchmarking exercise on behalf of SCORE

Progress report

Justin Dillon

Getting Practical Consortium Partners Meeting

NSLC, Heslington, July 6, 2010

A benchmarking exercise – a scoping study to:

•identify key indicators for benchmarking practical work

•quantify what facilitates effective practical work in a sample of excellent schools 

Outputs •an evaluative framework to benchmark the current state of practical work in terms of resources, teacher confidence and qualifications, teaching experience and practice, and time allocated to practical work in science

•case studies from secondary schools and/or colleges illustrating the scope and diversity of effective practices as judged by schools and other stakeholders

•report with policy recommendations to inform future SCORE policy and activity on practical work

Timeline

March 31: Project start-upApril/May: Consultation with stakeholder groups to identify schoolsApril 27: Invitational seminar, King’s College LondonJuly 2: Presentation of a progress reportJuly: School visitsAugust 15: Presentation of a draft final reportSeptember 1: Project ends

What would it mean to claim that a specific example of practical work (a practical activity or task) is effective – and what kinds of evidence would you use to warrant this claim?

What would it mean to claim that the practical work used within a teaching unit or module (i.e. a set of lessons on a specific topic) is effective – and what kinds of evidence would you use to warrant this claim?

What would it mean to claim that the way a science teacher, or a school science department, uses practical work is effective – and what kinds of evidence would you use to warrant this claim?

Workshop

Invitational workshop, April 27 at King’s

Participants worked in three groups

Discussions taped and transcribed

Several individuals who could not attend sent in their comments by email.

“Practical work is effective when it contributes positively to the students’ understanding of and communication about the well-planned and articulated aims and objectives of the activity within the wider context of the topic.”

“I think the questions are extremely unhelpful, and serve only to move the discussion on practical work into a cul-de-sac. They take an atomistic view of practical work, and to examine each individual practical for some inner worth is counter-productive. You might as well look at a molecule of protein and say "which are the effective atoms?" All of the atoms contribute to the overall material… What we should be looking for is a holistic approach to science teaching which embraces practical work as an essential component. Instead, the approach implicit in these questions would lead to a league table of effective practicals, with the very real danger that some schools would only teach "the three most effective", as there wasn't time in their busy schedule of rote-learning for anything more.”

EvidenceBefore an activity •There is a plan that states clear objectives for the activity that fit in to those for the module of work•The plan lists the apparatus etc. that will be needed•The plan says something about expected student activity as well as teacher activity•The plan keeps in mind the tempo of the lesson and the different rates of progress of students•The plan provides opportunities for students to discuss and clarify what is to be done and why

During an activity•There are opportunities for students to discuss and comment on progress•The teacher moves round the class checking on, and keeping a record of, progress•The teacher reminds students about the objectives

After an activity•Students discuss their findings and make a record of what they have done•The teacher recaps on the objectives and recognises that different students will achieve different objectives

School visits

27 schools identified (Ofsted and the National Strategies Team)

9 schools contacted (4 in London; 2 in Newcastle, 1 in Cornwall, 1 in Essex and 1 in Leicestershire).

Visits taking place from July 2-15.

A. ‘We should involve students in practical activities in science because it is a practical subject.’

B. ‘I would always do a practical if it was possible.’

C. ‘It is not important to have a specific aim for every practical activity – sometimes it’s important just to get the students involved in doing something practical’

1. What did you want the students to learn by doing each activity? (What did you want them to know, or be able to do, when they walked out of the door that they didn’t know, or couldn’t do, when they walked in?

2. What do you think the students would say they learned from carrying out each activity?

3. How successful on a scale of 5 would you say each activity was?

4. What is your evidence for reaching that judgment?

5. To what extent are decisions about science teaching, including the practical activities used, taken at department level rather than by individual teachers?

6. What is the role of technicians and how is technical support provided?

7. How is apparatus stored and packaged? Does this influence the practical work you do?

8. Is the use of specific practical activities ever discussed within the department? If so, what kinds of considerations are discussed and taken into account?

• the number and specialisms of science teachers in the school

• number of technicians; their qualifications; the extent of their role

• number of labs• how funds are divided amongst the

sciences• some kind of estimate of time spent on

assessed and non-assessed practical work

• resources available for practical work (judgment of quantity/quality)

• involvement of teachers in the school in CPD (and whether any of this is related to practical work)

• Fieldwork skills are highly developed and frequently utilised

• Practical work is not confined to following instructions but uses a variety of contexts in which pupils are making decisions about investigations and ways of researching issues such as the origins and outcomes of acid rain in the area.

Ofsted’s draft subject specific guidance for ‘outstanding’ achievement

Justin Dillon

justin.dillon@kcl.ac.uk