Enhancing Learning with Effective Practical Science begins with an exploration of the reasons why practical work is often less effective than it could be. It provides 72 full and clear lesson guides for effective practical lessons in biology, chemistry and physics for students aged between 11 and 16. Each lesson guide presents the practical work to be undertaken, the apparatus and materials required and the ideas to be explored. Health and safety issues are also covered.
Essential reading for trainee science teachers, and practising teachers looking to enhance their teaching through effective use of practical work, especially if teaching outside their science specialism.
Practical work has long been a core feature of science lessons in the secondary school, yet there is much evidence from research that school practicals are often ineffective at helping students learn the key concepts that the laboratory or fieldwork is meant to introduce or illustrate. Despite this, science teachers are generally committed to practical work, and with good reason. The very essence of science - as something distinct from philosophy on the one hand and craftwork on the other - is the interplay between theory and systematically examined empirical evidence. An authentic science education gives learners experience of this back-and-forth between ideas and experience, and yet it is just this interplay that often gets missed when students engage in practical work. Michael Reiss and Ian Abrahams have here put together a resource for classroom teachers that will support effective practical work in the secondary school. Drawing upon both research and the expertise of biology, chemistry and physics education specialists, this book sets out the core principles behind effective science practical work, and exemplifies these with a wide range of examples of practicals suitable for 'minds-on' (as well as hands-on) student activities. This book is likely to prove insightful and invaluable to all teachers of secondary science.
