Resources to develop students’ practical abilities
Throughout 2017 these professional development articles will focus on the teaching and learning of practical science. The aim is to help develop teachers’ knowledge and confidence in effectively embedding practical work in their teaching, by providing examples of how this can be achieved using existing resources and building on ideas and strategies used in our previous articles.
For teachers in England and Wales, the introduction of new GCSE chemistry specifications in 2016 places practical work at the heart of chemistry teaching and learning. This change follows the introduction of new A-level specifications in 2015, where controlled assessment was replaced by exam-based practical skills questions and a separate practical endorsement. So how does this affect chemistry teaching?
In many ways it is too early to draw hard conclusions about whether the changes at A-level are having a positive impact on student’s practical skills and the quality of teaching and learning of practical work. However, Neil Wade, a physics subject specialist at the awarding body OCR has made the following positive conclusions based on the findings from almost 500 A-level practical endorsement monitoring visits:
Dorothy Warren takes a look at resources to develop students’ practical abilities and support teaching of practical work.
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