Purposeful practicals

When doing practical work, it’s important that students consider the theory behind what they are doing to ensure it is purposeful. Purposeful practical work also integrates with other learning. If students focus on the reasoning behind a practical, it helps them understand the subject and develops their scientific and manipulative skills.

In a recent study, researchers Naomi Hennah and her colleagues adapted practical work designed to meet specific exam board requirements to be more purposeful. Their modifications enhanced students’ competence in answering practical-themed exam questions.

The study focused on two practicals: making salts and electrolysis. The researchers produced videos about the procedures with narration to explain the experimental steps. They also made concept videos focusing on the underpinning theory. They labelled three 14–16 year-old classes of similar abilities as: the talk group, video group and control group. The students from the talk and video groups watched the procedure videos before their practicals, and the concept videos afterwards. The talk group did so as homework, while the video group watched them during the lessons. The control students were shown different demonstration videos prior to their practicals.

Team talk

During the lessons, talk students worked in groups of three, in defined roles, to make a storyboard of the procedure video they had watched, with reasoning for the steps. All students completed practical-themed exam questions before each practical, and repeated them in the next lesson. The research team also gave students a questionnaire to probe perceptions of their learning experience.

The study demonstrated the benefits of watching the videos at home and of the storyboard activity. The talk group outperformed their peers in the tests. They also improved between pre- and post-quizzes, and expressed greater confidence than the video group.

The researchers suggest that the discursive component of the talk group’s activities was critical in supporting shared understanding and collaboration. They emphasise the importance of group work where students not only interact, but also use language to support more powerful information processing, sometimes referred to as the social brain. During these group tasks, more capable learners provide scaffolding that supports peers to achieve what they could not alone.