Improving practical work with integrated instructions

Colour illustration of lady with rucksack and map walking through a landscape of paper

Source: Jamie Jones / Getty Images

Do your students struggle to follow written instructions?

Practical instructions often comprise an apparatus diagram with a numbered list of directions. Students have to look back and forward between the two sources of information to make sense of the task and to progress. This continual redirection of attention between sources of information is a form of learning distraction. David Paterson has been experimenting with ways to present practical instructions that help students learn better, and he shares his findings and top tips.

Thanks for using Education in Chemistry. You can view one Education in Chemistry article per month as a visitor. 

A photograph of a teacher standing in a white lab coat, speaking with a class of children in a laboratory, is superimposed on a colourful background. Text reads "Teach Chemistry means support for classroom and staff room".

Register for Teach Chemistry for free, unlimited access

Registration is open to all teachers and technicians at secondary schools, colleges and teacher training institutions in the UK and Ireland.

Get all this, plus much more:

  • unlimited access to resources, core practical videos and Education in Chemistry articles
  • teacher well-being toolkit, personal development resources and online assessments
  • applications for funding to support your lessons

Already a Teach Chemistry member? Sign in now.

Not eligible for Teach Chemistry? Sign up for a personal account instead, or you can also access all our resources with Royal Society of Chemistry membership.