Practical motivation?

Ian Abrahams from the London Institute of Education has investigated the role practical work has in motivating students.¹ Working with eight schools, he observed lessons where practical work was being used in key stages 3 and 4, and interviewed students and teachers before and after the lessons to determine the value of the practical work.  

Almost all of the students questioned said they liked practical work but when probed further it became apparent that many students simply preferred it to other methods of teaching science. There was a marked change in the type of response from year 7 students, the majority of whom considered practical work to be exciting and fun, to year 11 students, who saw practical work as less boring than other parts of the lesson.