Students find linking between what they can observe and the scientific ideas, extremely challenging, but this will be assessed in the exam. How can we bring together what they see and what this means?
Pre-lab tasks increase student efficiency and accuracy during practical tasks, as well as improving their learning. What kinds of pre-lab tasks work best?
And finally, we want young scientists to learn holistically about the nature and practices of science, not always to be focused on the exam. How do we ensure they have the whole toolkit of investigative skills at their disposal?
The required practicals are not supposed to be a straight jacket for teachers; they can be adapted, used flexibly, and responsively to maximise students’ learning. I hope some of these 20 ideas will help you to do that successfully and address the questions posed above.
Download Emily Seeber's resource 20 ideas for a progressive practical curriculum.
(This article was first published as a newsletter on 19/03/19.)
