Robin Millar

Does Practical Work Really Work? A study of the effectiveness of practical work as a teaching and learning method in school science

Many within the science education community and beyond see practical work carried out by students as an essential feature of science education. Questions have, however, been raised by some science educators about its effectiveness as a teaching and learning strategy. This study explored the effectiveness of practical work by analysing a sample of 25 ‘typical’ science lessons involving practical work in English secondary schools. Data took the form of observational field notes and tape‐recorded interviews with teachers and students. The analysis used a model of effectiveness based on the work of Millar et al. and Tiberghien. The teachers’ focus in these lessons was predominantly on developing students’ substantive scientific knowledge, rather than on developing understanding of scientific enquiry procedures. Practical work was generally effective in getting students to do what is intended with physical objects, but much less effective in getting them to use the intended scientific ideas to guide their actions and reflect upon the data they collect. There was little evidence that the cognitive challenge of linking observables to ideas is recognized by those who design practical activities for science lessons. Tasks rarely incorporated explicit strategies to help students to make such links, or were presented in class in ways that reflected the size of the learning demand. The analytical framework used in this study offers a means of assessing the learning demand of practical tasks, and identifying those that require specific support for students’ thinking and learning in order to be effective.

Twenty First Century Science: Insights from the Design and Implementation of a Scientific Literacy Approach in School Science

Although the term “scientific literacy” has been increasingly used in recent years to characterise the aim of school science education, there is still considerable uncertainty about its meaning and implications for the curriculum. A major national project in England, Twenty First Century Science, is evaluating the feasibility of a more flexible science curriculum structure for 15‐year‐old and 16‐year‐old students, centring around a core course for all students with a scientific literacy emphasis. Over 12,000 students in 78 schools have followed this course since September 2003. The development of a detailed teaching programme is an important means of clarifying the meanings and implications of a “scientific literacy” approach. Questionnaire data from teachers at the end of the first and second years of the project (N = 40 and N = 51) show a strongly positive evaluation of the central features of the course design. Teachers perceive the scientific literacy emphasis as markedly increasing student interest and engagement. Key challenges identified are the language and reasoning demands in looking critically at public accounts of science, and the classroom management of more open discussion about science‐related issues.

Students' reasoning about basic chemical thermodynamics and chemical bonding: what changes occur during a context-based post-16 chemistry course?

A longitudinal study of 250 students following the Salters Advanced Chemistry (SAC) course probed a range of chemical ideas including the exothermicity of bond formation and the development of thinking about covalent, ionic and intermolecular bonds. Students responded to the same diagnostic questions on three occasions: at the start, after eight months and sixteen months of a twenty-month course. At the start, many students demonstrated misunderstandings about these chemical ideas, but in general their understanding improved as the course progressed. By the end of the study, about half knew that bond making is exothermic. Initially, few described covalent bonds accurately or understood hydrogen bonding. A majority gave responses at the final survey which were in line with ideas and language a chemist may use. Students attributed changes to the use of context-based materials including a drip-feed approach which allowed their understanding to develop over time. However, some aspects of chemical bonding, including ionic bonding and intermolecular bonds other than hydrogen bonds remained problematic for students despite explicit teaching. The findings have implications for post-16 chemistry teaching, suggesting that a review of teaching strategies is needed in some areas.

Children's ideas about the reliability of experimental data

This paper reports some of the findings of the Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge in Science (PACKS) project. It documents childrens ides about the reliability of experimental data, an important element of their understanding of science procedures. These ideas were elicited using a written survey instrument completed by over 1000 students aged 11, 14 and 16, chosen to be representative of the full ability range. The results show progression with age in understanding of empirical data. A range of ideas about the function of repeat measurements, how to handle repeat measurements and anomalous readings, and the significance of the spread of a set of repeated measurements emerge and are discussed.

Investigating in the school science laboratory: conceptual and procedural knowledge and their influence on performance

Abstract The Procedural and Conceptual Knowledge in Science (PACKS) Project is concerned with childrens ability to carry out investigation tasks in school science, and with the understandings which inform their actions. The project observed groups of children at three age points between 9 and 14 years, carrying out one of seven investigation tasks, and collected data from informal and semiformal interviews and written and oral diagnostic probes. This paper describes the model of investigation performance which has been developed by the PACKS project and validated using the data collected. Childrens understandings of the aims and purposes of investigating in science (frame), and of the ideas which underpin criteria for evaluating the quality of empirical data (understanding of evidence), emerge as important factors in determining childrens performance of an investigation task, alongside their understanding of the science concepts relevant to that specific task. Examples of childrens responses to invest...

Students’ understanding of voltage in simple parallel electric circuits

This paper reports an investigation of the performance of school students at age 15 on written diagnostic questions involving the prediction of meter readings in simple electric circuits with parallel branches. Results show that these students tend to perceive such questions in resistance‐current terms, with a primary focus on resistor addition, rather than in voltage terms, with two loads being driven from the same source. Common errors in predicting voltages across parallel branches suggest that few students use a mental model of voltage in approaching parallel circuit problems but instead attempt to solve problems by mechanical use of the V=IR equation. Implications for the teaching of electric circuits at this level are identified.

Evidence‐based practice in science education: the researcher–user interface

One aim of the Evidence‐based Practice in Science Education (EPSE) Network was to obtain a better understanding of the extent to which practitioners in science education recognise and make use of research findings in the course of their normal practice. The aim was realised through an interview and focus‐group study of views of practitioners on the research–practice interface. The sample included primary and secondary science teachers (including a subset with direct experience of research), curriculum policy‐makers, in‐service trainers and authors of science textbooks and teaching materials. Questions explored perceptions of the nature, actual use and potential of research in science education. At a general level, teachers and other practitioners characterised educational research, variously, as: purposeful; carried out in a systematic manner; useful in informing action; and large scale. To be viewed as convincing, research evidence had to be seen as transferable, to have resonance with teachers’ experience and beliefs, and to have a rigorous methodology. Widespread use of research evidence in the classroom seems to depend on at least two factors: translation of research findings into tangible and useful outcomes, such as teaching materials resulting from research projects; and the presence of a professional culture which encourages both exploration of research and changes to practice. Increasing use of research evidence requires researchers to translate outcomes of research into practical actions and practitioners to be skilled in using evidence systematically in evaluation of their own practice. Networks of researchers and practitioners may further the aims of evidence‐based practice.

A study of progression in learning about ‘the nature of science’: issues of conceptualisation and methodology

This paper describes a study of progression of young peoples understandings of ‘the nature of science’ from age 9 to age 16. The paper aims to problematise the notion of ‘progression in learning’, and to describe the methodology used in the study in the context of a range of possible methodologies for studying progression in learning science. Findings relating to young peoples’ characterisations of the nature of scientific knowledge and empirical enquiry are presented, and age‐related trends are discussed. A framework for considering students’ reasoning about aspects of ‘the nature of science’ is proposed. Finally, uses and limitations in the use of data from cross‐sectional studies on progression are considered.

Upper High School Students' Understanding of Electromagnetism.

Although electromagnetism is an important component of upper secondary school physics syllabuses in many countries, there has been relatively little research on students’ understanding of the topic. A written test consisting of 16 diagnostic questions was developed and used to survey the understanding of electromagnetism of upper secondary school students in Turkey (n = 120) and England (n = 152). A separate test consisting of 10 questions on the visualization of spatial rotation was used to investigate the hypothesis that students’ ability to visualize three‐dimensional situations from two‐dimensional representations might influence learning of electromagnetism. Many students’ responses showed misunderstandings and inconsistencies that suggested they did not have a coherent framework of ideas about electromagnetism. Common errors included confusing electric and magnetic field effects, seeing field lines as indicating a “flow”, using cause–effect reasoning in situations where it does not apply, and dealing with effects associated with the rate of change of a variable. Performance on the spatial rotation test was, however, only weakly correlated with performance on the electromagnetism questions. The findings suggest the need to develop teaching strategies that help students to visualize magnetic field patterns and effects, and assist them in integrating ideas into a more coherent framework.

Being constructive: An alternative approach to the teaching of introductory ideas in electricity

This paper reports on the development and implementation of an introductory course on electric circuits based on a constructivist model of curriculum development and teaching. Pupil interviews before instruction explored and clarified the range of childrens existing ideas and conceptions. A teaching sequence was designed to elicit pupils’ ideas, to challenge these experimentally where they differed from accepted scientific ideas and to encourage discussion and reformulation of ideas. Post‐instruction interviews showed improved pupil understanding of several important basic concepts. The constructivist approach appeared to provide a viable and satisfactory basis for teachers’ classroom decision‐making and for the structuring and sequencing of activities as the course progressed.