Fotou, Nikolaos and Abrahams, Ian (2015) Doing with ideas: the role of talk in effective practical work in science. School Science Review (359). pp. 55-60. ISSN 0036-6811

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Abstract

In both primary and secondary schools the widespread use of highly structured 'recipe'-style tasks means that practical work is generally effective in enabling students to do and see what the teacher wants (the domain of objects and observables). While primary teachers have been found to allocate a similar proportion of their lesson time to procedural instructions as their secondary colleagues, their practical tasks tend, on average, to be shorter than those used by secondary teachers. The use of shorter tasks means that primary teachers have more non-practical whole-class time to talk to students about the meaning of new scientific words and, when necessary, scaffold new scientific ideas (the domain of ideas), both of which are necessary if teaching is to be effective in developing conceptual understanding. In this respect secondary teachers, like their primary colleagues, need to be more aware of the role of talk within practical work as an effective means of developing secondary school students' conceptual understanding of scientific words and ideas.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	Cite as: Fotou, Nikolaos & Abrahams, Ian. (2015). Doing with ideas: the role of talk in effective practical work in science. School Science Review. 359. 25-30.
Keywords:	Analogies; Metaphors; Practical work; Talk in science;
Academic Unit:	Faculty of Social Sciences > Education
Item ID:	9164
Depositing User:	Dr Nikolaos Fotou
Date Deposited:	18 Jan 2018 17:45
Journal or Publication Title:	School Science Review
Publisher:	Association for Science Education
Refereed:	Yes
URI:	https://www.ase.org.uk/journals/school-s...
Use Licence:	This item is available under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial Share Alike Licence (CC BY-NC-SA). Details of this licence are available here

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