Supporting purposeful practical work in primary science

Practical work is a distinctive feature of science teaching, but its role in primary science is not always clear, with uncertainty about how to use it most effectively to support learning. In this workshop, we use outcomes from the Nuffield Foundation funded study to stimulate discussion and reflection on the nature of practical work in primary schools. The study focused specifically on the nature of practical work in primary science (age 5-11 years) and sought to draw distinctions between definitions and examples for older age groups. A scoping literature review (195 documents) enabled the research team to draw out 10 key purposes of practical work. Findings from an online national stakeholder survey (n=231) and semi-structured interviews with practising science teachers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales (n=34), suggested that teachers valued practical work for a wide range of purposes and were able to provide examples of practical work across age phases and scientific topics. The full range of purposes identified in the literature were seen to be important by teachers, but some were perceived to be less likely to be enacted in the classroom, for example, relating science learning to their own world and cross-curricula context. The evidence demonstrated that although teachers considered practical work to be important, they often found it difficult to be clear about the purposes for selected practical work and how they would judge effectiveness of the activities. This workshop will utilise the study outcomes as a stimulus for discussion (20 minutes), with interactive activities exploring core purposes (20 minutes) and a new pedagogic model for practical work in science (25 minutes), considering the role of the teacher as curator of practical work learning experiences. Participants will reflect on the definition and potential purposes, together with applying the pedagogic model to their own context.