Climate for perfect practical work

If I am hard on myself then I would say that I could be more organised. The 'clever' teachers talk about working memory and my experience and own conclusion lead me to agree with the idea you can only remember so much at once, at least it seems to hold true for me. So I have to have routines to help me and if I get out of those I begin to struggle.

As a science teacher I 'have' to hand in my practical requests on Thursday for the following week. This is particularly true for me as our physics technician doesn't work on a Friday. So I need time on Wednesday or Thursday to write my lesson requests. I can change my mind, but it needs to be with appropriate notice depending on the practical lesson. I imagine other science teachers recognise this.

When I started teaching this was a bit of a struggle, especially when I wasn't as familiar as I am now with the structure of the curriculum. Within a year I had developed so that I thought ahead to the next six lessons or so to look at what we were doing. This has always been important to me to help with organisation of myself for practical work.

A good scheme of work really helps when it comes to ordering practical work. It helps to know that the practical being completed is well matched to the learning objectives and that the equipment list in the documentation is complete and detailed. Not having a stirring rod, forgetting to order the batteries, or not being given enough stop watches can cause a problem in real activities.  It helps to know that on Thursday I can write an equipment list without having to deeply plan my lesson as might not know exactly the form it will take (for a variety of reasons) at that point.

I don't always go to the scheme of work, as Keith Gibbs' book has really helped me as a physics teacher, as well as the practical biology/chemistry/physics sites that are hosted by Nuffield which are excellent resources.

A technician who understand what you are trying to do is invaluable to doing good quality practical work in lessons. Anyone who has tried to complete an electricity practical where the majority of the leads don't work or orders sodium hydrogen carbonate and forgets to ask for spatulas is always grateful when the technician adds them to the order anyway or checks the leads before hand. A technician who understands and cares about what happens with the equipment once it leaves the prep room is worth their weight in gold.

The last aspect of the preparation for a practical lesson that is key, is the availability of equipment itself. In the past there have been experiments that I have not been able to do because of a missing piece of equipment. A broken oscilloscope or van der Graaf, a ripple tank with most of the accessories missing, or insufficient leads, batteries, bulbs, stopwatches so the class can't do the experiment. Lessons can quickly descend into chaos with enough working equipment. In the most recent ofsted report group working in science was pointed out as having the potential to allow students to sit back. It is a reality sometimes to work in groups of four, but it is far from ideal. (Working individually also has it's limits when H&S related to space is considered).

I am extremely fortunate to work in a department where the previous head of physics has ensured that we have an wide and varied range of equipment. When I ask the technician 'do we have...?' only once we have not. Sometimes we even have two! Part of this circumstance is due to the attitude of our students, they return the items at the end of the lesson and very rarely is a stop watch or thermometer lost.

Organising practical work is an added dimension to behaviour management for science teachers. There are a few aspects to this. Getting instructions across is probably the second most important factor in ensuring that practical work is valuable to learning. (First being getting the equipment in the first place, without this the rest is irrelevant). To do this well it would be great if teachers had the time to practice all experiments, but that isn't easy. I have said this a lot, but I am finding a video of the demonstration is far more effective than a worksheet with instructions. But it takes time and confidence to prepare.

Deciding how to arrange the room is also a big factor. Again a technician can help with this. Will all the equipment be on a trolley, spread around the room, already sorted into a tray per group? And deciding what students should do when they return equipment is another. I don't find it too much at my current school, but whole experiments left in sinks was a major feature on my first school. (More time for off task behaviour while miss clears up). Often stopping the class towards the end of the practical to give this set of instructions can be more difficult than setting them off. Unsupportive technicians criticising teachers for returning 'messy trollies' also doesn't help. Unfortunately we all have to learn, including teachers learning how to manage practical lessons, putting off inexperienced teachers because the dirty and clean glassware got mixed up does not create the right climate for practical work.

The teacher has to have the subject knowledge to understand the practical work. When an electrical circuit does work, when the trace doesn't appear on the oscilloscope first time, quickly being able to predict the end point of a titration (when you know both concentrations yourself), understanding that shaking alcohol thermometers is a bad idea, realising when a round bottomed flask is more appropriate to a flat one. Those are simple examples. Why does one group get a curved graph, yet another a straight line? Why might a group find a silver beaker cools quicker than a black one?

Without understanding the purpose and science behind the experiment or demonstration yourself it is difficult enough to explain it, but also trying to concentrate on the young people in the room makes it doubly so.

So with a well stocked prep room, a supportive and knowledgable technician team, a good scheme of work, time to practice unfamiliar experiments, strong subject knowledge and strong pedagogical knowledge good quality practical work where students learn and make progress is possible.

Takeaway Homework

After reading this post by @agittner I wanted to give an impression of how I have found takeaway homework.

I have to admit is that I haven't made my list look much like a takeaway menu, but the children have not commented on this or asked about the name.

I have Year 7 three times per week. 70 minutes on Monday, 35minutes on Tuesday and 70 minutes on Friday. I take in their books every Monday and mark them before school on Tuesday to return them to the students. Takeaway homework makes this routine much easier to enforce.

I am very pleased with myself that I have stuck with the idea of takeaway homework as it wasn't a great success with all students from the start. Quite a few failed to complete their homework regularly  or didn't bring their book to lessons. But I think this was more because they are only 11 and were struggling with the routines of secondary school and time management. Now I only have one student who struggles to keep herself organised, but can usually describe her homework in such detail that I know she has done something.

I have been making a new sheet for each topic, leaving many activities the same/similar, but also adding topic related tasks from the activate scheme of work or my own ideas. If the students choose to do questions from the textbook or the kerboodle quizzes then they are practicing what we have done, but I have to admit this doesn't happen very often. However, a few girls are creating crossword puzzles and board games with questions and this is really interesting. I have to admit it is a better diagnostic tool than I imagined it would be.

I have had two textile cells, a jelly cell, cookie pH scale, pH scale poster, hazxard symbol poster, videos of experiments, write up of experiments completed at home, leaflets, crosswords, word searches, menstrual cycle posters, 3D model of forces, 4 board games and many many more.

I am very lucky that we have the 35 minute lesson on Tuesday, I have deliberately not included it in our rota for time, this means it can be used to complete unfinished activities, DIRT, watching Bill Nye (our favourite) and most importantly show and tell of our homework, be it a word search, video or boardgames. I think that this has really helped spur the girls on. They want to share what they have done and impress each other. It has helped to boost the regularity of hand-ins and quality of the work. I have been giving credits for those who have obviously put in extra effort.

While I am faced with the headache of how I convert this creative enthusiasm into determined revision for the end of year examinations.

I am pleased that the girls are able to choose their own tasks and organise their own time. I am pleased by the enthusiasm they now have for science. I am also really pleased by the way that it has helped me to stay organised with homework setting and marking throughout the whole year so far.

I will extend takeaway homework to the rest of key stage 3 after this. I also want to look at it for  key stage 5. I would like to have them use takeaway homework as a way of getting ideas to help them keep on top of past topics through individual work. However, I am not exactly sure how yet.

Lastly, I am really interested that the girls are branching away from the work on my set sheet. I am actually pleased by this, although it does require monitoring. I would really like to think that they are developing independence in their approach to their work, and with maturity they will be able to reflect on what they are doing and continue to choose the most appropriate homework task irrespective of whether they have a sheet telling them what to do.

Great idea, I suggest you try it for a year.

Writing letters between Glenys and Nicky

My tongue is firmly in my cheek here, just in case anyone wondered. This is e reply Glenys should send to Nicky.


Dear Nicky,


Thank you for your letter. I understand totally your shared concern with that of the science establishment. I can quite understand why you are writing to me about this after your discussions with Prof Russel Group and Lord Engineering Inc. It is a concern that science teachers and myself share, but we also recognise the realities of the situation.


Unfortunately in the current climate science practical assessment is untenable and for the reasons why you need to look at your own office.


I am sure you have seen the data showing that practical assessment does not properly differentiate the achievement of students in the same way that an exam does. This is partly because practical assessment is not unpredictable, even with new tasks being set every year this goal has not been achievable. And it is also because the pressure on schools to compete for grades and league table positions is out of control. This is not the doing of ofqual, but the government. Allow teachers the freedom to be honest in their preparation and assessment of students and practical assessment within science will become a possibility again. To do this you must reconsider the league tables and science's position within them. The new progress8 measurement increases the importance of science considerably so cheating and gaming can only increase.


I also refer you to the work of SCORE on the resourcing of practical in schools. The 10% budget cut that schools are faced with will impact practical science many more times than the practical assessment. Again there is nothing that ofqual can do about that. I suggest that the government look at the ways in which they can encourage schools to properly resource science departments and ensure that school science departments have good technical support to back it up. Not enough schools do and this has a huge impact on practical work.


Lastly, I refer you to the pressures on schools due to ofsted. Are practical science lessons the most efficient way to obtain a high value added and GCSE A-C percentages? The continual professional development of science teachers and their line managers needs to be a priority. Empowering them to teach effective practical science lessons by ensuring that schools are obliged to look to external, research based training will mean better outcomes for students. Monitoring the work of ofsted to make sure they realise the place practical work has in science education and making sure this information filters through to Head Teachers looking to cut back on science laboratory space and capitation. How many science teachers are being discouraged through lack of facilities and head teachers who perceive practical lessons as chaotic and requiring improvement? Government should be supporting teachers to improve their practical science practice, not discouraging it.


Working with science teachers, schools and ofsted will outstrip the stick that is practical assessment within qualifications in ensuring the place of practical work in England's schools. Teachers really want to deliver good practical experiences for their students, creating a climate for that lies in your hands as much as mine.


You deliver this Mrs Morgan and I will deliver on practical assessment.



Yours,

Glenys.

If you can't back your opinion up with research then your opinion doesn't count?

I get the impression that the education world is jumping onto the research bandwagon. I use that word deliberately.

While I like the idea that teachers may avoid taking onboard strategies that don't work or in fact have a negative impact. I do worry that if you haven't read the book, if you can't quote the latest thinker, if you can't back up your statements with a research study then what you say can be too quickly dismissed.

Is that fair?

I taught interference to Year 11 for the sixth time in my career a couple of weeks ago. All the other times I didn't teach a lesson I was satisfied with. With this in mind I was aware that my current class might not be happy at the end of the lesson, so the previous night I thought long and hard about how I would explain the concepts, what demonstrations to do, what images and animations to show. At the end of the lesson they were comfortable in their knowledge of how a path difference equivalent to an odd number of half wavelengths means there will be destructive interference. Whether they really understand it enough to carry to June and the exam I don't know, but it was and improvement on previous lessons.

It was my experience of the other 5 lessons that helped me teach a good lesson this time. Not a research paper, not a book.

Perhaps alongside the depth of a reading list we could also remember to value the knowledge acquired from experience, particularly when it comes to dealing in specifics.

Then again, perhaps a research paper on teaching interference exists and I would have done a good job first time if I had read it.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Filming Instructions for Science Lessons

In April 2014 I attended a training day run by teachit about making videos. I was inspired by James Rolfe from Judgemeadow School and his use of video.

Since then I have made quite a few videos of instructions when I have felt it extremely useful. Some of them are on my YouTube channel, a few are not. All of the. Have had an incredible impact on the way practical work has gone in my classroom. My practice has changed in a way that it hasn't been before.

The first one I made was instructions on how to do a onion cell prep for Year 7. I made it using my iPhone held up in a clamp stand. Although I had to have a couple of goes as I was interrupted by the technician during filming. It wasn't easy to hear my own voice or see myself on the screen when I showed it to the class. The lesson went so well, the girls got on with the practical with little assistance in the procedure and I was able to discuss what they were supposed to be learning instead of correcting mistakes with the practical technique.

I have a 30 minute lesson with year 10 on Monday last thing. By making videos I find it quicker to give instructions, and the girls do the experiment more efficiently then if I give a worksheet or do a demonstration. This means they can get more done in that time.

I decided to get Year 6 to test for vitamin C, it involves weighing and squashing fruit then dissolving it in 100ml of water, adding 5ml of starch and counting the number of drops of iodine added until it turns black. Easy for a ten year old to follow? I made a video, they watched it and carried out the experiment without fuss. The bits they found hardest were the bits I didn't put on the video like wearing safety glasses. http://youtu.be/z4wpSUVoRzg

I have used video in other ways too. For example I have created videos using explain everything to run through worked examples for suvat and momentum equations. The girls like them. The information appears on the screen and there isn't a teacher's arm blocking the view like when I write straight onto the board.

I have also been using Adobe voice to talk over slides, this allows me to make short videos for revision.

Yesterday Year 7 carried out a titration to neutralise two unknown alkalis. I videoed myself again. It gets easier to hear yourself. My voice has got softer, I can cope with what I look like.

I am now on half term, but I have brought home lots of electricity equipment as I intend to make more videos ready for next half term.

If you find yourself having to explain an experiment to each group even though you have demonstrated it then I throughly recommend filming yourself giving instructions. My descriptions are clearer, more concise and the large visuals projected onto the board mean everyone has a clear view.

Initially it takes time to put videos together, and hard to hear your voice, but after making a few it gets a lot quicker and easier. Give it a go.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

We can't Consider Practical Work Issues in Isolation

I once saw Tim Oates speak about assessment in school science. I didn't understand much of that lecture, but I could tell that practical assessment as part of the grading for GCSEs and A-levels was about to vanish.

This is not what I want to talk about, however. One thing that he did say was that in an ideal world we would build the curriculum and then workout how to assess it. This was not happening at the moment as arbitrary restrictions like the percentage of a course that can be internally assessed and moderated are dictating the assessment.

This idea keeps coming back to me.

What would really good science teaching that includes practical work look like? If we start from there then maybe we can get an assessment system that works for us?

Firstly I think that we do need to ensure students have a wide variety of different practical experiences using the widest possible variety of equipment. I say this a lot, but we need to ensure that the taught curriculum provides genuine opportunity for this. The reason I don't do much practical at the moment is that there isn't much point in doing it with the topics I teach. What topics can students study where their engagement with practical equipment will help their understanding of concepts?

Secondly I think we need to ensure students have the opportunity to investigate a scientific hypothesis in such a way that they have to manipulate and evaluate genuine data.

I really hate the controlled assessment in OCR gateway, but I also really like them at the same time. What I hate is that students are not allowed to redraft. I am not allowed to discuss and draw out ideas about the data. I can't use it to help students learn or carefully consider the implications and issues around what they have done. What I hate is that they are so time consuming and high pressure. It takes half a term to complete and the curriculum simply doesn't allow time for that. What I like is the imaginative contexts they give and that some experiments give very different results per group. I like that there is a degree of freedom for the students and that in part comes because I am not allowed to guide them directly. I can only give generic, non-specific advice.

This second part is going to be really missing from the new courses at both key stage 4 and 5.

How do we build an assessment system that allows for both types of practical work?

I don't think we can at the moment. With high stakes testing, ofsted 'outstanding' to aim for and budget cuts, the type of chaotic lessons that would be involved in allowing students to do their own investigations, the curriculum time that would be necessary for it (detracting from drilling for tests - now dressed up as 'deliberate practice') and the cost of having good technicians and plenty of working equipment means that only very few schools would be able to really enter into the spirit of practical and investigative work. In which case it becomes a burden and practical work is contrived to suit the local circumstances and we need to consider that too. Particularly with science teachers are in short demand.

For me the new proposals mean I get rid of a large bureaucratic burden that is controlled assessment.

I can only conclude that the whole system needs a shake up and looking at practical work in isolation is simply not enough.

Adobe Voice

A useful app for creating short videos using their extensive graphics library and also adding sound. See the example. This has been embedded into the blog.