The assessment of practical work in school science (vol 49, pg 209, 2013) (original) (raw)

The assessment of practical work in school science.

2013

Abstract This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively assessed in school science in a number of countries and makes comparisons with how other subjects, such as music and modern foreign languages, summatively assess skills. Whilst practical skills in school science are clearly valued as being of importance, there is a lack of clarity as to what these skills actually are and how they might, most effectively, be validly assessed. Countries vary greatly in the extent to which they employ what we term ‘Direct Assessment of Practical Skills’ (DAPS) or ‘Indirect Assessment of Practical Skills’ (IAPS). Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages but we conclude that too great a reliance on IAPS reduces the likelihood that practical work will be taught and learnt as well as it might be.

work in school science. Studies in Science Education, 49 (2), 209–251. http

This article reviews how practical work, including practical skills, is currently summatively assessed in school science in a number of countries and makes comparisons with how other subjects, such as music and modern foreign languages, summatively assess skills. Whilst practical skills in school science are clearly valued as being of importance, there is a lack of clarity as to what these skills actually are and how they might, most effectively, be validly assessed. Countries vary greatly in the extent to which they employ what we term 'Direct Assessment of Practical Skills' (DAPS) or 'Indirect Assessment of Practical Skills' (IAPS). Each of these approaches has advantages and disadvantages but we conclude that too great a reliance on IAPS reduces the likelihood that practical work will be taught and learnt as well as it might be.

The assessment of practical skills.

Major changes are currently afoot as to how practical work will be assessed in high status examinations (GCSEs for 16 year-olds and ‘A’ levels for 18 year-olds) in England. We explore here how practical skills might best be assessed in school science and introduce two terms: direct assessment of practical skills (DAPS) and indirect assessment of practical skills (IAPS). We conclude that both the direct and indirect assessment of practical skills have their place in effective assessment of school science and that too great a reliance on the indirect assessment of practical skills will lead to assessment that is less valid.

Australia at the Crossroads: A Review of School Science Practical Work

EURASIA Journal of Mathematics, Science & Technology Education, 2012

In Australia we are at a crossroads in science education. We have come from a long history of adopting international curricula, through to blending international and Australian developed materials, to the present which is a thoroughly unique Australian curriculum in science. This paper documents Australia's journey over the past 200 years, as we prepare for the implementation of our first truly Australian National Curriculum. One of the unique aspects of this curriculum is the emphasis on practical work and inquiry-based learning. This paper identifies seven forms of practical work currently used in Australian schools and the purposes aligned with each form by 138 pre-service and experienced in-service teachers. The paper explores the question 'What does the impending national curriculum, with its emphasis on practical inquiry mean to the teachers now -are they ready?' The study suggests that practical work in Australian schools is multifaceted, and the teacher-aligned purposes are dependent not only upon the age of the student, but also on the type of practical work being undertaken. It was found that most teachers are not ready to teach using inquiry-based pedagogy and cite lack of content knowledge, behaviour management, lack of physical resources and availability of classroom space as key issues which will hinder their implementation of the inquiry component of Australia's pending curriculum in science.

The Science Practical Assessment Tool: Measuring Science Process Skills While Doing Science

recsam.edu.my

Current scenarios of science practical work in Malaysia witnessing an overemphasis on manipulative, observational skills, in which aims of laboratory work, method of solutions, and the inferences are boldly given in the students' laboratory manual. Additionally, times to record the results as well as raw conclusion are also included. Such situation is worsened when most of the teachers tend to use the "safety net" in much of the laboratories activities. Undoubtedly, such instructional approaches fail to challenge students to use their minds in other way, to develop problem solving skills. Traditionally, practical work offers ample opportunity for students to do science by observing and manipulating tangible scientific materials, which eventually bring about meaningful conceptual acquisition. However, it terms of implementation, it could be argued that there have often little clarity about the aims and effective use of such activity. Analytical scrutiny on empirical evidences discloses that the end of semester examination is inadequate measure of students' science process skills. As an alternative, continuous school-based examination should be developed, which this paper briefly described. The science practical assessment tool is developed to measure the process skills of students during normal laboratory experiential activities. Just like many other science process skills assessment tool, this instrument mainly measures the skills of observing, classifying, inferring, predicting, measuring, and communicating. In ensuring the validity and reliability of scores, item development procedures systematically undertaken in producing the assessment tools are also discussed.

Science practical work and its impact on students' science achievement

Journal of Technology and Science Education, 2020

The purpose of this quasi-experimental study is to evaluate the overall effect of practical work on students’ academic attainment in science. Participants were selected from tenth grade students (chemistry and biology) and eleventh grade students (chemistry), then divided into groups. The control groups were taught using traditional method of teaching science, while the same content was given to the experimental groups using intensive practical work. Pre and post-tests were given to all groups. The mean score comparison revealed a significant difference in the attainment scores of the experimental and control groups. It is thus recommended that students be given ample opportunity to be engaged in practical lessons in secondary schools. This entails that the administration of schools supplies their labs with all equipment needed for practical work to be effectively implemented.SCIENCE PRACTICAL WORK AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS’ SCIENCE ACHIEVEMENT