YEARS 7–12 IDEAS FOR THE CLASSROOM
Year 7 Practical Skills for Inquiry Learning (continued)
In addition there are opportunities to discuss when and how to
use each flame, which adds to their practical skills and the small
experiments add to their manipulative skills.
Science journal
Using a Science Journal (or rough book) is mentioned in several
places in these activities. It is a strategy worth trying not only with
the junior classes, but with senior classes also.
Extra safety precautions and new skills
We now have some extra safety precautions to add to the
SAFETY poster up on the wall (which needs continual updating).
The students have also learned some new practical skills (again
– need to keep an updated list?) and we constantly need to
check that they are using these correctly. If students deliberately
or persistently flout the ‘rules’ then they should lose their Bunsen
burner licence for a while (which means they are not permitted
to take part in any practical which uses one) and/or be excluded
from doing any practical work for a period of time?
The journal is a cheap, but thick, A4 exercise book that students
bring to each science lesson. An important use is for jotting down
observations and results during practical activities ‘at the time’.
Using loose-leaf papers is not an option as the papers are too
easily lost.
The Journal can serve several other purposes: to record ideas,
notes from discussions, drafts of experiments, research notes,
questions to ask and subsequent answers etc. This means that
they have a permanent record from which they write up their more
formal notes or practicals or … They are particularly useful when
working in co-operative groups if each group member needs to
record the group results to share with others in the ‘expert group’
situation.
We are aiming to get the students to work sensibly and safely in
the lab as soon as possible and to work things out for themselves.
Being very strict on the way they carry out their practical work
from the start and resisting the temptation to tell them how to do
it (except for correcting practical skills) will help reach this aim
sooner?
SAFETY
• Bunsen must be on a heat
mat
The Journals can be useful when helping students to make their
own notes. Teach them to note down key words or phrases when
a class discussion is taking place and then use these to write
a paragraph or two as a summary of the important ideas. The
summary can go into their formal notes. It can also be used for
drafting pieces of work e.g. practical ‘write ups’ which can then
be discussed with a ‘critical friend’ and /or the teacher to look for
ideas for improvement. This is useful early in the course when you
are teaching them how to write up experiments; draw accurate
diagrams; write a discussion; analyse some information etc.
NEW PRACTICAL SKILLS
When lighting
• Hold the match to the side
of the BB barrel – air hole
closed
• Light match before turning
on gas
• Strike match away from you
The Journal is not intended for awarding marks but can be useful
for some simple formative assessment tasks (which by definition
should not award marks, grades or allow ranking of students).
• Adjust air hole to get
required flame
• Apparatus which has been • Correct use of tongs
heated should be put down • Understanding when to use
onto the heat mat until it
tongs rather than wooden
has cooled
‘pegs’
• Turn Bunsen off (or onto
safety flame) when not
using (best to turn off to
avoid ‘choking fumes’)
The Journal can also be useful as a means of communication
between the student and teacher. If the student wants a question
answered, but does not want to raise it in class for example,
it can be written in the Journal which can be handed in to the
teacher who can then write a response – or raise it the following
lesson. Similarly if a student needs extra help or has a request or
a suggestion, it can be put in the Journal and given to the teacher.
It allows you to communicate individually with each student at
times when this may not be that easy and may give insight into a
student’s literacy abilities, thinking skills, perseverance ....
• Always being aware of the
‘state’ of the Bunsen burner
Once students and teachers have become used to using
Journals, they can be extremely useful teaching aids.
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SCIENCE EDUCATIONAL NEWS VOL 68 NO 1