Practical work in science education: a systematic literature review

Abstract

Practical work has taken a leading role in science teaching, particularly since the 1960s. Its goals are mainly oriented toward the development of sensitivity and taste for the study of physical and natural phenomena, bringing students closer to the daily reality experienced by researchers working in these areas of knowledge, while promoting educational success. However, these purposes have not always been achieved so, over time, limitations to the way that practical work has been developed have also been identified. In order to recognize the current state of the art on the development of the practical work in the teaching of sciences, a systematic literature review was designed, especially focused on the definition of the concept of practical work, its advantages, evaluation methodologies, and the criticism/limitations attributed to its implementation. To this end, four databases and one aggregator were used, to identify 53 international scientific publications. Analysis of this corpus allowed the identification of 8 categories associated to the concept of practical work, 5 categories associated to its advantages, 6 categories with the types/methodologies of evaluation and 5 categories associated with the limitations of this methodology. (From this analysis) it is concluded that most authors considers that the main idea integrative idea of the concept of practical work should be the manipulation of materials in practical activities (hands-on style), and the main advantage of this methodology comes from the fusion between the development of practical skills and the conceptual understanding (minds-on). In the evaluation methods, the context, procedures and specific instruments are favored and the main limitation pointed to this methodology is that the way practical work is implemented, is often not in agreement with the methods and techniques used by scientists and researchers.

In-Depth Analysis of Contributing Factors Impacting Grade 12 Learners' Performance in Life Sciences “Investigation Questions”: A South African Case Study

“…In addition, the study found that teachers often need to conduct practical activities and develop competencies in science practical investigations, as they engage learners in peer interactions or group work to provide immediate benefits to learners' self-efficacy over the course of the activity. This finding is in agreement with Oliveira and Bonito (2023) who show that, if teachers are more confident in their professional content knowledge, and also in practical work, they will increase the range of appropriate strategies to adopt in their teaching practices, which will be positively reflected in learners' academic performances. The finding is also in line with Aikens and Kulacki's (2023) study which discloses that providing learners with opportunities to demonstrate their mastery, while also building in frequent discussion questions or checkpoints to reinforce and encourage group members to collaborate with one another, will enhance their self-efficacy.…”

“…According to Celik (2023), teachers' understanding of science investigation is crucial for their instruction of it. Enhanced confidence in pedagogical content knowledge regarding practical work enables teachers to expand their repertoire of effective strategies employed in their teaching practices, thereby raising the likelihood of a positive impact on learners' academic performances (Ogbonnaya, 2019;Oliveira & Bonito, 2023). Therefore, due to the inability of teachers to carry out science investigations (Smith & Wilson, 2019), learners are unable to grasp science investigation questions and the reasoning required to respond to these questions in examinations.…”

Identifying key features of digital resources used during online science practicals

“…They can be held in laboratories (e.g., flame tests, microscopy), outdoors (e.g., plant identification), or in any other environment. Science practicals have had an important role in science education and have been shown to be a challenging method even in face-to-face settings, as they can easily turn out to be ineffective [ 29 ]. Their implementation is often considered to be more demanding even in face-to-face teaching: preparation, safety standards, organization, interpretation of unexpected results, and unpredictability.…”

Enhancing Science Process Skills and Academic Performance in Biology: The Impact of Practical Work

“…Practical work, often referred to as hands-on, experiential learning, experimental work, or laboratory teaching [13]- [15], has long been recognised as a fundamental component of science education [13]. It represents a pedagogical approach where students actively engage in activities that allow them to explore, experiment, and experience scientific concepts firsthand [14]. Practical work allows students to see the practical implications of biological concepts and theories.…”