GCSE practical work in English secondary schools

Article

Viswarajan, S. 2017. GCSE practical work in English secondary schools. Research in Teacher Education. 7 (2), pp. 15-21. https://doi.org/10.15123/PUB.7290
AuthorsViswarajan, S.
Abstract

In England, the GCSE science curriculum has been undergoing major changes, and the new school curriculum was implemented in September 2016. One of the big changes is that the internal assessment of practical work no longer counts towards the final GCSE science grade. It has been established that assessment influences teaching, so non-contribution of practical work to the final grade may dilute the funding for practical work conducted in schools, especially in GCSE lessons. However, the GCSE science exam paper will now include questions on practical work which may allow more lesson time to be devoted to discussion of results and observations of practical work, an area of development identified in previous studies. Discussions provide opportunities for learners to make links between the practical task and the underlying conceptual knowledge, thereby increasing the effectiveness of practical work. This article aims to explore the range of literature available on the effectiveness of science practical work in English secondary schools and consider the possible effects of the removal of internal assessment of practical work from the GCSE curriculum.

JournalResearch in Teacher Education
Research in Teacher Education
Journal citation7 (2), pp. 15-21
ISSN2046-1240
2047-3818
Year2017
PublisherUniversity of East London, Cass School of Education and Communities
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Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.15123/PUB.7290
Web address (URL)https://www.uel.ac.uk/schools/cass/research/research-in-teacher-education/volume-7-no-2-november-2017
Publication dates
PrintNov 2017
Publication process dates
Deposited25 May 2018
Copyright information© 2017 The author
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