FAIR TEST

LEVEL ONE HANDS ON ACTIVITY

The Role of Practical Work in the Science Curriculum

Practical work has a central place in science. Practical activities can be grouped into five broad types:
Basic skills Observations Illustrative work Experimental work

Demonstrating

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Experimental work
An experiment is largely determined by the children with many possible routes and outcomes. Therefore, students have to take decisions at many points in the experiment. It is not totally predetermined by the teacher, although the teacher still manages the learning

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No. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12

SPS Observing Classifying Measuring or using numbers Making inferences Space-time relationship Controlling variables Defining operationally Predicting Space-time relationship Making inferences Experimenting Making hypothesis

No
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

EXAMPLE OF INSTRUCTIONS - English Equivalent

Write down Complete State Divide Prepare / set up Draw State / describe Record Match / Join / Fix Mark / Tick List out Fill in Name Separate Plan Sketch Say List out / note Compare Show

11
12 13 14 15

Group
Examine/Study/Explore Explain / Describe Repeat / Re-do Decide/confirm/identify

Categorize
Investigate / Research Clarify Re-state Determine/make sure/justify

Explanation of some terms

Hypotheses look forward: a hypothesis is an informed guess of what will happen and why, and can be refined into an idea that can be tested
Inferences look backwards: an inference is a suggested explanation based on evidence (which can lead to further testable hypotheses). Most experiments should lead to a variety of inferences Predictions look backwards and forwards: predictions are based on much evidence, where a pattern is gained from repeated experiments. Predictions are only made when there is a higher degree of certainty. Predictions like hypotheses, are testable

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Planning for Effective Experiments

Before the students start experiment the following three aspects of the work need to be planned: The initiation/starting point of the experiment Resources Teacher intervention

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Teacher intervention
Teachers can assist and support students through the experimental process by:

appropriate use of language verbal and written interventions helping students to start off help identify the scientific knowledge they may need engage students interest and allow them to experience phenomena before starting help students to suggest ideas for experimenting identify questions that can be addressed, and appropriate kind of experiments asking enabling questions planning sheets oral reporting of investigations
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Leading Questions or Instructions MEASURING & USING NUMBERS

How long is the leaf ? Count the number of leaves / How many leaves are there ? Which has more leaves Which plant is taller ? What is the weight / height / length of the object ? What instrument did you use to measure ? What unit that you see ? Of which colour was the greatest number of buttons ?
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Leading Questions or Instructions INFERENCE

Why do you think it turns yellow ? What do you think happens ? What do you think cause it ? What do you think the object is ? Are there any other reasons for that ?

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Leading Questions or Instructions PREDICTING

What do you think will happen next ? What will happen if I add more water ? What do you think will happen if this is changed ? How did you get the answer ?

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Leading Questions or Instructions COMMUNICATING

Can you draw what the plant looks like ? What can you say about this object ? Tell me how you make the bulb lights up Describe what happens when you add water to it ? Based on the product label, describe the product.

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Leading Questions or Instructions SPACE TIME RELATIONSHIP

Where is the ball after a while? What happens to the ice after a few minutes Where is the canteen located? How does the tree look like from inside the house? What happen before / after that ? How did it look from the top / bottom / side ? What happened first / last ?
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Enabling Questions on Experiment

Getting Started What are you investigating ? What could you change ? What will you change ? What do you think will happen ?

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Planning and Designing

What are you going to investigate ? What are you going to change ? How will you change it ? What things will you keep the same every time ? How will you keep them the same ? How will you make it a fair test ? What will you measure ? How will you measure it ? What equipment will you use ? How will you make it safe ?
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Carrying out and presenting result

How will you make you readings accurate ? How will you record your results ? What units will you use to measure ?

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Analyzing and interpreting

What do your results tell ? Can you see any patterns in you results ? What can you conclude from your investigation ?

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Evaluation
Were your results what you expected ? Were there any results that didnt fit the pattern ? How could this have happened ? Did you make sure you kept everything accurately the same every time ? How ? How could you improve your investigation ? What further investigation would you like to carry out ?
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Communicating
How could you tell/show others what you did and found out in your investigation so that others could repeat what you did ?

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Make sure your report explains the four things :

What you wanted to find out Write the title Predicting/ hypothesis What you did to show that your test was fair Draw diagram of the equipment What is measured and how to measure it Control variable What you found out Table Trial measurements & main measurements What you have found Meaning of data Lynn-SKDPKL Agreement from others

Drawing Table
A table can help to organize an investigation. Decide on your variables Write the column headings (include units) Choose the values for your manipulated variable Write in the values for your manipulated variable on the right column Add in the response variables while you do the practical on the left column

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What factors affect the complexity of an experiment?

The complexity of an experiment, and hence the demands made of the child, is affected by a wide range of factors, including:
The number of variables The types of variable involved The ease with which the variables can be controlled The context of the experiment (from familiar, every day to novel scientific) The knowledge/concept base (from simple general knowledge to scientific theory) The accuracy of observation and measurement required The complexity of equipment used The number of loops round the experimental cycle involved The duration of the experiment (ranging from minutes to months) The degree of certainty in the evidence obtained

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TITLE
YEAR: THEME: LEARNING AREA: SPS: MS: MY PROBLEMS: THINGS NEEDED: WHAT I WANT TO FIND OUT?: MY RESULTS: MY CONCLUSION: TASK: Lynn-SKDPKL

TASK
PURPOSE / AIM: THINGS TO KEEP THE SAME: THING TO CHANGE: THINGS TO OBSERVE/MEASURE: WHAT WILL HAPPEN (PREDICTION): WHAT IS THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN T2C AND T2M (HYPOTESIS): WHAT HAPPENED/MY RESULTS? (OBSERVATION) MY CONCLUSION:
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