EDUCATION

Practical Work in School Science

Practical Work in School Science

Introduction

Without doubt, the practical work and in particular, activity laboratory is a differential characteristic of teaching of science. Nearly three hundred years John Locke suggested the need for stu- students undertake practical work in their education, and late nineteenth century and was an integral part of science curriculum in England and America. Since then it has maintained an unwavering faith in the tradition that assumes great importance of the work practical for science education. However, this belief in the usefulness of the work has also had practical criticism since ancient times. Already in 1892 are collected testimonies of them: A few years, urged teachers to adopt the rnc? All laboratory to illustrate textbooks; now seems at least as necessary to urge them to use the textbook to make intelligible the chaotic work laboratory.

Most of the research conducted to study the effectiveness of practical work in teaching Science has shown no conclusive results, and role it has occupied in science curricula in the course of our century has always been a subject of controversy. In the sixties, projects in this- United States Biological Sciences Curriculum Study and (BSCS), Chemical Education Material Study (CHEM Study) or Physical Science Study Cornmittee (PSSC) and Nuffield courses like biology, physics and chemistry England, made ??a strong promotion of a style supposed to be teaching that practical work done- do for students would lead to the basics conceptual, occupying the role of teacher support and guide for new students concepts. Since then, the teacher's have considered the practical work as a useful educational strategy to achieve almost any stated educational objective, but we ourselves are unable to express clearly the goals. his educational approach that emphasizes the teaching de- contextualized scientific processes, in which the practical work is considered as a vehicle for teach and develop transferable skills and cognitive high level, is absolutely untenable. Cannot den teach general cognitive processes such as observe, classify, hypotheses, etc. Per are as if they were abstract, they are not generalizable and processes transferable, strongly dependent on the theory co- corresponding and closely linked to it. Children already know see, categorize and make assumptions on their own, are pro-'re constantly engaged in their daily work. What we really want to teach is the scientific observation and scientific classification scientific formulation of hypotheses, for example, the clear- biological dosage is not a trivial matter of similarity and differences, but we must learn to recognize taxonomic categories produced by the system theory theme.

It should not be forgotten that science educations have incorporated field singular discipline from a body of knowledge developed around career fields previously formed (and primarily the world of the school). This means that fields professionals prior to the disciplinary field. The first seek to develop the second elements of theory from empirical knowledge and solving practical problems for ensure greater efficiency of action and education systems. In answering these requests, the educational sciences inversely adopt a posture of reflection, ...