Every so often, you might be asked to look at a new curriculum for teaching chemistry. “Let’s start with a clean sheet of paper” only to find you end up with err, what you had when you started. It is very diffiult to remove certain items.
But one aspect you can change is the practical side of chemistry and bring it up to date.
But one aspect you can change is the practical side of chemistry and bring it up to date.
The Royal Society of Chemistry has produced some articles on 7 simple rules for science teaching
Executing all these ideals with the current reductions in teacher’s time for planning, departmental budgets, CPD funding, technicians hours and teaching contact time coupled with increases in report writing, data collection, and inspections could have quite a strain teachers’ mental health.
Rule 5 which states “to use practical work purposefully and as part of a learning sequence”, is divided into 4 sections.
Executing all these ideals with the current reductions in teacher’s time for planning, departmental budgets, CPD funding, technicians hours and teaching contact time coupled with increases in report writing, data collection, and inspections could have quite a strain teachers’ mental health.
Rule 5 which states “to use practical work purposefully and as part of a learning sequence”, is divided into 4 sections.
1. Maximising learning from practicals. | "Are we using the Bunsen today?" There are students (and School Managers and teachers of other subjects) who think practical work in science as “not really working as students are not writing”. A recent report into Good Practical Science has been assembled by Sir John Holman. |
2. Different approaches build understanding | '“We did that last year!”. The teachers skill is to add more applications and twists that increase the pupils’ understanding of the subject. Moving from test tubes to microchemistry in puddles has increased my understanding of chemistry and brought many strands together. Both normal and microscale appraches can work in harmony. |
3. Promote understanding with practical work | "Is this supposed to happen?" This is the chance to link with the Johnstone Triangle. By relating the practical work to the activity of particles at the nano-level and also the representation of the chemistry symbolically and mathematically |
4. Why practical work builds reasoning | "Will this be in the exam?" In my school In my education, the experiment/demo had to be written out with titles of Aim, Method (diagrams with a straight lines), Observations, Calculations and Conclusion. Emphasis was on the macro event and the symbolic equations to learn by rote. Now, by using models, we should be coming terms with the third part of the triangle, what is happening at the sub-micro or nano level..Becaue it is invisible thei is very diffult to teach. |
However I beieve there are 6 more important issues to consider. These are neglected by most developers of the curriculum.
5. Practical chemistry should promote “green” and sustainable thinking | I moved from glass to plastic equipment for much of my microscale chemistry but now I must examine my practice to avoid the single use of plastic as much as possible. I noticed that plastic transfer pipettes were thrown away after only being used onece in some schools. Can they be cleaned. See the video on the right. I was asked to write an article by CLEAPSS and you can find it here. The conclusion I came to was as follows. | |
Green Chemistry Principles should be implicit in teaching and practical work in the first place, rather than relying on examination specifications.
6. Practical chemistry should relate to students’ environment | Relating practical work to student experience does enthuse students. This can relate to food, vitamin C, medicines, perfume, petroleum, alternative fuels, dyes, air quality, tap/river/sea water quality, batteries, metal extraction, copper, steel, glass, plastics, waste etc. I once ran a Y9 year of the chemistry of Norfolk.. Thee were visits to a chocolate firm, cordial makes and breweries. We extracted lavender oil, analysed tap water and vinegars from local stores using 6th form procedures. It was all stopped by the introduction of GCSE in 1988. |
8. Regulation of chemicals | The HSE write “The UK is strongly committed to the effective and safe management of chemicals. This will not change after Brexit.” So at the moment (and this could change), the suppliers of your chemicals will still follow EU Regulation (REACH) although the UK will have no input. Curriculum developers need to be awrer that already some chemicals are difficult to source (any dichromates for instance); that environmental concerns have removed organohalogens, that drug regulations require certification and that legislation regarding terroism has severely restricted explosives. |
9. Safe practical Innovation by teacher, technicians, and the student should be actively encouraged | The revolution in practical work in the run up to the publication of the Nuffield syllabuses in the late 1960s was brought about by teachers in their schools. The School Science Review (ASE) and Education in Chemistry (RSC) in the 60s and 70s are full of new practical procedures. With a contrived examined investigation and designated practicals from exam boards, much of that creativity has been lost. The teacher now longer owns his/her own scheme of work. However, I recognise the problem here as the percentage of chemistry graduates entering teaching is lower than what is necessary for our schools. In addition, teachers are having to teach other science subjects to GCSE and regrettably to A Level. But it is shown time and time again that what enthuses students, is a teacher passionate about the subject being taught. |
10. Practical experiments written by examination boards should be temporarily withdrawn,. | Required practicals have become entrenched in the teachers mind that this is only way of carrying out a pratical and it will be examined. If teachers stray from the “accepted method” then their students’ will be at a disadvantage to questions in the exam. When investigating the quantitative oxidation of magnesium, crucibles have traditionally been used. Results are variable, porcelain crucibles break, lids fall off. Using the bottle tops gives excellent results in comparison. Teachers will not do it because they say question on the exam will use the crucible. At least 2 Exam Boards have stae that alternaive methods are possible. It is the skill they will ask question about. |