The role of practical work in the developing practice of beginning physics teachers

Morag Findlay

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Abstract

The role and rationale of practical work in teaching school science are receiving renewed
scrutiny (Abrahams and Saglam, 2010). This paper is a case study which reports part of a
larger longitudinal study which used semi-structured interviews to explore the approaches of
beginning teachers of physics to teaching electricity during Initial Teacher Education (ITE)
and beyond. The interview transcripts were analysed using thematic analysis. One of the
emergent themes was the use of practical work in secondary school science. All of the
beginning teachers had embedded the use of practical work in their teaching. This paper
discusses their reasons for doing so and compares their responses with the rationales
suggested by Hodson (1993), Lunetta, Hofstein, Clough, Abell, & Leerman (2007) and
Abrahams (2011). The implications for ITE and continuing professional development (CPD)
are discussed.
Original languageEnglish
Number of pages20
Publication statusPublished - 3 Sept 2011
EventESERA 2011 - Lyon, France
Duration: 5 Sept 20119 Sept 2011

Conference

ConferenceESERA 2011
Country/TerritoryFrance
CityLyon
Period5/09/119/09/11

Keywords

  • in-service science teacher education
  • practical work

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