Interactive Guidelines - Skills
Introduction Scientific investigations provide pupils with opportunities to use and apply their knowledge and understanding while solving a problem. In most classrooms, teachers will use a variety of approaches to practical activities that will enable the pupils to work scientifically. Any practical activities that have been planned should have three main purposes :- providing first-hand experience so that pupils can either see something for themselves or do it themselves. This is often best done through a good demonstration or fieldwork rather than 'hands on' practical work which may involve following step by step instructions. theory-based practical work where pupils test ideas by making predictions, setting up fair tests, collecting evidence and linking back to the original prediction or idea. open-ended investigations that encourage the pupils to work scientifically, raising their own questions that they can then test or investigate.   When planning for each stage of an open-ended investigation teachers can support their pupils by posing questions such as those highlighted below. Click headings for skills exemplification in these areas.
Preparing for tasks	Carrying out tasks	In reviewing & reporting on tasks
What do you already know about this? What are you trying to find out? What sources of information could you use to help you? What ideas have you got for your investigation? How will you investigate? What do you think will happen? The role of the teacher is to help pupils focus on those aspects of their investigation that need to be refined or developed.	What are you changing? Why are you changing these? How will you measure the change? How will you measure the outcome of the change? What things are being kept the same to make it fair? Is this a fair test? The central idea here is to help pupils construct and carry out fair tests.	Reviewing and reporting on tasks What did you find out? Was the result what you expected? Was it a fair test? Did you choose the best way of recording the outcome? What would you change if you repeated the investigation? Have your ideas changed as a result of this investigation? The role of the teacher is to help pupils recognise the significance of their results.