What enables successful open-ended practical investigative work at A Level?

TY - JOUR

T1 - What enables successful open-ended practical investigative work at A Level?

AU - Dunlop, Lynda

AU - Turkenburg, Maria Gertrudis Wilhelmina

AU - Knox, Kerry Jane

AU - Bennett, Judith Merryn

AU - Aba Adebanjo, Aba

AU - Hampshire, Martin

AU - Hunt, Tanya

AU - Moore, Simon

AU - Poliakoff, Simon

N1 - This is an author-produced version of the published paper. Uploaded in accordance with the publisher’s self-archiving policy. Further copying may not be permitted; contact the publisher for details

PY - 2021/3/30

Y1 - 2021/3/30

N2 - The Gatsby Good Practical Science report (Gatsby, 2017) identified opportunities to carry out open-ended investigative projects as one of ten benchmarks for good practical science. However, there is currently no requirement for post-16 students in England to have access to such opportunities as this is not required by A-level specifications (the most common post-16 qualification in England). Nevertheless, some teachers incorporate open-ended investigative work into post-16 teaching. Drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers, enablers of and barriers to open-ended investigation are identified, and the ways in which several teachers have successfully implemented such work are demonstrated through vignettes. Ways that teachers can use and value open-ended project work within current A-level specifications are presented.

AB - The Gatsby Good Practical Science report (Gatsby, 2017) identified opportunities to carry out open-ended investigative projects as one of ten benchmarks for good practical science. However, there is currently no requirement for post-16 students in England to have access to such opportunities as this is not required by A-level specifications (the most common post-16 qualification in England). Nevertheless, some teachers incorporate open-ended investigative work into post-16 teaching. Drawing on in-depth semi-structured interviews with 12 teachers, enablers of and barriers to open-ended investigation are identified, and the ways in which several teachers have successfully implemented such work are demonstrated through vignettes. Ways that teachers can use and value open-ended project work within current A-level specifications are presented.

M3 - Article

SN - 0036-6811

VL - 102

SP - 50

EP - 57

JO - School Science review

JF - School Science review

IS - 380

ER -