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…

Many school practical activities focus on scientific methods such as hypothesis testing. Yet science is more than hypothesis testing: it includes other methods. This article presents a framework called 'Brandon's Matrix' that illustrates the diversity of scientific methods. The matrix has been used as part of Project Calibrate based at the…

A pilot study, funded by the Gatsby Charitable Foundation, supported 10 secondary schools across England to plan and deliver open-ended investigative practical work within science curriculum time. This enabled all students to experience the benefits of investigative work, rather than just those attending extracurricular STEM enrichment activities.…

Inquiry projects can play an important role in science education, despite involving significant challenges for teachers and students. Based on historical references, small groups of students and their teachers carried out inquiry projects on the ability of certain insects to 'revive' after remaining immersed in water for some time. The striking…

Practical work and experimental science are at the heart of teaching and learning in science classrooms. The COVID-19 pandemic forces secondary school science teachers to make difficult decisions about how best to facilitate practical work safely. We present empirical evidence of the effectiveness of teacher demonstrations and videos in preparing…

The double-wall paper cup is an everyday object that can be used in the laboratory to study heat transfer. The experiment described here has been done by physics students aged 12-13 years; it can also be used in a different context to prompt debate about environmental issues.

It is well known that schools and colleges often have budget limitations that can hamper the effectiveness of practical education. This article looks at how cheap, off-the-shelf components can be used to produce a simple DIY digital microscope, and how this provides novel opportunities to integrate biology, physics, design technology and computer…

Inspired by the inclusion of a British astronaut on the International Space Station, explanations and demonstrations that lead to an understanding of how satellites stay above the Earth are described. This is a mixture of separate ideas that have been demonstrated successfully at a public exhibition of science-based activities. Although some…

The Institute for Research in Schools (IRIS) was set up to give science students the opportunity to work on cutting-edge research projects. Teachers and students can access data and equipment that enable them to tackle real-life issues. As a result, not only do students gain in confidence and experience in their scientific work, they are also able…

Electricity from osmotic pressure might seem a far-fetched idea but this article describes a prototype in Norway where the osmotic pressure generated between salt and fresh water drives a turbine. This idea was applied in a student investigation, where they were tasked with researching which alternative materials could be used for the…

Nutrition labelling, which helps consumers to make informed choices, can be used as both a context and a vehicle for students to consolidate and apply their knowledge of food and nutrition to improve health. It also facilitates students' ability to negotiate socio-scientific issues from scientific and other perspectives. This article reports a…

What is friction? Like gravity, friction is a type of force. In simple terms, friction is, by and large, resistance to movement when two or more objects slide past one another. In this task young people are challenged to build a "buffer" to stop a moving ball using only a piece of ordinary A4 paper or a strip cut from it; that is,…

The Nuffield Foundation's Practical Work for Learning project takes the position that practical work is not a pedagogic approach in its own right, but that its affordances for learning depend on how successfully other pedagogies are applied to practical lessons. The design process used in the project is made explicit, illustrating…

African violet (genus "Saintpaulia") was identified as a particularly suitable genus for the study of specialised plant cells in the classroom using microscopes. The techniques described here involve simple preparation without staining. The cells and structures that can be investigated include: trichomes (hairs); stomata; guard cells and…

The number of science and discovery centres has grown exponentially over the last two centuries. Science and discovery centres are one of the top five stimuli that influence a career choice in science. Their history, growth, impact and role in the public understanding of science are discussed. (Contains 2 tables, 7 figures, and 21 online…