SIp3006

Teaching and assessment of practical

work in biology

TITLE
Assignment 1

NAME: VIENISHAA MUNIAND NAIDO

Matriks number: SIP180018
SESSION: 2020/2021
LECTURER’S NAME: DR. EDY HAFIZAN BIN MOHD SHAHALI
There are different teaching and learning methods used by teachers to educate students. For examples,
traditional methods which will be a teacher-centered technique like chalk and talk method, student-
centered technique such as presentations and inquiry-based learning. Even though, there are a lot of
methods which teachers can choose to teach Science in their theoretical class, government made it
compulsory to have a practical class to teach Science as they know the necessity of it.

Practical works is one of the main teaching and learning method that each and every teacher should be
mastered in. Basically, practical works are the theory which will be investigated in deeply by conducting
experiments and by analyzing hypothesis, inference and variables. During conducting a practical work, a
student has to plan and design the investigations according to the procedures, analyses the results and
draw the conclusion from it. Complementary activities can be included in practical works such as
presentation of data, simulation or creating models and group discussion. A teacher should ease these
processes and create an effective learning platform for students.

Hence, both teachers and students should understand the importance of the practical works. First of all,
practical works boost the interest of students which will engage them more in that particular subject
and help them to improve their academic achievement as well. Practical works are more fun and will be
student-centered compared to theoretical which will be more exciting more students to be involved in
it. Practical works also develops students range of scientific skills such as report writing, hypothesis
testing, calculating and analyzing responding variables. This will help them to conduct experiments or
research, to do their final year project in university and to conduct theses during their future studies. It
also will mold them to become a scientist or researcher which have a great prospect in coming years.

Other than that, practical works improve students’ conceptual understanding and scientific knowledge
like objectivity, accuracy, creativity, subjectivity and precision. Scientific knowledge is a theory that
explains a phenomenon or behavior using the scientific methods. These scientific knowledges will
improve the ability of thinking of students. Indirectly, it also helps them to build their critical thinking
skills. Moreover, critical thinking skills can be built when students work to solve the problems arise
during the experiments. Practical work which develops the scientific knowledge of a student often
requires students to make links between two domains of knowledge which are domain of objects and
observable and domain of ideas. According to Jean Piaget theory, experience of observing and
intervening is essentials for understanding.

Laboratory works are often carried out in groups which improves students’ positive attitudes such as
communicative skills and team building skills. Communicative skills can be promoted when having a
discussion with their teammates which will indirectly improves their cooperation skills. Practical works
also increase students’ tendency of curiosity. Validity of the concepts learned by students in theoretical
class will be tested by experimentation. Students will be more curious on how the theory going to apply
in real life and what is the reason behind it. Automatically, it will help students to look for knowledge
from out of their syllabus. Practical work will create a hands-on experience for students which create a
platform for students to think for a real-life application using the theories learnt in the classroom. When
students apply the knowledge that they learnt, they tend to memories it without effort as they
understand the concepts clearly. This will help students to score well in their examination.

Practical works also promotes logical and reasoning method of thought which will be helpful for them
for better understanding of scientific facts which indirectly help them to score in their examination.
According to a research paper, it is suggested that teachers need to allow students to design some of
their own experiments as it improves their creativity and it would be a student-centered activity as well.
This will make students more independent which will increase their confidence level as well. It also
develops a student as a self-learner which also will be helpful for a student to study other subjects.
Therefore, students and teachers should grab this opportunity and make an effective practical class to
have an efficient teaching and learning process.

Even though there are a lot of benefits, there are challenges too in conducting practical class. First of all,
teachers will face challenges as the content of curriculum is more and the time provided for the practical
class is less. Sometimes, teachers tend to concentrate more in theoretical class compare to practical
class where they replace the practical class hours with the theoretical class as they could not finish the
syllabus in their targeted time. This can end up in a boring class and also lack of understanding of science
concepts. Some experiments really require adequate time to teach and learn. Most of the time in labs is
used for dealing with the procedures, giving instructions, collecting apparatus, handling data and
cleaning up afterwards. Very little time is devoted to discuss the reasons or phenomena of the
experiment. This will lead for a lack of conceptual skills in students. Students usually listen to the
instructions and will carry out it without knowing the background knowledge. Based on New Strait
Times, statistically it is proven that 85% students get to score well in Biology examination who learned
through practical class in UK whereas 33% students manage to score as they learned experiments in
traditional method without conducting experiments.

Another great challenge that teachers and students face in conducting experiments is less laboratory
supply such as equipment and materials. For all kinds of experiments, there is the need for various
laboratory apparatus and materials. Laboratory equipment can be varied according to the experiments
and usually the number of the apparatus needed is depends on the class group allocation. Working in a
laboratory can only be possible if there are sufficient of apparatus and materials supply need for the
experiments. These apparatuses are the heart of the lab experiments as it helps students to remember
the facts as they touch and feel it during conducting the experiment. Utilizing the appropriate
equipment completely will promote the long-term memory of students and will give a satisfaction for
students after they finished the experiment. Not all the students get the opportunity to conduct the
experiments by themselves as the apparatus are inadequate. Students have to be in group consisting of
5 people in some classes will decrease the chances for the students to take part completely in an
experiment. In rural areas, teachers don’t even conduct experiments that involve highly expensive
apparatus due to the unavailability. Students will face more difficulties as they enter universities due to
the lack of practical science knowledge as they don’t know how to use the apparatus such as
microscope, pipette and pressure gauge.

These are the 2 main challenges of conducting laboratory works. I personally suggest that effective
pedagogy is very important in improving the quality of practical works. Practical works will be more
effective if it provided with detailed task design prior to the lab session. So that during the lab time
teachers just can go through it for a while and can start conducting experiment. Even laboratory
manuals are provided in most schools, students use that to repeat the steps by following it. Students
don’t understand the concepts clearly as they don’t read the procedures earlier. Moreover, as a teacher
before starting the class, we should give a greater clarity about the intended learning outcome. When
the learning objectives are clear, students will have a clear picture on what they have to do and how the
result will be from the experiment. After the experiment, a teacher should explain the concept clearly
and should carry out any complementary activities in order to check students understanding. Teachers
can ask students to do presentation, can have a small quiz, or can ask them to create a model based on
the experiment. This will enhance the students learning and it will be easier for the teacher to assess the
students. Teachers should arrange their time well according to the syllabus. They should know how to
balance both theoretical class and practical class.

Last but not least, government should supply and allocate more finance for students experiment or
laboratory work. They should provide with better apparatus and materials so that it will be easy for the
students to work on the experiment and they can grab chance of conducting experiment by themselves.
It will create a platform for them to be more independent. In conclusion, laboratory works will enhance
pupil’s development of the ethical dimension of science, inspires the spirit of collaboration and active
participation among learners, exposes learners to scientific experiences that could ultimately help them
in developing scientific attitudes and skills and inculcate in the students the spirit of inquiry and
scientific mode of thinking. Therefore, even there are a lot of difficulties in conducting it as a teacher we
should take effort to make it work.