An analysis of labwork tasks used in science teaching at upper secondary school and university levels in several European countries

This article describes the results of a study of the similarities and differences in laboratory tasks used in science education at upper secondary school and university level, in the three main science subjects, in seven European countries. The data source for the study was a collection of 75 laboratory instruction sheets for use at school level in five countries, and 90 for use at university level in six countries, selected as being typical of practice in these countries. The tool used for analysis was a map (or classification system) for labwork tasks. Whilst some differences are noted between the science subjects and between educational levels, the dominant impression from this analysis is of similarity across educational levels, science subjects and countries. Some coding categories arise only very infrequently, suggesting that some possible designs of labwork task are very seldom used. The findings indicate the potential usefulness of this classificatory map as a tool for monitoring practice and for raising questions about the use of labwork in science education

Discursive reconstruction of the scientific story in a teaching sequence

International audienceTeaching and learning are time-dependant processes. It can be hypothesised that the content coherence during a teaching sequence is an important factor of learning. In this perspective, it is of great interest to follow the occurrences of a notion and the development of its meanings in the classroom discourse, all along the various sessions of a sequence. The purpose of this article is to propose a methodology for reconstructing the story of a particular notion, from the video recording of the interactions between a teacher and students, with the use of a software dedicated to qualitative analysis. The case study which is the basis of this work involves two classes in Lebanon, at Grade 7, during a teaching sequence about electricity. The study also shows the respective contributions of the teacher and students to the discourse and knowledge progression in the sequence