What is Practical Work?

What is Practical Work? Practical work is viewed by the vast majority of science teachers, as an essential and integral part of science education. In fact, many regard it as an indispensable aspect of being a science teacher (Donnolly 1998 from review Practical work effectiveness in primary/sec schools Abraham). Practical work can encompass many different components, which can be divided into two main groups as described in Woodley E, (2009), as follows: 1) Core activities: These include hands-on activities such as different investigations, laboratory techniques and procedures, as well as fieldwork. These types of activities can help enhance the development of students practical laboratory skills, as well as helping them to understand key scientific concepts and phenomena. 2) Directly related activities: These are closely connected to the above core activities, and include practical demonstrations performed by the teacher, planning and designing scientific investigations and analysis of data. In addition, some argue that other activities such as use of computer simulations, modelling, use of surveys, presentations, group discussion and role plays can also constitute what is meant by the term practical activity (SCORE, 2008). However, others would disagree, and believe these activities would not come under the practical activity umbrella, and rather that they should be used complementarily alongside other practical activities, rather than be a substitute for them (Woodley, E). Millar described a practical activity as Any science teaching and learning activity which at some point involves the students, working individually or in small groups, in observing or manipulating objects to develop understanding. (Millar (2009)). It is described in The National Strategies as: Any activity that enables pupils to have direct, often hands-on, experience of the phenomena they are studying . (The National Strategies (2008)). In fact the following quotation from SCORE underpins what many believe about the importance of practical work in science: Science without practical is like swimming without water . (SCORE, 2008). Therefore, regardless of how practical work is defined, or what activities are thought to constitute it, it can be seen as a central part of how science should be taught in schools What is the Purpose of Practical Work? The main purposes of practical work are to engage students, aiding them to develop many important skills. In fact, practical work can support learning in a multitude of ways ranging from Personal learning and thinking skills to How science works (E Woodley) -See Figure 1. The overriding principle, however is to make links between the concrete and abstract worlds. (Reflecting on practical work). From reading the literature, it is clear that the different reasons and rationales for carrying out practical work in science can be classified into three main areas (see below), as discussed in (Practical Work in School Science: Which Way Now?  Jerry Wellington): Arguments for and against the use of practical work in science: 1). Cognitive arguments: It is thought that practical activities can relate to knowledge and understanding (the cognitive domain) by helping to strengthen students conceptual understanding of science by enabling them to visualise and make sense of different scientific laws and theories, often supporting learnt theory work. 2). Affective domains: This relates to the enjoyment and motivational aspects of practical work. Practical work is often used to generate interest and enthusiasm amongst students, and is thought to aid students in remembering things; making things stick. In fact, reports show that in terms of how students rate the enjoyability of school science activities, the three top rated were: going on a science trip (85%), looking at videos (75%) and doing a science experiment (71%), supporting the view that practical work is indeed highly motivational (Dillion J). 3). Skills argument: The last of the three main rationales for practical work is that it can help develop many transferable skills, as illustrated in Figure 1 above. However, characterising the real value and purpose of practical work is a very difficult task and divides opinion across the science education profession. In fact there are many arguments and counter arguments for and against practical work in science. Counter responses to the cognitive argument include the idea that practical work can often confuse rather than improve students understanding (especially if the practical does not go to plan). In addition Scott and Leach propose that practical work is not a good approach to teach theory, suggesting that theories comprise abstract ideas which cannot be demonstrated physically: In the context of the school laboratory it is clear that students cannot develop an understanding through their own observations, as the theoretical entities of science are not there to be seen. (Taken from Wellington book- Leach and Scott 1995:48) Arguments against the affective argument include the notion that many students are simply turned off at the idea and prospect of doing practicals. There is also evidence indicating that boys enjoy practical work more so than girls, and hence girls can often be less enthusiastic and motivated compared to boys doing the same practical task. (Wellington). Counter arguments to the proposal that practical work can develop many transferable skills also exist. These include the argument that group work within practical science often does not improve key skills such as communication and interaction, as widely believed, but when studied more closely, often results in more forceful students dominating the task, resulting in lack of enjoyment and engagement for some and the demotion of some students to simple medial tasks, such as drawing out tables or recording results without any real participation in the practical activity themselves.(Wellington). Many other science education professionals make claims of the overselling of the science education in terms of concept that science practical work can develop many transferable skills. The idea that these skills can add value to students and aid them on their chosen career paths have been discredited by some. In fact, Ausubel in the 1960s argued that any practical task that can give rise to the application of skills required for many disciplines, is simply not specific enough to address the particular scientific investigation being addressed: Grand strategies of discovery do not seem to be transferable across disciplines..it hardly seems plausible that a strategy of inquiry, which must necessarily be broad enough to be applicable to a wide range of disciplines and problems, can ever have sufficient particular relevance to be helpful in the solution of the specific problem at hand. (wellington, Ausubel 1964:298). Hence, there is much debate regarding the use of practical work within the teaching and learning of science in schools. The key question here really is to do with cognition and how we acquire knowledge. i.e. : How do we understand the world and make sense of it in our heads? (Miller R, 2004). One significant answer to this came from Jean Piaget, who is credited as the pioneer of the constructivist theory of knowing. He argued that we construct ever more complicated and sophisticated representations of the world. This is through modifying our existing understandings (or schemas; a structured cluster of concepts) through our actions on the world around us. If Piaget is correct, then the use of practical work in observing and intervening in the world must be vital for our understanding of science (R Miller 2004). The effectiveness of practical work in science As discussed above, many science teachers and other science education professionals believe that practical work in the education of science in schools is vital for helping students learn and remember things more clearly. However, as also noted there are arguments suggesting that practical work is actually not all that effective at achieving these aims. A prominent quotation from Osborne (1998) questions the effectiveness of practical work in the learning of science, saying that practical work: has only a limited role to play in learning science and that much of it is of little educational value (p. 156. from Miller 2004 review). Much of the conclusions of research into the effectiveness of practical work remain somewhat ambiguous. Research carried out in the 1980s by Hewson and Hewson (1983), in which In addition, others have argued that the way in which practical work is practised is often the cause of its ineffectiveness, and perhaps, therefore the type of practical work used, and the way it is used should be analysed, rather than simply saying that all practical work is ineffective. Hence if we are interested in looking at the effectiveness of practical work in science, the specific practical work used, or planning to be used need to be very carefully planned and thought out. A key consideration here is actually what is meant by the term effectiveness. A framework for judging the effectiveness of practical work Theobald in the 1960s argued that scientific theory must always be taught first and is required in order to visualise: Experience does not give concepts meaning, if anything concepts give experience meaning (J Wellington). Aggressive Reality Television: Impacts on Teenage Viewers Aggressive Reality Television: Impacts on Teenage Viewers Nashun Gross ABSRACT The popularity of reality TV has soared among teens. Not only are teenagers watching reality TV more than any other TV show, but it also influences their behavior, which is caused by teenagers who make a connection with the cast members. Connections happen when teens imitate the behavior because they view the cast as role models. Even when the cast behaves aggressive, whether physical, verbal, or relational, they tend to imitate that behavior. The more teenagers view aggression on reality TV, the more they are likely to use aggression as a tactic when solving real world problems. Aggression influences both girls and boys. When boys watch aggressive behavior, they tend to resort to verbal and physical aggression. Girls predominately react by using relational aggression. When aggressive reality television becomes the norm, social aggression will too. Aggressive Reality Television Impacts Teenage Viewers Although there have not been many studies on the effects of reality television there is an underlying issue researchers have found in reality television programming, relational aggression. Carlson Ward (2013) described relational aggression as social aggression, which includes indirect aggression, spreading rumors of one’s character and hurting someone’s reputation or self-esteem. In today’s programming reality television has more relational aggressive acts than regular television programming (Patino, Kaltcheva, Smith, 2011). Surprisingly, researchers found relational aggression more common than physical aggression in the media, specifically, in reality television (Carlson Ward, 2013). However, teenagers exposed to physical aggression and relational aggression had the same effects. In other words, exposure to any type of aggressive behavior, physical or relational, led to aggressive responses and reactions in both male and female teenagers. Teenager’s response to media proved to have both short-term and long-term effects (Swartzwelder White, 2013). In the short term, marketing and advertising showed significant results in sales after product was shown during a reality program (Patino et al, 2011).In the long-term, affects have been shown as late as 15 years increase (Coyne, Robinson, Nelson, 2010). Specifically, when teenagers connected with characters on television they were more likely to watch for longer periods of time. With ideas of how to react to real life situations left in the mind of a teenager could shape how they view the world (Patino et al, 2011). Since the first reality show aired in 1994, reality television has become the choice of media for teens in the U.S. Year-by-year viewer’s ratings continue to increase (Coyne et al, 2010; Carlson Ward, 2013) with forty percent of television watched by teenagers coming from reality shows (Carlson Ward, 2013). It is a popular media. Within this new genre, verbal and relational aggression is rampant (Carlson Ward, 2013; Coyne et al, 2010). Reality programming displayed 25.1 relational aggressive acts per hour, while non-reality TV displayed 8.7 acts per hour (Carlson Ward, 2013).When all forms of aggression were combined, verbal, relational, direct and indirect, it averaged 85 aggressive acts per hour (Coyne et al, 2010). When teenagers viewed relational aggression it led to other forms of aggression, especially when teenagers identified or connected with the characters (Coyne et al, 2010). Teenagers showed higher levels of aggressive behavior (Coyne et al, 2010), when they made a connection with the characters (Carlson Ward, 2013) and had the ability to interact or participate in the reality shows, such as voting off characters or choosing the best to win. Studies found realism played a huge role in the effects of reality television. If teens thought reality TV was real, not manipulated by producers to create drama, they were inclined to watch more reality programs (Carlson Ward, 2013). Despite the manipulation, studies still found teenagers drawn to watch reality TV because it satisfied a need (Coyne et al, 2010; Ferguson, Salmond, Modi, 2013). One study found conflicting results. An internal survey given by the Girl Scout Research Institute took a non-random sample of 1141 teenage girls (Ferguson et al, 2013). By using the uses and gratifications approach in an online questionnaire, girls were more confident after they watched reality programming and displayed no affects of relational aggression (Ferguson et al, 2013). Researchers thought relational aggression should not be a concern to the public and found the effects may be more â€Å"subtle and complex† (Ferguson et al, 2013). Researchers studied teenager’s motivations in watching reality television, while questioning their values. Teens were motivated when programs displayed realism, physically attractive characters, and popular among friends, (Pantino, Kaltcheva, Smith, 2011). The uses and gratifications approach was useful to find out why teens chose reality TV rather than non-reality TV. Researchers concluded they desired voyeurism, connection with characters and vengeance (Coyne et al, 2013). Teenagers also learned to mimic the behavior portrayed by those who they look up to, who they connected to in reality television. As teenagers consumed more reality programming, with aggression in its midst, they found teens had more aggressive behavior. Consumption is related to behavioral effects (Carlson Ward, 2013), but what has not been discovered is the quantity of social aggression in reality television and its related effects (Coyne et al, 2013). Majority of researchers came to the same conclusion, reality television affects both male and female. When researchers compared the effects between girls and boys, they found no differences (Carlson Ward, 2013). Concerning relational aggression, girls showed more aggression than boys, while boys displayed more physical aggression than the girls (Coyne et al, 2013). With miniscule differences, boys are more physically aggressive and girls tend to have a saucy mouth. As a whole, the results indicate a current trend in teenagers, specifically with watching reality television. Teenagers tend to have changes in their attitudes and behaviors similar to the ones they watch regularly on reality television. In addition, studies have shown it takes just a few hours of exposure to display negative effects (Coyne et al, 2013; White , Swartzwelder 2013). These literature reviews revealed aggression had the same effects on boys than on girls. However, for future research understanding the associations between teenagers and realism on TV is important because it could help in assessing the severity of relational aggression among teenagers. Hypothesis 1: Teenagers who see abusive behavior, such as hitting, kicking or pushing others, in reality television programs, will have an increase in aggressive behavior, with boys experiencing a greater increase than girls. Hypothesis 2: Teenagers who see aggressive behavior, such as spreading rumors or damaging someone’s reputation or self-esteem, in reality television programs, will have an increase in relational aggressive behavior, with girls experiencing a greater increase than boys. METHOD Participants Participants are 60 students from a middle school located in suburban Jacksonville, Fl. Half of the students are male, the other half female. The ages range from 11-14 years. As a random sample, there will be no consideration on race. However, the sample size is divided up by each grade, meaning 20 students from the sixth grade, 20 students from the seventh grade, and 20 students from the eighth grade. Measures Exposure to reality programs then observed . Students would watch a 30-minute top-rated program once a week in class. Programs shown will have social aggressive behavior throughout, such as The Challenge: Cutthroat, Jersey Shore and Survivor (Carlson Ward, 2013). Then an observer would watch their behavior and report the results. Procedure Students are invited to participate on a voluntary basis with their parent’s permission. After a few weeks of getting the permission of the parents, an observer would visit each classroom and show a reality program on video. The program would run for 30-minutes, then shortly afterwards the student’s behavior would be observed for additional 30-minutes. The total time needed is approximately one hour per classroom visitation. The observer will fill out a Likert Scale before and after the reality show is played (Appendix A) to show the differences of behavior. References Carlson, C. Ward, M.L., (2013). Modeling meanness: Associations between reality TV  consumption, perceived realism, and adolescents’ social aggression. Media Psychology,  16 (4), 371-389. doi:10.1080/15213269.2013.832627 Coyne, S. M., Robinson, S. L., Nelson, D. A. (2010). Does reality backbite? Physical,  verbal, and relational aggression in reality television programs. Journal Of  Broadcasting Electronic Media, 54(2), 282-298. doi:10.1080/08838151003737931 Examples of likert scaled responses used in data-gathering. (n.d.). Retrieved from  http://www.rpgroup.org/sites/default/files/Surveys Interactive Activity %20Examples%20of%20Likert%20scales.pdf Ferguson, C., Salmond, K., Modi, K. (n.d.). Reality television predicts both positive and  negative outcomes for adolescent girls. Journal of Pediatrics, 162(6), 1175-1180. Patino, A., Kaltcheva, V. D., Smith, M. F. (2011). The Appeal of Reality Television  For Teen and Pre-Teen Audiences. Journal Of Advertising Research, 51(1), 288-297. White, A.M., Swartzwelder, S. (2013). What are they thinking?!: The straight facts about the  risk-taking, social-networking, still-developing teen brain. New York: W.W. Norton   Company, Inc. Appendix A (â€Å"Examples of likert scaled responses used in data gathering,† n.d.) How Are Tension And Suspense Built Up? How Are Tension And Suspense Built Up? Novels such as TRR and TTTH were very popular during Victorian times, and some people think that this was partly a reaction to the development of science during the period that was known as The Enlightenment. The scientific age taught that there was a reason for everything, and that emotions like fear should be repressed. Horror stories like these led to many of the horror films that we watch in the cinema today, and people liked them for the same reasons; being scared is exciting, and lets the person watching or reading experience this in safety. Writers knew that people enjoyed the genre, and so they used a variety of ways to make sure that the interest of the reader was maintained, and they would want to read more. Both Edgar Allen Poe and H.G. Wells use the traditional Gothic conventions to explore human fear and the power of the imagination, particularly using tension and anti-climax to make an exciting rhythm. I have read the short stories TRR by HGW and TTTH by EAP, and in this essay I hope to show how each author developed and maintained tension and suspense. Many of the methods are used in both stories, and are based on standard Gothic conventions such as duality, the weather, the setting, fear of the unknown, the supernatural, mystery and dread; they also use metonyms for doom and gloom, such as doors slamming shut and gusts of wind blowing out lights. In TTTH the tension starts with the first sentence, TRUE! nervous very, very dreadfully nervous. The writer uses capital letters and exclamation marks to cause surprise and fear, and follows this with a short, repetitive sentence. He then immediately draws the reader in by asking why they think he is mad, when clearly they had not had that thought themselves. The mood is approaching hysteria, which was a great fear in Victorian times. The author then mentions many things that are opposite to each other, such as heaven and hell, day and night and the fact that although he had nothing against the old man in his story, the fact that he had the eye of a vulture meant that he would have to kill him. Once the tension is in place, the author slows the pace by lengthening the sentences, but keeps the reader in a state of fear through his use of language. He continues to repeat words cautiously oh, so cautiously cautiously, making the narrator seem even more mad, even though he is trying to explain that he isnt. He gives a very intense description of the darkness inside the old mans room black as pitch with the thick darkness, making the reader aware that it is under the cover of this darkness that the evil deed will take place. The suspense starts to grow again when the narrator says that he made a mistake with the lantern, and that small sound woke up the old man. Neither of them moved for over an hour, and it almost feels like you are holding your breath with the two people in the story. After a long time, the old man groans, and this gives rise to more hysterical thoughts by the narrator, the sentences slow again, and the language less staccato and very dramatic Death, in approaching him had stalked with his black shadow before him, so the reader knows that something awful is bound to happen soon. The momentum builds further as the narrator opens the lantern, which fell full upon the vulture eye, and making it clear that the old man now also knows for certain that he is in danger. The narrator becomes furious, and believes that he can hear the beat of the old mans heart. The rhythm of the work gets faster, choppy sentences and a lot of exclamation marks and more repetition increase the excitement with th e beat of the hellish tattoo; then the crescendo, The old mans hour had come! The actual murder is over in a moment, and this sudden drop away from extreme terror to the narrator saying that he smiled gaily to find the deed so done exaggerates the tension. The next concern for the reader is whether or not the murder will be discovered, and the author increases this worry by describing the dismemberment of the body in quite graphic detail. The mood of the piece is changing again, with the description of as dark as midnight making way for I went down to open it (the door) with a light heart as the police arrive. The narrator takes the police on a very long journey through the house, asking them to search search well, and this makes the reader become anxious about when or if they will find the evidence of the old mans death. The language is calm and this adds to the impression of time passing slowly. As the characters sit and talk, the narrator starts to get more agitated; he can hear a strange noise getting closer. The pace picks up, the vocabulary starts to get more hysterical I arose and argued about trifles, in a high key and with violent gesticulations, it grows more repetitive, and the punctuation is full of exclamation marks. It b uilds to another climax, when the narrator says I felt that I must scream or die! and now again ! hark! louder! louder! louder! louder!. The reader will be on the edge of their seat by now, wondering what on earth will happen next; and is immediately dropped from this state of expectancy as the narrator shrieks his admission of guilt to the police, and the story comes to a sudden and dramatic close. TRR starts in a similar fashion, with the piece being written in the first person so that the reader can quickly identify with them, and feel what they are going through. The physical scene is set in more detail, with careful descriptions of the hideous features of the people involved in the story, and how the narrator felt about them. The three of them made me feel uncomfortable with their gaunt silences, their bent carriage, their evident unfriendliness to me and to one another. He had come to disprove a ghost story, and was not afraid, but these grotesque custodians were affecting him a lot; which helps to slowly start to wind up the tension in the story. The language of this early section involves words such as withered, inhuman, senility, night, darkness, dead, haunted and evil, all of which add to the suspense, and are standard ways of creating fear in this kind of novel. As the narrator decides to move on to the Red Room, to discover more about the alleged haunting, the other characters seem to try to stop him, suggesting that this is not a good time for him to go there. But if you go to the Red Room tonight , this sentence tails off, letting the reader imagine what the man might have been going to say. The old woman whispers this night of all nights, and as the narrator leaves to continue his ghost hunt, the man with the withered arm says Its your own choosing. So there are plenty of warnings, and the state of tension in the readers mind is maintained as the narrator sets off down the chilly, echoing passage. This passage is further described as long and shadowy, with a film of moisture glistening on the wall, (was) as gaunt and cold as a thing that is dead and rigid, and this journey to the room makes use of many other words chosen to create as much fear as possible, talking about ghosts, omens, and witches. The author also uses shadows, flickerin g candles, darkness and cold to great effect, making certain that the reader is anxious before the Red Room is even reached. Arriving at the room itself, it is described as being in a shadowy corner, and then a detailed description of the room and its contents is given. Again, the language is very imaginative, and this increases tension as the narrator tells us that it looks very frightening, and that one could well understand the legends that had sprouted in its black corners, its germinating darkness. As he tells the reader about each item, the sense of waiting for something bad to happen is very strong. He mentions his scientific attitude of mind, which was very popular in Victorian times, but then destroys any confidence this might cause by saying that he caught sight of his own face in a mirror, and despite his rational approach, it was absolutely white. Now that he has admitted to being frightened, the narrator builds on this by describing how he tries to make himself safe in the room, by lighting candles, getting his gun ready, and making a barricade out of a table. He tells us that he is in a state of considerable nervous tension, and goes out to get more candles until the room is as brightly lit as possible; then the wait begins. The candles start to go out, and its even more frightening that they do so one at a time; a note of hysteria creeps into his voice as he starts to try to relight the candles, and he becomes panic stricken. The fear is everywhere, and the pace is building, with the narrator crashing around the room desperate to stop the darkness from overwhelming him. When finally even the fire goes out, he says it was not only palpable darkness, but intolerable terror. At this moment the reader is certain that something appalling will happen, and the narrator screams with all his might once, twice, thrice. He runs for the door, knocks himself out, and knows no more. At this point he is completely vulnerable to whatever malevolent spirit might be present. The opposite to darkness rescues the narrator, as he opens his eyes in the daylight, and the tension is broken for a moment. His rescuers take a more friendly approach to him, and in daylight he wonders why he previously disliked them. They ask if he now believes that the room is haunted, and he agrees that it is. This reinstates the feelings of fear and tension as the reader wonder what he is about to reveal. Two of the custodians have their own theories about who the ghost may be, but the narrator cuts them short, and tells them that it is not, building the tension further. The old people and the readers are now on the edge of their seats, as in The Tell Tale Heart, waiting for the climax of the story. The speed of the text increases, with choppy sentences and a lot of punctuation as he announces Fear! Fear that will not have light nor sound, that will not bear with reason, that deafens and darken and overwhelms. This is a great contrast against the scientific theories of the time, making the reader question rationality, and would increase fear. The story ends with the last of the three custodians joining in the conversation, defining the haunting as A Power of Darkness, a curse upon the home. As the reader has already been asked to put aside rational scientific thoughts, this makes it even worse, by making them think that such a curse might be able to put on their own home. The tension continues right up to the last moment Fear itself is in that room. Black Fear..And there is will be..so long as this house of sin endures.