Using examination questions to assess practical skills in science (360G-Wellcome-208491_Z_17_Z)

£210,838

The principal aim of the project is to identify the features of written examination questions that discriminate between students who have had substantial hands-on experience of practical work in GCSE science and those who have not. This project is important because recent changes in assessment mean practical skills are now wholly assessed through written examination questions. It is therefore essential to have a valid means of assessing practical skills that rewards students who have undertaken hands-on practical work. A series of classroom interventions will be developed in which students experience a practical activity either as hands-on practical work, a teacher demonstration, a video recording, or through a written description. Students will then complete written examination questions relating to the interventions. The outcomes will be: examples of questions that discriminate between students with different levels of hands-on practical experience, together with insights into characteristic, generalisable features of such questions guidance for examiners to support them in question writing evidence of the validity of the use of written questions to assess practical skills with a view to informing future iterations of the science curriculum. The project Advisory Group comprises representatives of the Awarding Organisations, Ofqual, the learned societies, ASE and science teachers.

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Grant Details

Amount Awarded 210838
Applicant Surname Bennett
Approval Committee Assessing Practical Science Skills in Schools and Colleges Committee
Award Date 2017-06-26T00:00:00+00:00
Financial Year 2016/17
Grant Programme: Title Assessing Practical Science Skills
Internal ID 208491/Z/17/Z
Lead Applicant Prof Judith Bennett
Partnership Name Assessing Practical Science Skills
Partnership Value 299238
Planned Dates: End Date 2022-09-30T00:00:00+00:00
Planned Dates: Start Date 2018-03-01T00:00:00+00:00
Recipient Org: Country United Kingdom
Region Yorkshire and the Humber