What makes practical work in science classrooms actually work?

Photo by Mikhail Nilov, edited with Canva: https://www.pexels.com/photo/a-girl-holding-a-clear-glass-with-colored-liquid-8923739/

Hot off the press: Our new paper is out in NorDiNA, and it simply asks: does practical work actually help students learn!?

Hands-on science activities are a staple of science classrooms around the world – and for good reason. Students get to touch, manipulate, and experience science phenomena directly. But here's the thing – simply doing more practical work doesn't automatically translate into better content knowledge learning.

Together with Magne Olufsen, Mai Lill Suhr, Solveig Karlsen, Marit Kjærnsli, and Marianne Ødegaard, we analysed video data from 73 science lessons across 20 Norwegian primary and lower secondary classrooms. Our findings paint a nuanced picture. Practical work clearly activates students and creates rich opportunities for science-related discussions.

But the hands-on part alone isn't where content knowledge learning happens most. That's where pre- and post-activities come in. The phases before and after the hands-on work are where teachers connect observations to scientific concepts, ask for elaborations, and help students make sense of what they experienced.

Perhaps our most surprising finding? Shorter practical work sequences were actually more effective for content knowledge learning than longer ones. For time-pressed teachers, this is encouraging news: even brief hands-on activities can have real impact – as long as they're embedded in a thoughtful instructional sequence.

This work is part of the LISSI project (Learning Instruction in Science and Student Impact), and it contributes to a growing understanding of what quality in science education really looks like. It's not about how often students work with their hands – it's about how well that work is structured and supported 💡