Trends in Practical Work in German Science Education

Framework for Reducing Teaching Challenges Relating to Improvisation of Science Education Equipment and Materials in Schools

“…Also aligned to the framework in Figure 2, is the fact that in countries including Germany and the former Soviet countries of Georgia and Moldova, the use of inexpensive (low-cost) alternatives to traditional materials is becoming part of educator preparation programmes (Di Fuccia et al, 2012;Kapanadze & Eilks, 2014). In fact, many voices in the field of science education (e.g., Bhukuvhani et al, 2010;Ezeasor et al, 2012;Musar, 1993;Singh & Singh, 2012) have recommended that not only pre-service but also practising educators be provided with training workshops or courses on the production, use and even maintenance of improvised science education equipment.…”

“…Against the above background, various alternative methods have been used around the world to gain access to conventional SEEMs. These methods include borrowing from or using facilities outside individual schools (e.g., mobile laboratories, local museums and science centres), using a micro-scale (small-scale) approach in carrying out conventional experiments, as well as improvisation at school level or at a central production unit (Bradley, 1999;Di Fuccia, Witteck, Markic, & Eilks, 2012;Musar, 1993;Singh & Singh, 2012;Sussman, 2000;Tran, Scherpbier, Van Dalen, & Wright, 2012). Though all the above ways of producing or gaining access to science education equipment are useful, this paper focuses on equipment improvisation in schools.…”

“…Basic materials that have been used in industrialised and developing countries in the production of science education equipment include syringes, plastic bottles, scrap timber from the school workshop, aluminium foil, tin cans, food colouring, baking soda, cabbage juice used as a chemical indicator, glycerine, and plastic bags and straws (Ens et al, 2012;Gilbert et al, 2003;Nyaumwe & Mavhunga, 2005;Sussman, 2000;Tran et al, 2012;Wilke & Tronicke, 2007, 2008. However, improvised equipment includes both equipment initially meant for other purposes (as evidenced by the above list) and equipment that is modified for use in practical work (Alonge, 1979;Di Fuccia et al, 2012;Kapanadze & Eilks, 2014;Von Borstel, 2009). Such materials are readily available to science educators (Stephen, 2015;Wood, 1990).…”

“…In line with such calls, the use of improvised SEEMs (e.g., smallscale experiments) is an increasing trend in practical work in science classrooms in Germany (Di Fuccia et al, 2012). However, despite the willingness of some educators to improvise equipment for practical work (Childs et al, 2012), improvised SEEMs are seldom used in many ill-equipped science classrooms in secondary schools (Ezeasor et al, 2012;Sedibe, 2011;Singh & Singh, 2012).…”

“…However, we focused only on literature regarding secondary school classrooms, as we considered learners in these classrooms to be close to or to lie in the range of 12 to 20 years that Rutten, van Joolingen, and van der Veen (2011) consider as the age range within which learners acquire the most essential part of their basic knowledge of science. That said, observing the fairly scarce nature of relevant research-based evidence, we took into consideration the fact noted by Di Fuccia et al (2012) that the experiences of science educators covered in journals for educators and in conferences constitute a useful body of knowledge. This knowledge, which covers the other half of the knowledge spectrum, is useful for more fully understanding science teaching practices (McIntyre, 2005).…”