Practical Work in the Ordinary National Certificate in Chemistry

Ritchie, Ronald H (1976) Practical Work in the Ordinary National Certificate in Chemistry. MSc(R) thesis, University of Glasgow.

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Abstract

This thesis is concerned with an investigation of the situation in practical work within the Ordinary National Certificate in Chemistry as presently offered within the Colleges of Further Education in Scotland. It is one of the very few investigations which have been carried out within this particular sector of Scottish education. The initial chapters consider the overall situation as it exists at the present time and reference is made to the philosophy and organisation of the Ordinary National Certificate course in general and to the practical aspects of the course in particular. The course is seen to be concerned with a pure rather than an applied chemistry approach. The students who pursue the Ordinary Rational Certificate course are in full time employment in industry and attend a college on a day release basis. While the course was not designed to meet specific industrial needs it appeared relevant to consult industry with respect to their view of the content of the Ordinary Rational Certificate course. This was done and the results are included in the text of the thesis. The investigation developed from an initial overall survey of the lecturer's and the students' views of the benefits which both parties considered were to be gained from the exercises carried out in the laboratory. From this point the educational value of a random set of experiments is looked at in more detail in terms of attainment or objectives identified by the students who were given no specific objectives for the experiments concerned. This approach is then developed in relation to the role of prior knowledge of the objectives in relation to the attitude of the students and the sense of purpose which they derive from practical chemistry. As is indicated in the text this part of the investigation was less successful than was hoped. However, in spite of apparent shortcomings in the practical area it is suggested that there is evidence that the students are deriving some benefit from their laboratory work. In conclusion it is suggested that the presentation of practical work could be improved to the educational benefit of the students and possible ways of effecting this improvement are proposed.

Item Type: Thesis (MSc(R))
Qualification Level: Masters
Keywords: Science education
Date of Award: 1976
Depositing User: Enlighten Team
Unique ID: glathesis:1976-78735
Copyright: Copyright of this thesis is held by the author.
Date Deposited: 30 Jan 2020 14:57
Last Modified: 30 Jan 2020 14:57
URI: https://theses.gla.ac.uk/id/eprint/78735

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