Practical Biology

The Nuffield Curriculum Centre, in partnership with the Society of Biology, has developed a Practical Biology website for teachers of secondary school biology. The website allows teachers to download tried and tested biology experiments that should work in any school laboratory. The practicals can be used as starting-points for investigations and also for enhancement activities, such as clubs or open day events.

To visit the website, go to: www.practicalbiology.org

The Project

Although biology schemes of work and syllabi provide many opportunities for practical work, they cannot guarantee it. Reasons cited for the decline in the amount of practical work done in schools include health and safety concerns, cost, teacher confidence, lack of technical support, insufficient time and heightened emphasis on examination results. We seek to address some of these issues by establishing a website to support biology teachers in delivering practical work in schools.

The Partnership

The project is being progressed jointly by the Nuffield Curriculum Centre (NCC) and the Society of Biology, who together form the management board. The NCC brings expertise from supervising the establishment of similar sites and is acting as project manager in partnership with the Society of Biology and any other organisations who wish to be involved in the project.

Interested in getting involved? Please contact Sue Assinder.