Becoming critical about practical work: changing views and changing practice through action research

In recent years, a great deal of attention has been directed towards the purpose and organization of practical work in school science, with several writers urging a radical reappraisal and reorientation of laboratory‐based and field‐based learning. However, for all kinds of reasons, changes of this magnitude are not readily accomplished by traditional means of curriculum development. This article describes how a group of teachers sought to overcome the difficulties of major innovation by working with a change agent to critique their current practice, devise a more ‘authentic science’ for the secondary school curriculum, and translate their ideas into feasible classroom activities.