Teaching Thinking-Back-and-Forth in Practical Work: an Educational Design Study in Secondary Education

Practical work provides the opportunity for students to make a connection between hands-on activities and minds-on concepts. In this study, lesson design principles were investigated for stimulating Thinking-Back-and-Forth (TBF) between hands-on and minds-on aspects. Nine practical lessons intended to stimulate minds-on learning experiences were designed. These lessons contained an assignment and guidance aimed at stimulating TBF and mitigation of the cognitive load of hands-on aspects. Student learner reports were evaluated for reported minds-on learning, and the lessons were video-recorded. Results show that the design principles stimulate minds-on learning. Therefore, educational practice can benefit from using the design principles described.