Puppets Research
Puppets research in the UK
The PUPPETS: Talking Science - Engaging Science project explored the use of puppets to engage and motivate children and promote conversations which help their learning in science. Puppets are used with primary school children to capture their interest, stimulate their thinking about science, challenge their ideas and model learning conversations. The Nuffield Foundation provided funding for the research.
The research timescale was:
2003-04: Pre-pilot phase with Year 4 undergraduate student teachers at Manchester Metropolitan University.
Summer 2004: Pilot phase with teachers in Manchester and London.
Autumn 2004 - spring 2005: Main research phase.
2004-05: Additional data from Year 4 undergraduate student teachers at Manchester Metropolitan University and from PGCE primary student teachers at Oxford Brookes University.
Summer 2005: Research findings available.
Findings from the research
Initial findings from the pilot phase:
Most of the teachers and student teachers found that using puppets appeared to have a positive effect on science lessons. Children and teachers generally responded very favourably to puppets appearing as visitors in science lessons.
The positive outcomes identified include:
enhancing children’s engagement and motivation
- providing a stimulus for focused talk and investigation in science
- raising the confidence of shy children, including some children with Special Educational Needs
- getting children to share their ideas and reveal their misconceptions
- challenging children’s ideas and misconceptions in a creative way
- providing opportunities for the teacher to take on a different role
- supporting effective classroom management
- creating a context for the use of scientific vocabulary.
Age did not appear to be a significant factor in the research. Puppets were used throughout the primary school age range and positive responses were recorded from each age group.
Initial guidelines have been produced to help teachers focus on decisions that they have to make to use puppets effectively.
These include:
- The number, type and character of the puppets to be used
- How will the puppet operate and what kind of voice will it have?
- What role will the puppets have in modelling learning conversations?
- How will the puppets help children to solve the scientific problem that they are tackling?
Summary of findings from the main research phase:
Where puppets were used in science lessons there was:
- an increase in children’s use of argumentation and a decrease in their use of recall responses. There were more opportunities for children to develop their thinking about science in puppets lessons.
- an increase in the time that children used talk involving reasoning and a decrease in the time that they talked about practical and procedural matters. There were more opportunities for children to develop their thinking about science in puppets lessons.
- an increase in the teachers’ use of reasoning questions and a decrease in their use of non-reasoning questions. The teachers’ questioning style created more opportunities for thinking in the puppets lessons.
- an increase in the teachers’ use of argumentation and a decrease in the extent to which they gave information to children. The teachers’ interaction with the children created more opportunities for engagement and thinking in the puppets lessons. Most of this increase is attributed to argumentation generated by the puppets.
- an increase in the teachers’ use of story and narrative and an increase in the extent to which teachers offered encouragement. Both of these changes in teacher behaviour generated a more positive environment for learning in science lessons.
Observations and interviews also showed a number of important changes when puppets were used. These included the following:
- Nearly all of the children were highly engaged and motivated when puppets were used. They listened more, they became more involved in the lesson and more children engaged in conversation.
- Many children who did not normally speak in science lessons became more willing to share their ideas.
- Many of the children claimed to understand science better when the teacher used puppets.
- Most of the teachers had changed aspects of their practice as a result of using puppets, such as including more opportunities for talk in their planning.
- Generally when teachers used worksheets the children were less interested, talked less and thought less about scientific questions.
- There was some limited evidence that children’s attainment was higher, especially amongst low-attaining children.
More detailed findings form the research will be published in science education journals.
Articles about the PUPPETS Project Research:
1. Teaching Earth Sciences (2006) 30, 2, 26.
 |
Click on the PDF to download the |
 |
Click on the PDF to download the |
2. Primary Science Review (2006) 92, 26-28.
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
3. Paper presented at the Australasian Science Education Research Association Conference, Freemantle, Australia, July 2007
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
4. Paper presented at the European Science Education Research Association Conference, Malmo, Sweden, August 2007
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
5. Naylor S., Keogh B., Downing, B., Maloney, J. and Simon, S. (2007) The Puppets Project: using puppets to promote engagement and talk in science. In R. Pinto and D. Couso (Eds) Contributions from Science Education Research, p.289-296. Springer.
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
6. Paper presented at the Nordic Research Symposium on Science Education, Reykjavik, Iceland, June 2008.
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
7. Naylor S., Keogh B., Downing, B., Maloney, J. and Simon, S. (2008) International Journal of Science Education.
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
8. Naylor S., Keogh B., Maloney, J. and Simon, S. (2008)
|
Click on the PDF to download the |
Quotes from the research
Quotes from some of the children:
" I learnt a lot. I really like the puppets. They helped me a lot. The stories we looked at were fun and really made us think. I loved being with them. ”
Luke, Y5
“ It was really fun and cool. Thank you for helping us to understand more about gravity and air resistance ”
Connor, Y5
“ Puppets make it much more fun than our usual lessons. I really enjoy working with Jasmin - she is really cool. I might even get myself a puppet now! ”
Maddy, Y5
“ I learnt how to use puppets correctly and I wish to carry on using them... ”
Elland, Y5
“ I learnt to think before writing anything down and it is a pleasure working with puppets. I feel more comfortable talking to the puppets and less nervous about sharing my ideas. ”
Sam, Y5
“ With the puppets it is great to learn more but in a fun way. It is better when you could use one yourself too. I’ve learnt a lot. ”
Paul, Y5
“ I enjoy working with Benny. I liked working with Benny because he helps me to think more. I like sharing my ideas with the puppets because they don’t tell us whether we are right or wrong but they do help us. ”
Charlotte, Y5
“ I really enjoyed it when we talked with the puppets about gravity and bungee jumping. It was really fun. The puppet that I work with is called Ned. He is great. If he was alive in real life I would be his friend and I also like his hair. ”
Jack, Y5
“ Dear Puppets, You made me understand science even more. It has been a pleasure working with you and I hope that you might come back. If not I will still have memories. You have been funny and wonderful. Thank you ever so much. It was the best science I’ve had in ages. ”
Gemma, Y5
“ Dear Puppets, I really had fun in science when you came to our school. The puppets helped me learn more about stuff. It has been a pleasure working with the puppets. ”
Ashley, Y5
“ I really enjoyed you coming to our school and helping us to do our science. I really appreciated it. I especially liked Jasmin because she is funny. ”
Jasmine, Y5
“ Thank you for coming to our science lessons. I really enjoyed talking to them. I really liked working and solving problems with them. ”
Megan, Y5
Quotes from some of the teachers:
" The children are thinking more since we have been using puppets ”
" As a teacher I’m sillier and more enthusiastic when I use puppets ”
" The puppets free up the children to be more imaginative ”
" One child with SEN doesn’t normally talk, but she would talk to the puppet and now talks in science without the puppet ”
" The children take their time and take more care over explaining to the puppets than they do normally ”
" I can’t teach science without puppets now! ”
The research team
Manchester team:
Brigid Downing, Brenda Keogh and Stuart Naylor
London team:
Jane Maloney and Shirley Simon
Pass It On - Tell A Friend
Do you know someone who would benefit from visiting our site? You can invite them to visit this page here...
Latest News
PUPPETS Project gets educational praise in Singapore.
After our visit to Singapore earlier this year, we are delighted with this article published on Singapore's Minisrty of Education website. The artcile features...
click here to read more