Let’s try to find out how observation differs from experiment. Currently, both options for understanding nature are used as part of design and research activities at school.
How is observation different from experiment? The main differences are that the experiment is difficult to imagine without a series of experiments. For the first time, he received a philosophical understanding in the works of F. Bacon. The development of experimental work was accompanied by the struggle of empiricism and rationalism.
Experiment
This is a method of cognition due to which the phenomena of reality are analyzed in controlled and controlled conditions. Arguing on how the observation differs from the experiment, we note the active operation of the studied object during the experiment. It is carried out on the basis of a theory that is determined by the formulation of problems, the interpretation of the results. Often the main task of an experiment is to test the hypothesis and predictions of the theory, which are of crucial importance (decisive experiment).
Types of Experiments
Arguing about how observation differs from experiment, we note the variety of types of studies. In modern science, various types of experiments are used. In particular, a qualitative experiment is being conducted in biology. Its purpose is to establish the presence (absence) of a phenomenon assumed by the theory. Such tasks are currently offered to students as part of the teaching of biology under the GEF.
A measuring experiment allows you to establish the quantitative characteristics of the studied object. A thought experiment allows you to simulate various situations characteristic of wildlife.
Technical means
Trying to understand how the experimental method differs from the observation method, we note that a full-fledged study cannot be imagined without the use of various technical means, tools, instruments, experimental facilities.
Thanks to a microscope, television, computer, x-ray machines, biologists conduct numerous experiments, analyze the results obtained, use them to save living things. The first patterns occurring in nature were established through observations made by people with the naked eye. At present, it is difficult to imagine a biologist without a microscope.
The technique of a modern scientific experiment consists of the most complex experimental facilities. In particular, in order to understand biological processes at the molecular level, the scientist is equipped with the latest microscope.
Teaching method
Arguing on how the observation differs from the experiment in biology, we note that after the introduction of new educational standards in the school course, the methodology of the teacher's work has changed significantly. Developing and educating education is built on the basis of the experimental activities of schoolchildren. Such an approach contributes to the formation of strong abilities and skills among schoolchildren, allows you to cultivate a caring attitude to wildlife.
The teacher acts as the transmitting side, and the student acts as the perceiving side. The teacher controls the logic, thinking and the course of observations, clarifies incomprehensible moments. Schoolchildren, comprehending the facts, draw conclusions, acquire new knowledge, learn to set up their own experiments, prepare micropreparations. If observation is more often used in primary school, then in secondary and high school, priority is given to experimental activity. This fully corresponds to the personality-oriented approach to teaching, which is currently being implemented in Russian schools.