Using Science Videos to Learn to Make Observations, Essay Example

Overview of the Lesson/Module:

Students will be asked to watch a video showing how a cloud is made in a bottle. The video can be accessed at the following link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtMmgcZoTSA. While watching the video, students will be asked to carefully take notes about what is happening. They will be asked to pay note to why the experiment is being done, why it is being done, and what they predict will happen before the results are seen. Students will then be given information about the scientific method and asked to determine how what they observed in the video fits in with this methodology. Students will also be asked to determine how this stepwise method helps people answer new questions, and they will be asked to apply these steps to scientific or non-scientific problems of their own to help them become resolved.

Specifically, the aim of this lesson is to engage students in critical thinking about videos to help them understand what they are looking for when they are used in class in addition to how and what they should do when watching them in their other coursework. Doing so will allow the students to build the reflective skills that they need to watch these videos at home for homework, and the teachers can be more sure that they will gain the skills expected when going through this process.

Objectives of the Lesson/Module:

To use the scientific method to reflect on a video and apply this reflection to an independent thought question by discussing and writing about this application. A final proofread version of the report will be e-mailed to the teacher in the form of a Microsoft word document.

Primary Resources:

The primary resource used will be the video link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MtMmgcZoTSA

Students will also be required to have access to email’s, pens, and paper.

Additional Supplemental Resources:

Students that speak a native language other than English will be provided with dictionaries or online translators to help them translate their vocabulary to the English language. Students may also refer to library books about science, history, or language to generate their scientific or non-scientific question for the assignment.

Activities, Timeline/Due dates:

Day 1: Watch the video in class. Complete the written reflection of the video, and discuss to reveal important aspects of the scientific method.

Day 2: Reveal the complete scientific method and discuss why this strategy might be useful. Allow students to research their own scientific or non-scientific question using the Internet or books available. By the end of the day, the question should fully be developed.

Day 3: Begin writing about the relationship between their question and how the answer can be found using the scientific method. Once the essay is completed, it will be proofread and submitted through e-mail. If the assignment is not completed in class, it will be submitted for homework by the following day.

Assessment / Grading

Student performance will be assessed based on the essay product that they will provide. Points will be given for an ability to connect the solution of the question to the scientific method, ability to effectively research a question, and ability to make connections between the question and tools that they could use to solve it. These four points will be made into a rubric on the scale of 0 to 4. Students who surpass these goals will receive a 4 for each point, while those that do not meet them at all will receive a score of 0.