So, this video definitely seems different than the rest in regards to it’s intended purpose. So far the others seem to be geared toward convincing the viewer of the importance of inquiry, while this one appeared to be more instructional based. While they did show a great deal of student interaction with the classifying process, I felt it’s purpose was geared more toward conveying the way students grapple with the concept rather than student and teacher ignorance in regard to teaching and learning (which I feel is the main purpose of the videos pertaining to the Private Universe Project which involve student/teacher participation). While the video definitely touched upon the fact that our understandings of the classification process have evolved over the years, the intent behind the information being conveyed is more of a gentle prod to sincerely understand life sciences to a greater degree, rather than a backhanded educational case study.
The first thing that struck me about this video was that the female narrator kept referring to the groups of living things as “Animal, vegetable, or other.” Why wasn’t she saying “animal, plant, or other”? Am I wrong in my own understanding that vegetables are plants, but not all plants are vegetables? I mean, I get the fact that the video was starting with an “old-school” approach to biological classification in the classroom and eventually made it’s way to how our understand has evolved... but I’m still puzzled as to why she kept saying that.
Anyway. I thought it was interesting that children tend to leave vegetables, weeds, and seeds out of their own definition of plant. Thinking about why this is- however- makes a lot of sense; most kids distinguish plants as things that grow in the ground and have leaves. I’m sure the Private Universe videos would go into greater depth about this, probing students unaware of the implications of their answers and them as weapons against their very own teachers. But, cattiness aside, the reality is that we need to work with kid’s innate fascination with the living world to help mold their understanding of how the living things around us are grouped in relation to their overarching characteristics. Only then will they truly understand the difference between species existing simultaneously within the world around us.
On a last QUICK note- I loved how in depth-this video went with the necessity to regard the microscopic world as an imperative driving life force on the same level we consider plants and animals within all of Earth’s ecosystems. I also enjoyed the explanation of the distinction between plant and fungi.
The first thing that struck me about this video was that the female narrator kept referring to the groups of living things as “Animal, vegetable, or other.” Why wasn’t she saying “animal, plant, or other”? Am I wrong in my own understanding that vegetables are plants, but not all plants are vegetables? I mean, I get the fact that the video was starting with an “old-school” approach to biological classification in the classroom and eventually made it’s way to how our understand has evolved... but I’m still puzzled as to why she kept saying that.
Anyway. I thought it was interesting that children tend to leave vegetables, weeds, and seeds out of their own definition of plant. Thinking about why this is- however- makes a lot of sense; most kids distinguish plants as things that grow in the ground and have leaves. I’m sure the Private Universe videos would go into greater depth about this, probing students unaware of the implications of their answers and them as weapons against their very own teachers. But, cattiness aside, the reality is that we need to work with kid’s innate fascination with the living world to help mold their understanding of how the living things around us are grouped in relation to their overarching characteristics. Only then will they truly understand the difference between species existing simultaneously within the world around us.
On a last QUICK note- I loved how in depth-this video went with the necessity to regard the microscopic world as an imperative driving life force on the same level we consider plants and animals within all of Earth’s ecosystems. I also enjoyed the explanation of the distinction between plant and fungi.
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