How do children approach scientific research, if provided with the means to produce a digital film? This is the central question of a cooperation project carried out by the University of Bremen, the ZMT and the International School of Bremen.
Divided into four teams, students from the 6th grade of the International School are expected to acquire an understanding of scientific work through film production. The project is running for several months in the frame of their biology classes. The subject of the films is a research project about the impacts of ocean acidification on coral reefs, which recently started at ZMT.
What is their individual approach to research, if children are allowed to experiment with the film medium and its specific cinematic narrative? This is the central question of the cooperation project. The project is part of a PhD thesis performed at the Media Department of Bremen University, and was initiated by PhD candidate Sunthar Rajan. At the media lab, the students are introduced by him into storyboard development and trained in filming and editing. The practical implementation is left to the creativity of the children.
Regarding the scientific contents of the films, the students are supported at the ZMT by marine biologist Friedrich Meyer. In his research project he investigates how corals and other calcareous marine organisms react to ocean acidification and high nutrient concentration. With this example, the students are supposed also to get an understanding of the interdependence of human activities and ecosystem changes.
Digital technologies have technically simplified film production so that it became a challenge for education. To produce their film about marine research, the students have to research the subject, choose the information they want to communicate, plan the visual implementation and design a coherent story line. Devices that help to visually organize a line of argument provide an important contribution to science education.
More informations:
University of Bremen
Fachbereich 12 - Erziehungswissenschaften
Sunthar Rajan (PhD candidate)
0421 - 218 61425
suntharbremen
yahoo.com
Prof. Dr. Karsten D. Wolf (supervisor)
0421 / 218 69140
wolfuni-bremen.de
Leibniz Center for Tropical Marine Ecology
Friedrich Meyer (Marine biologist, PhD candidate)
0421 - 23800 - 118
friedrich.meyerzmt-bremen.de
International School of Bremen
Frankie Tun (Science teacher)
01577 – 3192015
ftunisbremen.de
