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Making science documentaries for rural schools

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Making science documentaries for rural schools

Making science documentaries for rural schools

Making science documentaries for rural schools

Making science documentaries for rural schools

Making science documentaries for rural schools

Paul V Mohan
Paul V Mohan
Paul V Mohan
Paul V Mohan
1 Campaign |
Chennai, India
$286 USD 12 backers
3% of $7,500 Flexible Goal Flexible Goal

I’m Paul V Mohan, a documentary film maker, storyteller and a graduate in Engineering. When I was a child, I was crazy about two things. One comic books, and the other understanding how things work. That’s why Science became my favourite subject in school, especially Physics. The quest led me to pursue a graduation in engineering ( I thought studying engineering meant studying how things work. Only that I never expected it’s one hectic pack of theories, heavy mathematics and much more. Bah!) Even at this age, how most of the things work is an unrequited quest for me.  That’s why I chose to become an industrial documentary maker. My never-ending passion for comics and graphic novels helped me a lot in learning and developing the art of visual storytelling and filmmaking.  This is an interesting job that satisfies my interest to understand different industries, technologies, development, and fuels my passion for filmmaking too. When my kids started their schooling, my wife Jeena and I noticed that most children in the schools in our country, dread Science and Mathematics. Jeena is a psychologist turned educationalist, pursuing her research in the pedagogy of Science. As part of her research, she observed that the situation of science education in rural areas is pitiful. Even the brilliant students could not understand or delve deep into the subject, mostly because of inappropriate understanding of the concepts. Apart from the definitions, equations and problems, the students ought to understand the significance. For example, without having a clear distinction of watt and volt, what is the point of studying the formulas and how to solve problems in that chapter. It might help them scoring high grades in exams, but it won’t lead them to contribute anything to the society or that field. Our search for a holistic answer brought us to a brilliant tool to solve this issue - Video Schooling. It is one of the best ways to impart Science and Mathematics to school children by building curiosity and generating a great deal of interest. It is a creative means to show them what’s what in a stimulating manner. Relatively tougher subjects like Science and Mathematics could be taught quickly and efficiently using professionally created video documentaries. So, we decided to work together to make science documentaries and make them available to the schools free of cost. Even though we are focusing upon rural and peri-urban areas, the videos will be available to all the students across the globe; as free documentaries through our websites, social media and video streaming sites. Please help us to make it possible, with your support and contributions.

 

It’s a reality

 

When you talk to your children or work with them to repair a domestic water pipe or build a chicken coop, you might sense that children are geniuses. They exhibit an astonishing ability to grasp, think innovatively, answer questions brilliantly and display a remarkable sense of team spirit. When they advance in school years, it is often noticed that they become confused, unable to follow Science and Mathematics, seem fearful and less confident. It is a stark reality in our society. Why does this happen? Our search for a holistic answer brought us a brilliant tool to solve this issue - Video Schooling. It is one of the best ways to impart Science and Mathematics to school children. It is a creative means to show them what’s what in a stimulating manner. Relatively tougher subjects like Science and Mathematics could be taught quickly and efficiently using professionally created video documentaries.  Thus, to teach science in a creative way, we decided to make documentaries for children mainly in rural and peri-urban areas.

Why is Science Education important?

1.Science education helps to attain scientific thinking.

2. Improves decision making and problem-solving ability.

3. Contributes to health and strengthen the economy of a country

4. Produces responsible citizens.

5. Helps to eradicate superstitious beliefs from society. 

6. Develops critical thinking ability.

 

Science education encourages learners to make well-informed and better decisions. It’s no wonder then, that science education leads to a socio-political restructuring of a society and a country.

 

Why Videos to teach science?

The advantages of teaching with videos have already been proven through various researches and studies, over the decades. Shepard and Cooper (1982) and Mayer and Gallini (1990) made the connection between visual clues, the memory process, and the recall of new knowledge.

The teachers can use the videos to create a flipped classroom model where students can understand lecture content at their pace and explore content more deeply during class time. The flipped classroom describes a reversal of traditional teaching where students gain first exposure to new materials outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then class time is used to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge through strategies such as problem-solving, discussion or debates. (Vanderbilt University, Centre for teaching)

 In some cases, video can be as good as an instructor in communicating facts or demonstrating procedures to assist in mastery of learning where a student can view complex clinical or mechanical procedures as many times as they need to. Furthermore, the interactive features of modern media can be used to promote ‘active viewing’ approaches with students (Galbraith, 2004).

 

Willmot et al (2012) showed that digital video reporting can inspire and engage students when incorporated into student-centered learning activities through:

 

 

1.Increased student motivation

2.Enhanced learning experience

3.Higher marks 

4.Development potential for deeper learning of the subject

5.Development of learner autonomy

 

How does it work?

 

We make video documentaries based on the academic program in various Science subjects like Physics, Chemistry, Biology and Mathematics. They would be played to students as a half an hour video before each academic portion starts. By watching the documentaries, students would get the clear concept of the topic, which would aid in depth understanding of the topics. Thus, the classrooms’ dynamics will transform remarkably in to a more interactive place, igniting creative discussions, developing problem-solving attitude and team spirit. This flipped classroom method would lead to better understanding of the subject, initiate innovative thinking and trigger children to further explore the topic.

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