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ENHANCING STUDENT LEARNING THROUGH FILM

Abigail Cabrelli

Department of Biological Sciences

Faculty of Science

PROJECT OUTCOMES AND RATIONALE

Documentary films are an exceptionally powerful media for communicating science (Olson

2009). Through the use of moving visual images, films are considerably more effective at

illustrating the dynamics of the real world than static diagrams and pictures. By communicating

scientific ideas in a creative and fun way, films are also able to engage audiences from non-

scientific backgrounds. For these reasons, films have immense potential to improve students’

understanding of nature, reach and inspire broad audiences, and thereby provide an invaluable

adjunct to other undergraduate teaching aids.

The goal of this project is to make a short (20-30 minute) documentary film that introduces two

ecological concepts undergraduate students traditionally find difficult to grasp (adaptation and

niche). To do this, the film will follow a group of researchers from Macquarie University as they

conduct reptile surveys across two different landscapes of Australia’s arid zone. The specific

objectives of the film are to:

1. Discuss the challenges arid environments pose on the animals and plants that live there, and

the adaptations that organisms possess in order to survive in these hot, dry environments.

2. Describe how differences among habitats influence the structure and composition of reptile

communities, and introduce the concept of the ecological niche.

3. Introduce students to the process of conducting scientific fieldwork, illustrate some of the

techniques for conducting animal surveys and emphasise the importance of taking care when

handling animals.

4. Showcase some of the research that is currently underway by researchers within the

Department of Biological Sciences.

The intended audience is extremely broad. First, the film will be made available to all teaching

staff within the Department for use during their lectures or practical sessions. It will be

particularly useful for the first year unit BIOL114 Evolution and Biodiversity which introduces

students to the fundamental ecological concepts discussed in the film. Because adaptation and

niche are key learning areas within the high school curriculum, the film will also be sent to a

number of secondary schools throughout Australia. It is hoped that the film will inspire high

school students to consider undertaking biology-related courses at university, and at Macquarie

University in particular.

This project thus addresses objective 2 of the Academic Operational Plan, to provide an

inspiring education experience, through its focus on enhancing student learning. It also

addresses objective 3, to build a diverse and inclusive research culture, through its outreach

component.

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APPROACH

Cast

The film will feature a PhD student, who will act as the presenter and provide the narrative

voiceover, and two researchers from the Department of Biological Sciences. Throughout the

film, the presenter will assume the role of a student with little background in biology and ‘learn’

alongside the audience as he/she participates directly in the research and conducts interviews

with the researchers. By using language that is more familiar to undergraduate students, and

asking questions throughout the film, the presenter will effectively translate between the

academic researchers and the audience. This narrative strategy fits within a peer-assisted

learning framework, which has been shown to be extremely effective at enhancing student

learning and improving academic performance (Topping 1996; Dixon and Gudan 2000).

Location

The film will be shot over a 10-14 day period in spring 2012. The proposed location of the film

is Sturt National Park, a large park situated in the far western corner of New South Wales. The

park’s varied vegetation, comprising mulga bushland and arid shrubland, supports a diverse

array of reptiles, many of which do not occur elsewhere in the world. Its topography is also

startlingly varied, ranging from red sand dunes to stony plains, and thus provides an ideal

opportunity to compare reptile communities across different landscapes.

Storyline

Compelling stories greatly increase viewer enjoyment and are considered vital components of

successful documentary films (Olson 2009). Accordingly, our film will tell the story of a

fieldtrip to Australia’s arid zone. It will begin with a discussion of the general landscape and

climate of the arid zone, and the challenges that it presents to the organisms that live there. The

majority of the film will focus on the animal surveys, describing the different species that are

found in contrasting habitats, and encouraging the audience to think about why these differences

exist. The researchers will conduct the surveys using traps and opportunistic sightings, and will

also seek the help of indigenous land owners to track animals. When animals are captured or

sighted, the researchers will highlight some of the adaptations they possess that allow them to

thrive in hot, dry environments. We will also film the researchers setting up traps to introduce

the audience to some of the techniques used for capturing animals. Although the film focuses on

reptiles to reflect the primary research interests and expertise of the project participants, footage

of the vegetation and any other animals found will also be included.

We anticipate a post-production period of 2-3 months, which will allow the film to be completed

in time for the beginning of the academic year in 2013.

VALUE / NEED FOR THIS PROJECT

In the Department of Biological Sciences, films are frequently shown to undergraduate students

in order to improve understanding of the course material, and end-of-semester feedback suggests

that students consider these films to be extremely valuable. While the majority of wildlife

documentaries are orientated towards animal behaviour, few focus on fundamental ecological

principles. Our film will help fill this gap, which is important as a thorough understanding of

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these basic concepts is critical if students are to be successful in subsequent biological units.

This film will therefore be particularly useful for first-year units in which these concepts are

introduced.

Some first-year units are also planet units, and therefore comprise a considerable proportion of

students from non-scientific backgrounds. This film will help engage these students by

communicating science in a creative way. The film also features students and staff within the

Department, and this ‘personal’ approach will make the film more compelling and enjoyable to

watch. By highlighting some of the research currently underway within the Department, we also

hope to inspire students to consider enrolling in further biological units and undertaking research

as part of their studies.

A further valuable aspect of this project is its considerable outreach component. The film will be

sent to a number of secondary schools throughout Australia, accompanied by a Teacher’s Pack

with suggested classroom activities. Providing a lesson plan and teaching materials that

complement the film should make it more useful for teachers. This outreach program will

provide invaluable advertising for Macquarie University which we hope in turn will encourage

future enrolments.

The film’s premiere will be held early next year in the Department of Biological Sciences to

which all staff will be invited to attend. This event will provide us with an opportunity to

promote film-making to other scientists as a relatively cheap, fun and effective tool for

communicating science. We will also consider entering the film into wildlife film festivals, and

showing the film at scientific conferences and meetings of interested community groups, which

will raise the profile of Macquarie University as a leader in scientific research and science

communication. The film will also be broadcast on You-Tube, making it accessible by the

general public.

PROJECT BUDGET AND MANAGEMENT

We seek a grant of $9970 to fund this project which covers all equipment and travel costs.

Item Amount Project phase

Canon 7D camera (including warranty, battery and

charger, case, tripod, memory cards) $2500 July – Dec 2012

Lenses (including a standard zoom and a wide angle lens) $1500 July – Dec 2012

Audio equipment (including external microphone and

recording device) $800 July – Dec 2012

Vegas Pro film editing software $600 July – Dec 2012

Macquarie University vehicle hire (3500km at 70c/km) $2450 July – Dec 2012

Petrol $500 July – Dec 2012

Camping accommodation ($5/person/night) $280 July – Dec 2012

Food ($15/person/day) $840 July – Dec 2012

Outreach (including blank DVDs, lesson plans,

presentation packs, postage; 100 schools at $5/school) $500 Jan – July 2013

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Budget justification

The Canon 7D is a mid-range digital SLR camera with exceptional video recording capabilities.

It has been used successfully on numerous short films and was highly recommended by the

Macquarie University communications team. To obtain close-up images of animals, and wide-

angled images of the landscape, we will need to supplement the basic camera body with

standard zoom and wide angle lenses. Supplementary audio equipment is necessary for

conducting interviews on location. We also require Vegas Pro, a popular and easy to use

software package for editing films. All equipment will be donated to the Department of

Biological Sciences at the completion of this project. Travel costs have been estimated from

previous fieldtrips and are based on a 14-day fieldtrip with four people.

Project management

The project will be managed by Abigail Cabrelli, Adam Stow and Paul Duckett of the

Department of Biological Sciences, who all conduct research on reptiles and have extensive

experience performing fieldwork in the arid zone of Australia. Abigail is also currently enrolled

in a film-making course at Screen Australia. Planning the project will be done in consultation

with Associate Professor Marie Herberstein, the convener of BIOL114 Evolution and

Biodiversity, Dr Deirdre Cobbin at UWS, who directed and produced an award-winning science

documentary on birds, Mr Anthony Stimson, a reptile enthusiast who runs his own business

presenting animal shows to school children, the communications team at Macquarie University

and a number of high school biology teachers.

EVALUATION

Unit conveners that use the film will seek undergraduate student evaluation via the Teacher

Evaluation for Development Service (TEDS) feedback at the end of the semester. This will

comprise a formal questionnaire that elicits students’ opinions about the learning experience

during the course of the unit. All schools that receive the film will be encouraged to contact the

project leaders directly via email to offer feedback.

REFERENCES

Dixon, S., and Gudan, S. (2000) The impact of peer assisted learning on student performance

and retention. Michigan Community College Journal, 6, 95-99

Olson, R. (2009) Don’t be such a scientist. Island Press, Washington DC, USA

Topping, K. (1996) The effectiveness of peer tutoring in further and higher education: a

typology and review of the literature. Higher education, 32, 321-345