For the last eight years that I have been teaching, one of the methods that I employ to assess understanding of certain concepts or whole course itself whether it is a hardcore management course or science course is film viewing. The topic of mission and vision can be exemplified by Jerry Mcguirre. Management Control is best shown in Godfather. Human Resources Management can be enjoyed in Devil Wears Prada or Ants. Ecology with its subtopics can be best viewed in the movie released by Walt Disney in 1994 --- The Lion King. Aside being one of the great films, it produced an award winning song entitled Circle of Life composed by Elton John with lyrics by Tim Rice.
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| Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Lion_King |
Film viewing is an interesting way of presenting the Ecology Course to the class (particularly at the end of the semester or course) whether intended for high school, undergraduate and even graduate students.
Synopsis (Source: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0110357/synopsis):
The Lion King takes place in the Pride Lands, where a lion rules over the other animals as king. Rafiki (Robert Guillaume), a mandrill, anoints Simba, the newborn cub of King Mufasa (James Earl Jones) and Queen Sarabi (Madge Sinclair), and presents him to a gathering of animals at Pride Rock.
Mufasa takes Simba (Johnathan Taylor Thomas) around the Pride Lands, teaching him about the "Circle of Life", the delicate balance affecting all living things. Simba's uncle Scar (Jeremy Irons), who desires the throne for himself, tells him about the elephant graveyard, a place where Mufasa has warned Simba not to go. Simba asks his mother if he can go to the water-hole with his best friend, Nala (Niketa Calame). Their parents agree, but only if Mufasa's majordomo, the hornbill Zazu (Rowan Atkinson), goes with them. Simba and Nala elude Zazu's supervision and go to the graveyard instead. There, the cubs are met by Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, spotted hyenas who try to kill them, but they are rescued by Mufasa, who was summoned by Zazu.
Meanwhile, Scar gains the loyalty of the hyenas by claiming that if he becomes king, they'll "never go hungry again." Sometime later, Scar lures Simba into a gorge while the hyenas create a wildebeest stampede. Alerted by Scar, Mufasa races to rescue Simba from the stampede. He saves his son but is left clinging to the edge of a cliff, which results in Scar flinging him into the stampede below, where he is buried into the some of the wildebeests' horns, hits the ground with extreme force, and finally trampled to death by the wildebeest. Simba is convinced by Scar that he himself was responsible for his father's death and goes into exile. Scar once again sends Shenzi, Banzai and Ed to kill Simba, but he escapes. Scar informs the pride that both Mufasa and Simba were killed in the stampede, and that he is assuming the throne as the next in line.
Simba is found unconscious by Timon and Pumbaa (Nathan Lane and Ernie Sabella), a meerkat-warthog duo who adopt and raise the cub. When Simba has grown into an adult (Matthew Broderick) he is discovered by Nala (Moira Kelly). Simba shows Nala around his home and the two begin to fall in love. Nala then tells him that Scar has turned the Pride Lands into a barren wasteland; she asks Simba to return and take his place as king but Simba refuses. Rafiki arrives and persuades Simba to return to the Pride Lands, aided by Mufasa's presence in the stars.
Once back at Pride Rock, Simba (with Timon, Pumbaa and Nala) is horrified to see the condition of the Pride Lands. After seeing Scar strike his mother, Simba announces his return. In response, Scar tells the pride that Simba was responsible for Mufasa's death and corners Simba at the edge of Pride Rock. As Simba dangles over the edge of Pride Rock, Scar whispers to Simba that he killed Mufasa. Enraged, Simba leaps up and pins Scar to the ground, forcing him to admit the truth to the pride. A raging battle then ensues between the hyenas and the lionesses which results in Simba cornering Scar. Begging for mercy, Scar blames the hyenas for Mufasa's death, but Simba orders Scar to go into exile. Scar pretends to leave but turns to attack Simba, resulting in a final duel. Simba triumphs over his uncle by flipping him over a low cliff. Scar survives the fall but finds himself surrounded by the now-resentful hyenas, who attack and devour him. The film concludes with the Pride Lands turning green with life again and Rafiki presenting Simba and Nala's newborn cub.
Executing the Film Viewig
1. View the film during class hours to avoid distractions and to enable the faculty in charge to answer some questions that may raise by students.
2. Before playing the video, provide copies of questionnaire and explain the objective of the activity, working guideline as well as rubric for teachers assessment.
3. Remind the student to take note of the events/situations presented in the film which are relevant to the study of ecology.
Note; the activity may take around two hours.
Objectives of the Activity
1. Define ecological niche
2. Distinguish between ecological niche and habitat
3. Discuss an organism’s niche and its relationship with other organisms
4. Explain ecological succession and other relevant ecological concepts in the film
5. Construct an ecological reflection paper based on the film
Pre-Activity Exercise
Request the students to review basic ecological concepts such as niche, habitat, ecosystem, niche of population in a grassland, biome, ecological interactions among population, ecological balance among others.
Post-Viewing Activity
The ecological reflection paper should include a brief description of the event, a brief explanation of the concepts from ecology that relates to the said event or situation and finally an application of the material to personal experience.
Assessment
Each criterion will be rated to the following scale: 3 --- meets requirements, 2 --- lacks requirements and 1 --- needs improvement.
Criteria | Description | Score |
Scope | Includes sufficient number of concepts from the film to allow proper evaluation | |
Value of Observation | Includes enough information from real life experience/applications to make the analysis meaningful | |
Quality of Analyis | Explains rather than describes the ecological phenomenon Applies and interprets film material instead of merely repeating it | |
Conceptual Understanding | Demonstrates that the student understand the concept presented in the film | |
Critical Thinking | Demonstrates that the student critically analyze the situation and use the concepts presented in the film as point of reference | |
Learning | Demonstrates that the student have learned more about the situation through the activity | |
Writing | Flows well, readable, proper wors, grammar and mechanics | |
General considerations | Meets the objectives of the activity |
Adapted from: people.westminstercollege.edu/faculty/gday/mgmt433/Reaction%20Paper%20Guidelines.htm
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