Prior knowledge video |
Transcript |
Researcher's commentary |
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My topic is how hair grows and I don't really know much about it except that it's from your skull and there's a tiny stem inside your skull and it grows from there.
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This student has already started to develop some key questions. The follow list are slide headings from her storyboard:
- What does the stem come from?
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How does it form?
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Different types of hair
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Why is hair curly or straight?
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Completed explanatory animation |
Transcript |
Researcher's commentary |
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“Is hair dead or alive?” A lot of people ask that but the truth is…hair is dead and that's why it doesn't hurt when you cut it. But the reason it does hurt when you pull it is because you’re also pulling the stem and that’s where the hair grows from.
There are many different components that make up the hair.
- the skin around the hair which is also known as the scalp
- the hair string
- the sebaceous glands
- the dermal papillae and
- the hair shaft.
So the hair grows on and on so slowly that you don’t even notice it.
It grows and falls out at the same time but because it grows so fast, people can choose to have long hair.
Now the reason that people have different coloured hair and different types of hair like curly, straight or wavy is because of a little something called…genes.
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This student was wise to note that genes is the correct answer to characteristics such as colour and texture without feeling obliged to try and explain genetics as that is obviously a different topic. Her animation might have been more informative though if she answered two of her original questions which were:
- What does the stem come from?
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How does it form?
Using a disolve transition between some of her hair growth frames helped smooth them out.
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Final director's commentary |
Transcript |
Researcher's commentary |
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The reason I chose this topic is because I’m interested in how hair grows and I’ve always seen these ads about hair animations and they look sort of fun and interesting and I’ve always sort of wondered that.
Brendan asked me questions to keep me learning and I added that in my animation.
I liked the way how the labels worked. I think it makes more sense when you have labels and just to show where they are and where it is. That’s why I put it there.
The lines, when they fall out I thought was a good animation too.
Genes was my answer to different colours and curly, straight and wavy but I didn’t really get into any of the details because that’s not my topic.
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Although this student was very diligent and organised throughout the project, I feel that her topic was possibly the least suitable for an animation in that the majority of information was not unlike a poster with labels.
As noted in her commentary, people see animated hair commercials on TV quite frequently so maybe it could have benefited from showing how different variables effect the health, condition and growth rates of hair.
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Initial conceptual consolidation rubric |
Final conceptual consolidation rubric |
Researcher's commentary |
| Uses correct terminology |
With assistance |
Simplified terminology |
Some correct terminology |
Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent |
With assistance |
Basic understanding |
Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables |
Not apparent |
With assistance |
Basic understanding |
Deep understanding |
| Self assessment. Does the student think that they understand their topic? |
No |
Not really |
Basic understanding |
Yes |
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| Uses correct terminology |
With assistance |
Simplified terminology |
Some correct terminology |
Actual terminology |
Identifies relevant variables |
Not apparent |
With assistance |
Basic understanding |
Deep understanding |
| Identifies relationships between variables |
Not apparent |
With assistance |
Basic understanding |
Deep understanding |
| Self assessment scale (1-10). Does the student think that they understand their topic? |
1 |
2 |
3 |
4 |
5 |
6 |
7 |
8 |
9 |
10 |
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The reason why I didn't mark this student higher for identifying relevant variables and the relationships therein is that she didn't discuss any factors which influence hair growth or health. The items labelled in this animation were probably not variables in the true sense. This might be why the system qualities of the topic were not fully realised.
There was no "ah ha moment" throughout this project but this was due to the topic itself which although complex, has no unique propositions to be understood or grasped.
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This girl was the most independent student. The only assistance I really gave her related to animation techniques rather than specific content for her topic. She noted in her director's commentary that I asked her questions to keep her learning but these were questions for which I didn't have any special insight so she was happy to do the research herself.