I am reviewing his video as a student. Paul Anderson, the teacher in the video, gives a solid basis for learning exponential growth. He begins the lesson with the growth rate equation and how to calculate, one by one, subsequent generation's population sizes. He introduces the topic well and uses a good visual to illustrate births and deaths in a hypothetical bunny population.
The second part teaches how to utilize excel to calculate and graph exponential growth. Although knowing how to work with technology is an important skill, as a student I find learning how to do the calculations myself first more helpful. In the third part, Anderson teaches how to algebraically solve for population size after any specific amount of time.
This video would be most helpful if used as supplementary material for students to watch individually. It does not go in depth, but it is helpful in gaining a basic understanding of what exponential growth looks like.
Summary: This video did a good job explaining the quantitative aspect of exponential growth equation, but could have done a better job putting it into relevant ecological context.
Pros: He showed students what happens when you change some variables, which gives students a good idea how different parts of the equation work. Demonstrated how to use Excel to write equations and graph things, which is a useful tool for students to learn.
Cons: Content could have been more thorough. At the end he touched on only one limitation/assumption of the model. This might leave students with the expectation that populations behave this way. When he did discuss the limitation (namely, carrying capacity), he did not explain why this model is useful despite this. This context could be important for students to understand why learning these equations are important.
Monika Norea Herbst @ on
3.0 out of 5 stars
I am reviewing his video as a student. Paul Anderson, the teacher in the video, gives a solid basis for learning exponential growth. He begins the lesson with the growth rate equation and how to calculate, one by one, subsequent generation's population sizes. He introduces the topic well and uses a good visual to illustrate births and deaths in a hypothetical bunny population.
The second part teaches how to utilize excel to calculate and graph exponential growth. Although knowing how to work with technology is an important skill, as a student I find learning how to do the calculations myself first more helpful. In the third part, Anderson teaches how to algebraically solve for population size after any specific amount of time.
This video would be most helpful if used as supplementary material for students to watch individually. It does not go in depth, but it is helpful in gaining a basic understanding of what exponential growth looks like.
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Lisa Limeri @ on
3.0 out of 5 stars
Summary: This video did a good job explaining the quantitative aspect of exponential growth equation, but could have done a better job putting it into relevant ecological context.
Pros: He showed students what happens when you change some variables, which gives students a good idea how different parts of the equation work. Demonstrated how to use Excel to write equations and graph things, which is a useful tool for students to learn.
Cons: Content could have been more thorough. At the end he touched on only one limitation/assumption of the model. This might leave students with the expectation that populations behave this way. When he did discuss the limitation (namely, carrying capacity), he did not explain why this model is useful despite this. This context could be important for students to understand why learning these equations are important.
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