Students increased their cooperation skills and content comprehension by creating and listening to physics music video projects.
Every year, Gregory Fung, a Carlmont physics teacher, requires his students to make music videos about any physics topic. By creating music and lyrics from scratch and admiring the works created by peers, students were able to experience the benefits of incorporating music-based projects into their learning.
“The group project experience builds interest in the subject because the videos are meant to be instructive. So, when you’re teaching a class through a video that solidifies information, it shows that you have a very well understanding of the topic,” Fung said.
Unlike general projects, this assignment allowed students to utilize their creativity to convey information and engage their audience. Along with familiarizing themselves with content learned in class, students also experimented with different technology and music platforms to craft their unique final products.
For instance, Claire Lee, a senior, enjoyed the process of being able to create original music and develop editing skills. Creating music, recording, and editing were all part of the exciting experience, and she was highly satisfied with the finished video.
“Our lyrics were original and our backing track was AI-generated. It was really fun to match the lyrics that we created with generated music,” Lee said.
Additionally, this experience exposed Lee to areas of production that she had never experienced in the past. This helped increase the enjoyment and engagement of the project, creating a positive experience.
“I loved editing because it was my first time doing this, and I had never put together a project like this in the past. I did the animation and the beginning and end, and I put together the songs and scenes we recorded,” Lee said.
Another highlight of the project was being able to work together with friends, especially since students were able to choose their own groups.
Katelyn Yee, a sophomore, enjoyed spending time with her friends and experiencing the learning process as a group.
“The filming aspect was the most fun part because we had fun playing around with the context and situation. It was also a good excuse to hang out with my friends over the weekend,” Yee said.
Being able to work with friends enhanced the instructional and cooperative purpose of the project. This helped students navigate their projects smoothly without having to deal with the awkwardness of assigned groups.
“When you’re put into groups, some might not be doing the right things, and some might be doing all the work by themselves. But, since we picked the groups, everyone could cooperate and create a better team,” Lee said.
After the videos were submitted, Fung began playing them during classes so his students could enjoy and appreciate their classmates’ work.
The recent presentation of the final works added to the instructional and engaging aspects of the project. Students admired each video’s editing, impressive vocals, and humor.
“I wasn’t expecting the videos to be extremely high quality, but some of these people actually did so well. There were some videos that didn’t have much singing, but the editing and dialogue were so funny,” Yee said.
Additionally, the videos helped convey new information or bring back older content through the large amounts of effort students put into fulfilling the educative aspect.
“Our video was mainly on the basic topics like forces and Newton’s three laws. I feel like that was the easiest part of physics, so it was a nice refresher,” Yee said.
Overall, this project allowed students to experience a different perspective of learning and teamwork through a creative lens. Students gained an increased understanding of content using a more artistic approach rather than creating basic presentations.
“I’ve always liked the videos from this year and from previous years. I’ve assigned this project for a long time, and the editing gets better and better every year,” Fung said.
