A Teaching Question

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
D

Doc-Fish

Exodon
MFK Member
Nov 29, 2016
73
63
21
65
First some background.

I help run a voluntary science project, we go into local primary schools 2 days a week and teach 8-12 year olds science. We often use fish as examples in the lessons and sometimes set up aquariums for the classrooms.

We set a small amount of homework, the homework is normally based around something interesting and something that gets them doing something practical.

On the bottom of the form each week, is a space for them to ask a question. Now a couple of weeks ago i got the following question on one sheet.

" Why dont fish get wet?"
I replied giving low level information about scales, and tried to keep it short and not too 'scientific', keep in mind this child is 11 years old.

Last night i was marking this weeks homework, the same kid has asked this follow up question.

" why dont scale less fish get wet?!

I will be honest here, in 37 years as a scientist i have never been so stumped for an answer! Anyone got any ideas how to explain this without getting over technical? How on earth do you explain to a 11 year old about scale less fish?

I have given them extra marks for the question, its kind of brilliant if you think about it. Not so much the answer but the fact they came up with it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadliestviper7
I think it's more that they do get wet, but their skin regulates the amount of water that is absorbed into the body. When you pull a fish out of the water, they are wet.

I would answer that they do get wet, but they don't need to dry off.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadliestviper7
It's easy to for me to answer and pretty much same like other already mention, it's slime coat an invisible layer that hard to see with naked eyes and that layer is treat like a clothes for those fish and giving them some protection.
 
joe jaskot said:
Easy answer for young kids to understand:
A fish's slime coat acts like a raincoat. It prevents water from entering a fish's body.
Click to expand...
I did think of this, however what is difficult for me to explain is the kid in question.

I maybe should have given more detail in how we operate. Any reasonable questions asked, are incorporated into the next lesson, the problem i face is the kid is bright. While he will grasp the concept the others wont, the other problem is, i know he will ask more questions and go too deep for the others. I might pull him aside and go into it with him, this is just one example of a particularly bright kid and his questions.

He has come up with some cracking questions in the last 12 months, its a shame they are in a mixed ability class, you could take a kid like this and really do something with them.

I dont think it would be so difficult had we not been incorporating the questions into the classes. In my defense, we didnt know when we started just how bright one or two of them were.

We did the 'barking dog' experiment with them in class, it escalated into using a highly volatile hydrocarbon in the end. There were some very tense teachers that day lol.

Thanks for the suggestions, its hard to know where to pitch the level so everyone gets it.
 
I think it'd be interesting to explain to the children the answer to this question and any follow-up questions. Of course, at their level. The teaching environment should set as a benchmark the smart / laborious kids, not punish them, and make it fun for the rest to catch up to the leaders. Of course to an extent that everyone / majority benefits in the class. And that's often a judgment call.

Neither do I see why this system should be that inflexible. Improvisation is an essential tool in teacher's toolkit.

$0.02

PS: I take interest because I hope to open a small educational Public Aquarium some time soon and will be answering lots of kid questions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Renegade Aquatics, Deadliestviper7 and Yuki Rihwa
Our problem is we teach outside of the curriculum, and yet we are also bound within the framework. it makes it very difficult at times. I have taught at university level, that is much easier.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadliestviper7
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom