Educational YouTube Videos: Amoeba Sisters

If you have had any recent involvement in elementary or middle school science classes, you have probably watched your share of videos from the ever-growing YouTube channel “Amoeba Sisters.” This channel makes kid-friendly science videos taught by two cartoon-style amoebas.  The lessons are colorful, engaging, and even humorous, making them a popular choice for younger students. However, I am here to argue that secondary science teachers should start embracing this blessing of a channel. 

See, though these videos are likely aimed at younger learners, they are not below the content or interest levels of older students. Yes, they break objectives down to simple forms and leave out the excess information, but as far as teaching students general scientific concepts, the Amoeba Sisters are a win! 

This is because videos such as these, with lots of images and examples that represent different concepts, make even tricky ideas way easier to remember. I am sure it comes as no surprise that research, such as this study, has proven that it is much easier to remember information from images rather than words. When the images are entertaining, easy to understand, and eye-catching (like those in the Amoeba Sisters’ videos),  the potential to remember their content increases even more.

Just last week, I took a science test that covered several (in my option, too many) different concepts, and when I had an essay question covering genetic drift vs natural selection, how did I remember their definitions? It certainly was not my dry textbook that always seems to blur together in my mind—it was the image of two cartoon frogs representing each idea from the Amoeba Sisters video I watched that week. 

If the fact that students are more likely to remember things from images is not enough to sell you on my idea, how about this: students love watching YouTube videos in class. Yes, even the boring ones. I was a high school student, myself, just a few months ago, and every time my teachers turned on their projectors, I was thrilled! And it is not just myself, but almost all of my classmates. I always saw the majority of a class become much more engaged when we were watching a video, regardless of its content. I even remember classmates who had classes before me excitedly tell me that I will get to watch a video in Mr. So-and-So’s class. 

Why this excitement for learning through videos? I must admit, I am not certain. My unprofessional opinion is that many young adults watch YouTube as a leisure activity. It is something fun and relaxing and what they want to pay attention to. So, when a YouTube video is shown in class, even if it is not in their interest range, they will likely pay attention because they have conditioned themselves to think videos are enjoyable. And, with the frequent (but not overused) humor mixed into Amoeba Sisters videos, they actually are!

With that, I am asking secondary science teachers to mix things up and throw an Amoeba Sisters video into your lesson plan. Of course, they probably will not get as in-depth on topics and you will, but when you are introducing a new topic, these videos are a great place to start students!