Post 4: Film in Education

The use of film in education is a very recent development. This medium for learning is being advocated more and more often and its benefits are being recognised:

“Film engages young people in learning, it stretches the most gifted and engages those that are hard to reach or that have become disengaged, it increases cultural and social awareness, whilst building transferable skills and knowledge in a digital media age.” (Film Agency Wales, 2006)

Film in education can be used in a very similar way to books and plays; where the content is examined and questions are asked and the pupil is expected to demonstrate their interpretation of the content.

As demonstrated in the following link a film clip of less than two minutes provides a resource which can initiate lengthy and detailed discussion. The Film Education website has clips from various films and provides comprehension style exercises to go with them. http://www.filmeducation.org/slumdogmillionaire/clip1.html

I have had first-hand experience of film being used in education. In my year ten English class we watched the 1967 film ‘In the Heat of the Night’ which deals with the racial tension between African American Virgil Tibbs and the police force and residents of a Mississippi town. In class the use of this film lead to historical investigation and speech writing based on pioneers of the US civil rights movement such as Martin Luther King. This was considerably more interesting and engaging than studying Shakespeare plays or decades old literature. It captured the imagination of the entire class and I remember vividly the work we completed being successful.

It is fairly safe to assume that almost every household in the UK contains a television making this medium familiar to almost every schoolchild. Books and other literature however can be an alien concept to some students. By incorporating film into lessons pupils aren’t facing such a new challenge. This valuable medium has been overlooked for a long time and its use was considered to be purely for time filling with no educational value.

This video is a two and a half minute trailer for 2011 film ‘The Help’

In that short space of time I was able to pick up on the following themes:

Coming of age

Racial disparity

Discrimination

Segregation

Deep South (Mississippi)

Religion

Retribution

Civil Rights

Class Divisions

Children

Family

Keeping up Appearances

Even a short video clip is filled with many themes and can initiate lengthy discussions and debates within the classroom.

To me using a familiar and accessible medium in the classroom makes sense. In addition resources for film education are in abundance; a simple film clip or movie trailer can be found for free through the internet. Film does not discriminate against those with low literacy levels and is a teaching medium that incorporates a variety of learning styles at the same time.