The Reviews Are In: Film Clips Can Help Students Learn

Do Hollywood movies belong in classrooms?

With intensifying debate over classroom influence and control of mass media, recent headlines over a Santa Paula teacher who was suspended for screening the R-rated film “American Beauty” for her senior English class surprised few educators.

I use video footage in my classroom at Nordhoff High School in Ojai. So do hundreds of other Ventura County teachers. Although showing a video is no substitute for teaching, a well-chosen video clip can complement a good lesson and make it great.

As parents and educators spend time with children, they soon observe that each individual’s needs, wants and interests vary--even between siblings. More to the point, the way children (and adults) learn also varies.

To convey my lessons as effectively as possible, my strategy is to teach one well-planned academic theme of history per day. I use from five to 12 activities to teach that theme. In a typical class period, students might read for 4-8 minutes (300-1,000 words; be exposed to auditory learning for 6-15 minutes (through a content lecture, reading out loud, or tape/CD recording of an historical event); and watch 4-8 minutes of a carefully chosen video.

With videos, I select a strong, content-based clip to visually show the students the content covered that day in class. In short, I bring as much variety as possible to each learning day.

The last unit I taught in my United States history course was the beginning of the Cold War. I gave the students several learning opportunities to formulate an understanding of this time. Readings, lectures, photographs, maps, primary source readings, music (the song “Russians” by Sting) were all a part of that unit.

On the last day of the unit, one student expressed her newfound understanding of the pervasiveness of the mood of the cold war. In class, the students viewed a five-minute clip of the movie “Nightbreaker.” In this movie a doctor witness’s U.S. government experiments exposing soldiers to atomic tests in the 1950s. After viewing this clip, the student said, “Americans really would have done anything to win the arms race!” The discussion that ensued was much richer as students began to truly understand the nature of the Cold War.

It is obvious that some of us learn better by reading, others by listening. Still others learn best by using logic and mathematical skills or via music and rhythms. (Think about how you learned the ABCs; most of us learned them by singing a song.)

The value of a video clip in class goes far beyond the topical view one might experience while passively viewing a film. Active engagement with a movie often leads to further thought provocation and higher learning. These are keys to content mastery, whether one is studying mathematics, language arts or any other school subject--and isn’t this the purpose of an education?

I give my students carefully selected vignettes from films. These clips, coupled with a strong discussion prompt and environment that encourages student participation and content-based conversation, pushes students to think more critically of the history of our country.

In my European history class I devote an entire 52-minute period to video presentations to teach about the harsh realities of World War I. I use six clips from four Hollywood features--four to seven minutes apiece from “Sergeant York,” “Gallipoli,” “All Quiet on the Western Front” and “Doctor Zhivago.”

Each segment of the class is similar: First, I present information regarding the upcoming clip. I do this with a short reading, story or lecture. Then, I pose a question the students will look to answer while watching the clip. After viewing it, students then write in their daily journals, think silently or engage in discussions to answer the question posed at the beginning. Often, students present other questions or comments as they study not only the actual historical events but the interpretation a particular movie director uses to show those events.

Looking at a situation where a specific amount of content has to be taught by the teachers and mastered by the students (such as has been defined by the California Department of Education with the content standards for public education) is exciting. I know that my students are going to be assessed in May on information that they “should have learned” over the past eight or nine years! Using video, students of differing learning ability and styles can gain access and exposure to more content, sometimes in a shorter amount of time!

Class time is of utmost importance. We must provide the students with as much content-based instruction as we can to prepare them with a well rounded education.

A silent reading coupled with a handwritten summary, a content lecture followed by an assessment, or a video clip with a discussion are all activities students can engage in to sharpen their critical thinking skills.

As leaders, let’s view all the ways in which people learn as valuable and beneficial to the development of our students.