Liz Walton

Professor Jan Rieman

English 1103

April 15th, 2011

Education and Film: Technology Changing the Classroom

Teaching styles and methods are constantly changing to suit the types of materials each

new generation has to learn to succeed. With technology reaching new levels every year, the

teaching methods have to change quickly to stay updated. Films are one of these advances,

originating in the latter part of the 1800's and quickly growing in the past decade to an easily

accessible household item. Because they are easy to obtain and moderately easy to make, films

have been used in workplaces for training and have also been used in classrooms to teach. I can

even remember learning about mitosis in biology through a film. I remember the excitement

involved in watching a movie rather than listening to the teacher. The film was a distracting and

amusing way to learn and it created a lasting impression. I’m sure that if you’ve watched a film

recently, you could relate the plot line to anyone if they asked, as well as be able to give your

own opinion on how interesting it was, etc. The attraction of using film in classrooms arises in

part from how easily students remember them and also from how they captivate students'

attention. It isn’t hard to reach the conclusion that the use of films in classrooms will increase as

the technology becomes more advanced and could show a wider variety of information.

Over the past several weeks, I have been researching the benefits of using film in a

classroom setting and how students’ learning styles change through introduction to this type of

medium. In order to find exactly what I wanted I needed to really define what it is that I’m

researching. I came up with a series of questions that evolved as my research progressed,

defining the limitations of my research. The final question is as follows: How does the

combination of film and written text in language arts or history classes allow for student growth

in analytical skills and enhance the students’ writing skills, as well as their ability to easily

recognize textual elements in a film? Language arts and history classes are the forerunners in this

move towards a multi-media approach to education and have the most material on the subject.

Some might wonder at the changes between my original research position and the final inquiry

question. Let me explain these changes by showing you the evolution of the question in the

following paragraphs.

I began to research how films affect students’ learning abilities when used in the

classroom and if a complete switch to films rather than written text would be feasible. It was

through research prompted by this question that I came across the article “Finding the Right Film

for the History Classroom” by Donald Mattheisen. Mattheisen is a history professor who

implores those few who give movie reviews to also review films for classrooms so that finding

appropriate films wouldn’t be so difficult. He is a stout advocate of proper film use to assist

teaching and even praises film’s ability to “arouse interest and generate enthusiastic discussion in

ways difficult for the classroom teacher to accomplish” (Mattheisen 1). Though he didn’t

condone a switch to films entirely, his support of films as a professor gave me hope that my

research would find some who did. The next source that I found also supported the use of films

bute rejected a complete transition. In the book Film in the Language Arts Class, the

author, John Aquino, states:

There is danger, though, in teaching film in place of literature. The fact that film

is a popular form and does not require reading assignments could make it seem to

many students preferable to literature. Poor adaptations of literature can distort a

 student’s view of the original work. It is hoped that the first two chapters of this

report have shown that even successful film adaptations of literature are, because

of the natures of the two media, inherently different... The continual use of films

in literature ultimately defeats the purpose of language arts which is development

of the value and use of languages both as a tool and as art (42-43).

Aquino goes on to mention that in some cases the substitution of film for literature can be used,

but the “use of either requires understanding of both ”(4Aquino 42-43). I have found that most

professors, and even students, agree with this point of view. In an interview, one student even

said “I can’t imagine getting rid of our seven story library for a seven story Blockbuster

(Moosa).” There was a sense of incredulity and distaste when he mentioned it, implying that film

cannot and will not ever be as esteemed a material as literature. This is often the case with new

types of media that don’t have the years of history backing and credibility as a teaching

reference. After finding several other teachers who opposed the switch to films but heartily

endorsed a combination of written text and film, I decided that the question should be refined. I

wanted to be able to prove that, though film will never replace literature, it is a suitable

alternative in some cases.

The question began to relate more to how students are affected by filmsfilms affect

students and how that can be used to help them learn. The new question became “Does the use of

film rather than a textbook change the writing style of students and professors?” I conducted

several interviews, questioning students on any kind of writing style difference between the two

types of classes and none were apparent. Shorthand notes seemed to be the popular choice in

both types of classes. I decided the question was too broad to really contribute valid information

to my research and too many additional areas would have to be researched to find anything close
to an answer. I refined it yet again and in the end came up with the final product that was

introduced earlier. So, now all that we have to ask is: how does the combination of film and

written text in language arts or history classes allow for student growth in analytical skills and

enhance the students writing skills, as well as their ability to easily recognize textual elements in

a film?

As I mentioned before, there are many professors that who agree with the use of film in

the classroom and many are actively searching for ways to properly teach with this tool. Some

have even published works on its proper usage. It’s from one of these that I have found a gold

mine of information. John Golden, a teacher from Portland, Oregon, wrote Reading in the

Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English Classroom, a definitive guide for teachers

interested in films for their students. I found the most insight from the author in the introduction,

where he gives his opinion on the use of film and how students are affected by it. In his

experience, he’s found that after students see and analyze a film clip, both their analytical skills

and reading skills improve (Golden xiv). This shows that students are indeed influenced to some

degree by what knowledge they obtain while watching films.

From the student interviews that I conducted, I found that they support the use of films in

class as well. One student mentioned that the information is easier to study because important

parts are easily recognizable and it’s not difficult to relate to the characters in the story. Another

mentioned that films are “useful if you’re trying to describe something that’s so far removed

from our current society,” when referring to the period piece shown by Professor Gwyn in the

history class I attend (Moosa). I can personally attest to the fact that analyzing film does affect

the way students analyze written text. For the first couple of months in this class, we watched

and analyzed episodes from the Deadwood series. In the middle of the semester we were
assigned All the Pretty Horses, a novel based in the same time period as the filmms. series. I

had grown accustom to what the professor wanted us to learn from the series and, when applying

that to the way that I studied for the Deadwood quizzes, I found that picking out the correct

information was easier than in other classes.

Overall, I’ve learned quite a bit from this process. It was interesting finding out how

similar different peoples’ point of view wereseemed to coincide so frequently. Though all of the

sources that I used were connected through education, only two had ever met, but they all agreed

on a point. I think that the reason this is important is that if something is beneficial, people will

recognize that. Once something is recognized as a good source of education, it can be widely

used and it’s benefits can spread to places that haven’t received it before. Obviously, the use of

films in classrooms can be difficult to do properly. If teachers can recognize how this will help

their students and commit to learning the teaching style properly, I think that this will be

revolutionary in increasing students’ attention spans in class. It could be the key to getting the

next generation involved and actively participating in their education. As to what degree films

influence learning ability and how well this teaching style catches on is what we have yet to

discover.
 Works Cited

Aquino, John. Film in the Language Arts Class. Washington, D.C.: National Education

Association, 1977. Print.

Deadwood:The Complete Series. HBO, 2008. DVD.

Golden, John. Reading in the Dark: Using Film as a Tool in the English

Classroom. Urbana: National Council of Teachers of English, 2001. Print.

Korbler, Kristen. Personal Interview. 11 Apr 2011.

Mattheisen, Donald. “Finding the Right Film for the History Classroom.” Perspectives

Online 27.9 (1989): 1-3. Web. 17 Feb 2011.

Moosa, Matt. Personal Interview. 28 May 2011.

Liz,

Nice job. Using how your question evolved as a guide for your paper works well here, and I

think that you can talk about this development outside the confines of an inquiry question,” and

merely as a way of showing that your research and interest in this topic shifted with what you did

or did not discover at each stage. I am interested in hearing som criteria for when you think film

use in the classroom is a good idea. You narrow it down to two disciplines, but even then, when

should a film be incorporated into the course? Are there any guidelines you think a prof. should

consider when making this decision? And should students be assessed any differently when

learning from film than they would be otherwise? Just some things to consider. Please let me

know your thoughts in a talk back.

Some of the questions that you listed above were going to be included in the interview I had

scheduled with Professor Gwyn. (“When would films be appropriate, how do you choose what to
show, what criteria do you look for in answers to quizzes, how do you write the quizzes and what

do you think students should learn from these films: these were just a few of the questions)

Unfortunately, since the professor cancelled the interview completely without even looking at

the questions, I haven’t been able to find someone who would know that answers to them. I

would really like to know as well but since all of the references that I have don’t really answer

them, I guess they have to remain a mystery for the time being. If you see anything else that

really sticks out that needs to be changed could you let me know? I also listed some questions in

the comments