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 usage 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

be 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.

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 ”(Aquino 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.” 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 films 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 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 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 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. 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 films. 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 were. 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.

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.