A picture makes a thousand words in classrooms

                When your students lose interest in class, what do you usually do to inspire them? I usually use poems to generate discussions and most students including adults find it very challenging. The interactions in class and in students’ online community about the interpretation of a poem can effectively rekindle the passion to think critically and to use rhetoric to express opinions. Occasionally, some students complained that poetry was too difficult and they asked for films. At present, using films to enhance students’ analytical skills is not a new idea (Culkin, 1970; Maynard, 1969, 1971, 1977, as cited in Champoux, 2007). Many others have reported successfully using films in teaching a broad range of disciplines or topics, such as political science, American Studies, French, group dynamics, science, and anthropology (Champoux, 2007). However, for some people, especially in traditional classroom education, using films is viewed inappropriate. Teachers showing films in class without clearly identifying the purpose of the lesson to the audience are sometimes criticized as if they were just trying to kill time. Therefore, before using films, teachers need to gain insight, advantages and disadvantageous of films as a teaching resource.

The article “Film as a Teaching Resource” by Joseph E. Champoux (2007) discusses film as a resource for teaching organizational behavior and management theories and concepts. The author points out that the unique qualities of film make it a communication medium that effectively enhances the learning process. The functions of film in teaching followed by the advantages and disadvantages of using film as a teaching tool are discussed at the end of the article.

          Functions of Films in Teaching and its advantages

Using films in traditional or virtual classrooms can personalized both the teaching styles for instructors and the lesson for learners. In this article, the author interestingly describes different functions of film in teaching that can be applied with different teaching styles, teaching goals, and contents. Films can serve as case studies, experiential exercises, metaphors, satires and symbolisms to make the lessons more understandable. Films can lead to rich discussions and reinforcement of concepts and theory. Students can analyze selected scenes in small groups using some background knowledge of problem solving and the theories and concepts they are studying to recommend a decision approach. In other words, discussion on films can activate models. Moreover, unusual shots, sequencing, lighting, and the use of colors in film can convey symbolism that helps students practice abstract thinking.  Film is an excellent medium for giving meaning to theories and concepts better than printed or spoken words (Champoux, 2007).

Disadvantages of Film in Teaching

While using film in class is convenient, motivating, and attention stimulating, there are some critical drawbacks. First, the film content might distract some students from the target theories and concepts. Students are easily moved by its sentimental contents and scenes that they forget why they are watching it. Second, showing a whole film in class takes time away from other classroom activities. For this problem, the author suggests using selected scenes of twenty minutes or less to make students focus on specific theories or concepts. The film and scene selection is also important. Teachers need to carefully determine whether the scene selected makes its point efficiently and worth the use of class time. Third, admittedly, a lot of scenes distort reality. By watching films, students can misunderstand some basic concepts of other cultures resulting in inappropriate interaction with people from that culture.

Summary

This article described how and why to use film as a teaching resource. With various functions, films can be used as cases, as a source of information for experiential exercises, or present unusual experiences to students. Using films as a teaching tool also has strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, teachers need to thoughtfully design a lesson with films for students’ maximum benefits.

Reference

Champoux, J. E. (2007). Film as a Teaching Resource. Journal of Management Inquiry, September 2007. Retrieved April 15, 2012 from http://symptommedia.com/wp-content/uploads/teaching-resource.pdf.