Using Movies to Teach

I love introducing films into the classroom to illustrate topics. Educational video is great, but I'm talking about Hollywood. Nothing pulls in a student like a good story and the nice thing about a movie is that it wraps it all up in a tidy, 2-hour package. It is something that a student can relate to and it will engage them in their learning.

Prepare the Student

The important thing about using movies as instructional tools is to set the stage appropriately and follow up after. Typically, I show a film after I've had a lesson or series of lessons about the themes I want the film to illustrate. That way the class has already had a discussion about the theory and the film can demonstrate a "real life" application, albeit a dramatized one. To set the stage right, you need to give the student some information to look for while watching. This will change the viewing experience from a passive role to an active one. They will be searching the material for information and they will be comparing it to what they already know.

Follow It Up

Just as important as setting the stage is the follw up. The film should be followed by an activity to integrate the learning; ideally an activity that will allow the students to come together in their understanding. A good method is to have the students write a reaction paper to the film, giving them some guidelines for their discussion and tying their own emotional reactions to the material. Then bringing the students together in a discussion will emphasis the themes. Many students will come to the same conclusions, but they will all have different takes and some students will surprise you with what they find.

The Legend of Bagger Vance

I'm going to use this movie as an example of one of the films I use in class. In one particular class, we discuss the theory behind many topics vital to a massage therapist's success - ethics, boundaries, relationships, communication, thinking vs. feeling... all of which are addressed in this film.

Other Films:

1. Contact - Beliefs, values, persistence, communication, relationships
2. Pay It Forward - Ethics, values, social responsibility

The great thing is that the film brings the "real world" into the classroom. It gives the students a break from listening to a lecture from their regular instructor (students always love guest speakers). But the main advantage of using film to illustrate a point is that it gets the students thinking situationally - outside the classroom.

What films can you think of that could be used to teach?

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