Get Your Students Hired
I am a great movie fan, and I believe that there is much to be learned in terms of instructional style. I cannot help but think of the Vito Corleone theory of management in the movie entitled: The Godfather.
What movies do you feel are important?
Donald L. Bruesh
Hi Vicki,
I like your way of integrating the clips into your classes. This brings a level of excitement that helps to keep the students engaged. I keep a running file of these types of clips that I can put into my courses as when I do a revision. That way I don't have to spend so much time searching since I have them in categories already.
Gary
Hi Gary, I have previously used clips from a movie to introduce poetry in my English classes. I utilized Dead Poet's Society with Robin Williams as the professor teaching poetry as he coached soccer and the students really responded in a positive way.
I am excited about the possibilities of utilizing You-Tube this next semester. In fact, I have several selections picked out to go along with the textbook reading selections for an American Lit class.
I think that is an effective method. If you show a five minute clip of a movie, students can retain more, and it is easy to stimulate a discussion. For a four hour course, it is more beneficial to have a change of pace.
Hi Jennifer,
I know they are going to pick up the language using these plus clips plus it gives them some variety in the course. Go for it. You are going to get results from integrating them in your course.
Gary
I hope that it helps and not hurts! It is my hope to use clips from Law & Order, etc. to learn legal terminology. It is used over and over in the courtroom and as the course progresses the students should be able to pick up more of the terminology being used. It is my hope that it will help them become more attentive by breaking up the lecture.
Hi Gary,
Yes, I do. As you know Youtube is such a diverse resource that it is easy to jump into it find what you need and then put it into your PowerPoint or what ever media you use.
Gary
I have not used this method yet but feel it is a great tool. Do you utilize Youtube to share the movie clips?
If your students remain engaged in the lesson and the clips are relevant to the topic (either in a way that would be clear to any viewer or through other information provided by the intructor ie. "Pay close attention to...") then you shouldn't consider it as hurting the lecture.
There's a great article titled "Most Likely to Succeed" by Malcolm Gladwell, that originally appeared in the Dec 15th, 2008 issue of the New Yorker. One of the areas focused on in the article is how important it is for students to be engaged in their classes; and how important it is for teachers to recognize different types of engagement.
Robb Epps
I agree, I teach Apparel Manufacturing two three hour sessions each week. I find adding videos that are relevant to that weeks topic keep the students interested.
Hi Laura,
I teach a 6 hour evening course from 4 until 10 so I understand your situation clearly. The answer to your question is based upon how you use the video clips and movies. Students need a change of pace frequently to stay engaged as learners. By integrating video clips and movies into your content you are helping to change the flow of the class and give them variety. If you just stick them in along the way to break up the lecture sessions then you are hurting your lectures. There needs to be perceived value by students of everything you do in the class. Let that be the standard you use for handouts, guest speakers or anything else you do in the class.
Gary
I teach a 4-hour evening course, and use video clips or movies to break up the lecture. Does that method work to retain the students attention or am I hurting the lecture?
I like to use Adaptation (especially the Robert McKee sequence) and American Splendor since both movies comment on the medium of film, its properties, and storytelling in the midst of the film's existing narrative.
Hi Donald,
There are many movies from which instructors can select snippets to use in their teaching. They can be older classics with great lines or recent movies with concepts that apply to career development.
I am a big fan of the muppets and their movies but they might not work for everyone.
Gary