The Screen and the Classroom

I remember sitting there on the huge brown bean bag in the corner of the room, sinking in more and more until I wondered if I would ever be able to stand up again. I'd laugh at something with my friend sitting next to me as we waited for the movie to begin. No, this was not in my basement or some kind of home theater with bean bags. This was a classroom. My senior year of high school, I took British literature from one of my favorite teachers. She was enthusiastic about the material and eager to help us learn and enjoy the books we read as much as she did. One method she employed to keep us engaged was that she let us watch the movie form of a book after we had finished reading the book. These movie days often came with some kind of assignment to analyze the movie and compare it to the book, but we never minded those since it meant we could take a few whole class periods to watch a film. Over the course of the year, we watched Frankenstein, King Arthur, 1984, and Hamlet, among others.

There are indeed advantages and disadvantages of using movies in higher education. Watching movies in class can provide a welcome change of pace from normal daily activities and lectures. For example, I am taking a class this semester where the professor often shows clips of a documentary that pertains to the class content. This breaks up the rhythm of the class and gives a new perspective on what we are learning. In addition, it can solidify information that the student has read previously, such as how watching movies in my high school English class helped me remember the details I had already read in the books. In an article called "Benefits and Perils of Using Movies in Education," Kuepper-Tetzel explains how repetition of information helps students learn better. Thus, if students are exposed to the same information in multiple forms, such as in a book and a lecture and a film, they are more likely to retain the information than if they had simply seen the information on one platform. In an article by Matthew Lynch, he states that watching movies in the classroom brings concepts and topics to life in a new way. Some subjects might seem irrelevant or abstract, but seeing them played out on a screen make them more easily grasped and understood.

Showing movies in the classroom has drawbacks as well. For one, students may mentally check out during movie time or use it as a time to goof off. It is important for the professor to communicate the expectations he or she has for the students while watching the movie. The professor must also discuss the purpose and educational value of the film and should have the students fill out an evaluation of sorts to be sure they were paying attention and gleaning relevant information from the movie. Another main concern when showing movies in class is that many movies stray from actual historical and factual information for the sake of making it entertaining. Watching movies is good for learning, but it can actually cement the wrong information in a student's mind if the movie presents details that did not occur in reality. Professors must be extremely aware and cautious of this, so that students learn the correct information.

So, how does showing movies in the classroom specifically relate to Christian higher ed? It is important for any professor, but especially one in a Christian setting, to screen movies and be sure there is nothing inappropriate or offensive for the students to view. That being said, professors should not limit their classrooms to only showing Christian movies and videos. There is much to be learned from all people, whether they are believers or not, and each person has an interesting and unique view of the world. Watching movies in class could be a good way for students to analyze content from a Christian worldview. Thus, they are exposed to ideas and philosophies different than their own but they are given a safe space to contemplate and analyze and develop opinions on the content of movies. Thus, in conclusion, when used the right way, movies can be beneficial and instructive in the classroom.

by Natalia Bosch