Inquiry Presentation Slides - Penn State College of Education

REEL RECOGNITION
Michael Gordon
[email protected]
2012 Inquiry Conference
REEL RECOGNITION
If you would like to receive a copy of any specific image
or the powerpoint as a whole, do not hesitate to email
me. My contact information is on your handout.
What I’ll discuss:
•  By using film and images in the classroom
more we can increase understanding and
imagination, enhance the ability for a
student to relate abstract ideas and
themes to the world around them, as well
as allow us to connect with a generation
that seems to be distancing itself from the
page and gravitating towards the screen.
Specifically…
What I’ll discuss:
•  Why are images and film more
important to utilize in the classroom
now than ever before?
•  How can we use them more
meaningfully and efficiently?
•  Some strategies and theories that I
have tried and that I have seen work
successfully in my mentor’s classroom.
•  Why these methods worked.
(1)
My Background
•  Earned a B.A. in Film and Video Produc4on at Pennsylvania State University. •  Earning my M.Ed. in Curriculum and Instruc4on at Pennsylvania State University. •  Interning at State College Area High School in the English department under Mrs. Allison Becker teaching Film and Media Studies to high school seniors. iGen: The Millennials
(4)
•  “Is a book an acceptable
source of information?”
•  Survey of 76 students: (2)
45 (59%) read 0-5 hrs/wk
outside of class either online or
print text.
•  “Digital Natives” (3)
Baby trying to use magazine like
an iPad.
•  Enhances fluency in a
language people don’t
realize they speak.
(5)
Why should classes use more Film/Images?
•  According to the Visual Teaching Alliance and
Specific Diagnostic Studies, approximately 65%
of learners are visual/visual kinesthetic.(6, 7)
Survey of 76 students: (2)
•  74 (97%) said using films in a class helps their
understanding of a topic.
•  39 (51%) said they learn more from a film than
from a book.
•  59 (78%) said it is easier to focus on a film than
a book.
Why should classes use more Film/Images?
•  “Because students live in a media-oriented world,
they consider sight and sound as ‘user friendly’.”
Linda Williams Post, 1987 (8)
•  “Photographs have the kind of authority over
imagination today, which the printed word had
yesterday, and the spoken word before that.”
Walter Lippmann, 1922 (9)
•  “A critical eye is an incredibly important tool
throughout a person's life.” James Frieden, 2011 (10)
How can we use Film/Images better?
•  Pair books/readings with films/clips to watch in class or at home.
73 out of 76 students (96%) said this works.(2)
•  Make sure the film or image isn’t a stand-alone piece in the curriculum.
Check for understanding using some form of assessment.
•  Think outside the box. Don’t always use a direct film adaptation or an
illustration that was done expressly for a text. Approach things from
different angles to make your students form their own connections.
•  While film/images are good tools, don’t forget to continue using the text.
63 out of 76 students (83%) said books are still important. (2)
What Was Done:
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Semiotics and the Language of the Image
Film Deconstruction via the Four Components
Synthesis Paper
Discussions
Film Construction
Semiotics and the
Language of the Image:
•  Regarding the Pain of Others -Susan Sontag
looking at photography, emotion, and the concept of societal/self
definition through an image.
•  Semiotics and Denotation/Connotation
(Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce) looking at
ascribing meanings to a designation.
X
Semiotics and the
Language of the Image:
•  Regarding the Pain of Others -Susan Sontag
looking at photography, emotion, and the concept of societal/self
definition through an image.
•  Semiotics and Denotation/Connotation
(Ferdinand de Saussure and Charles Sanders Peirce) looking at
ascribing meanings to a designation.
•  Image Analysis
finding designations and meanings in multiple static images.
•  Looking at their words from breaking down an image…(11)
Image Analysis: Picture they examined
(12)
Film Deconstruction:
Four Main Components:
•  ScreenwritingThe text of the film, and where everything comes from.
•  DirectingThe visualization, and why the film is portrayed the way it is.
•  ProducingHow the film is made physically on location.
•  EditingHow the film is compiled visually, and why.
Synthesis Paper:
•  Each novel in class was paired with a film that had
similar themes (1984 with The Truman Show and Brave
New World with Gattaca).
•  The students had to individually write a paper that
discussed a common element from the book and film and
examine how it relates to the real world in their lifetime.
•  This assignment allowed them to not only recognize
important concepts in parallel texts, but promoted
critical thinking and extrapolation of ideas.
•  Looking at their words from the essay…(13)
Discussions:
(14)
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Our class held discussions
at four different times:
–  Introducing the book
–  Periodically while
reading the text
–  Before the film
–  After the film
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Multiple discussions were
important to allow the
students a forum to
express ideas and to hear
what their peers noticed.
While it is important to facilitate discussion and keep
things on track, it is even more crucial, as a teacher, to
avoid stating your individual opinion as “right” (picture
above) rather than as one possible point of view. This
way, students will keep open minds rather than simply
follow one perspective they believe you want to hear.
Film Construction:
•  Their culminating group project was to make a film of
their own (based off of a theme in any piece studied over
the course of the year) using the elements of image and
filmmaking they learned.
•  Even though this assignment was challenging (because
they saw firsthand the difficulties implementing the
theory) they enjoyed shooting, and the assignment
aggregately stuck with them the most.
Why This Method Works: Two Main Explanations:
•  Cone of Learning –Edgar Dale (15)
•  Media-Entertainment-Text Triangle –Michael Gordon
Conclusion:
•  “Tell me, I’ll forget
Show me, I’ll remember
Involve me, I’ll understand”
•  Dictate, Demonstrate, Create
•  By using film and images in the classroom more we can
increase understanding and imagination, enhance the
ability for a student to relate abstract ideas and themes
to the world around them, as well as allow us to connect
with a generation that seems to be distancing itself from
the page and gravitating towards the screen.
Special Thanks To:
•  Mrs. Becker for accepting me as her intern on
short notice and welcoming me into the classroom.
•  Dr. Myers and the PDS coordinators, consultants,
mentors, and interns for their guidance and
support.
•  My collaborative co-teachers in my History
inclusion class for letting me bounce ideas off of
their heads.
•  The State High English and Social Studies staff.
•  My 2011-2012 State High students for being
wonderful, always learning, and teaching me new
things as well.
Works Cited:
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1- Film Reel Logo. Digital image. Showbiz 411. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://www.showbiz411.com/
wp-content/uploads/2011/10/Film-Reel-Logo-1.png>.
2- Gordon, Michael. Film and Imagery Survey. Feb.-Mar. 2012. Raw data. State College High
School, State College, PA.
3- Schmidt, Lucinda, and Peter Hawkins. "Parenting." Editorial. The Sydney Morning Herald 15
July 2008. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://www.smh.com.au/news/parenting/children-of-the-techrevolution/2008//ThinkingFrameworks/Learning_Styles.htm>.
4- Gordon, Brian. "Chuck and Beans." Comic strip. Shoebox Blog. 19 Feb. 2010. Web. 10 Apr.
2012. <http://www.shoeboxblog.com/?p=15314>.
5- Intel. What Happens in an Internet Minute. Digital image. Imgur. Web. 18 Apr. 2012. <http://
i.imgur.com/QJS6k.jpg>.
6- Visual Teaching Alliance. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://www.visualteachingalliance.com/>.
7- "Designing Effective Projects: Thinking Frameworks." Intel Education. Web. 10 Apr. 2012.
<http://www97.intel.com/en/ProjectDesign/ThinkingSkillssts.Org. ERIC Digest, 1988. Web. 10
Apr. 2012. <http://www.ericdigests.org/pre-929/film.htm>.
8- Aiex, Nola K. "Using Film, Video, and TV in the Classroom."
ERICDige07/15/1215887601694.html>.
9- Sontag, Susan. Regarding the Pain of Others. New York: Picador, 2004. 25. Print.
Works Cited (Cont’d):
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10- Frieden, James. "Making History: 3 Ways Teachers Can Help Their Students Using Historical
Fiction." Ezine Articles. 20 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://ezinearticles.com/?MakingHistory:-3-Ways-Teachers-Can-Help-Their-Students-Using-Historical-Fiction&id=6639663>.
11- Gordon, Michael. Student Work: Image Analysis. Feb.-Mar. 2012. Raw data. State College
High School, State College, PA.
12- Slash and Burn Children. Digital image. The Natural Eye Project, Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Apr.
2012. <http://thenaturaleye.files.wordpress.com/2009/04/slash_and_burn_children.jpg>.
13- Gordon, Michael. Student Work: Synthesis Paper. Feb.-Mar. 2012. Raw data. State College
High School, State College, PA.
14- Staff. "Teacher Views Need Limitations." Comic strip. Prep News. Rockhurst High School, 3
Mar. 2011. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://www.prepnews.org/2011/03/teacher-views-needlimitations-2/>.
15- Cone of Learning (Edgar Dale). Digital image. 7 Apr. 2009. Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://
www.brainreactions.com/wp-content/uploads/cone-of-learning.gif>.
16- Jim Carrey- Riddler. Digital image. Lucky Number 3: Tryst with the Riddler. 23 Apr. 2011.
Web. 10 Apr. 2012. <http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JZ4kc9AWvwA/TbN_jB_8ZxI/AAAAAAAAAbI/
fbJcV-sbolI/s640/Carrey_Riddler.jpg>.
Questions:
(16)