Learning about film and learning through film- two sides of the same coin?

Franzi FlorackUniversity of Bradford

Film and literacy…

combine according to taste

Film literacy

• What is ‘literacy’?• Guy Merchant (2009), David Buckingham

(2003), Jackie Marsh (2005; 2005; 2003), Gunther Kress (2003) and Kathy Burnett (2006)

• Ofcom and the Charter for Media Literacy• Literacy as the outcome of film education• The role of the BFI

Film as a subject and an exam• Teachers lobbying for a recognised media

qualification in the 1970s• Introduction of a Media Studies O-Level was a

turning point as it lend the subject ‘status and sustainability’

• Between 1996 and 2006, the UK saw a 295.25 % increase of students taking a film course at university

• In 2005 approximately 80,000 young people too media studies at level 3

• Only six % of students that take exams in media studies

• A grade passes are low compared to other subjects (13.6 at A2, compared to 20.7 in English).

Film education today

200 regional independent cinemas and up to 300 film education –providers in the UK

BFI resources on the use of film in schools now reach an estimated one million children annually

60,000 copies of teaching resources sold by 2006

In 2006, 40 out of 147 local authorities were involved the BFI lead-practitioner scheme

Film as a teaching toolFirst article in 1936Context of English and other subjectsNegative reputation: Mickey Mouse subject, difficult

teacher trainingDriscoll Lynch (1980) and Florack (2012): teachers use

film on average at least every fortnightImpact on general skills as well as motivation to engage

with literacyPrimary Framework for Literacy (2006): includes some

multimedia approaches

ImpactNegative:

increased speed of information transmission (Cain 2005) and students’ inability to critically engage with a medium they find

pleasurable (Bassham and Nardone 1997; Cates 1990)

Positive: a ‘high level of pupil excitement and engagement’ (Stafford

2010, 3), increase test results (Mills 1936) and critical understanding (Cates 1990) and improve written communication (Film Agency for Wales 2009)

• No quantitative studies on whether the use of film as a tool influenced writing levels

ProjectsCultural awareness: Projector Community languages (Based

in Manchester and North West): ◦ Study sessions, creative workshops, cpd for teachers. Then teachers

delivered film theory sessions with focus on Arabic language and culture

CineHub and Kibworth Primary (Kibworth, Leicester and others): ◦ Integrating film into schools across the East Midlands: Training

events for teachers, cinema visits, host resident film maker◦ Year 5, 800+ kids, First one school and then 18 more, trained by the

school, 45 teachers plus 10 film makers

‘Paintings, photographs or music alone can undoubtedly evoke strong emotions in us,

but the combination of watching a film with a

soundtrack, be it music or dialogue, has the capability of

moving us profoundly’ (Stafford 2010, 85)

Film

Emotion

Motivation

Writing

The pilot 2009-2010

• Diverse Bradford population• UNESCO City of Film project• BFI literacy program (Mark Reid)• 15 schools involved• Range of benefits buts no level research• ‘enthusiasm towards writing greatly improved

for the majority of the class’

Statistics so far:

• 233 students• 9 classes• 2 x Year 3, 1 x Year 4, 6 x Year 5

• Almost all students like films• Almost all students enjoy watching film clips in

lessons• Around half of the students have made films before

Writing

• On average students feel fairly neutral about writing (2.3 on a scale from 1 (very good) to 5 (bad))

• They describe their writing with positive words, although they feel more bored than excited on average

• A surprising number of students say that they don’t like writing because their hand starts hurting after writing for a while

• Many students said that they like writing because they are praised by their teachers

Questions?

Franzi Florackf.florack@gmail.com

www.filmliteracy.co.uk

@filmliteracyphd