Using film in education can engage students, explore complex themes, and promote digital literacy and empathy. Videos that present multiple perspectives bridge the gap between theory and reality, offering a deeper understanding of the world around us. This text will provide strategies for preparing students before showing a video, as well as suggestions for follow-up activities. The recommendations presented here depend on your class dynamics and learning objectives.”
FIND A DIFFERENT VIDEO!!
What types of videos can be used in the classroom?
On this platform, you’ll find video stories, documentaries, expert interviews, and more. Many of these videos are created in a documentary format, presenting real events, people, and themes based on authentic information and facts. Critical literacy is crucial for understanding that even fact-based films construct reality by highlighting only selected aspects.
Benefits and challenges with using films in education for inclusive citizenship
Films have the potential to spark curiosity, broaden perspectives, and deepen understanding. However, like any educational tool, they come with certain challenges. Below, we explore both the benefits and key considerations educators should keep in mind when using films in the classroom:
Benefits:
- Introduce students to diverse practices and perspectives: Films expose students to different cultures and viewpoints, fostering empathy, respect, and understanding for various social groups and worldviews.
- Foster empathy and understanding: By presenting real-life scenarios and diverse perspectives, films encourage students to develop empathy and respect for others, deepening their sense of social responsibility.
- Explore rights issues, cultural differences, and global challenges: Videos can make abstract concepts more relatable, helping students engage with issues of social justice, human rights, and global challenges in a meaningful way.
- Stimulate reflective and critical thinking: Films provide a platform for students to think critically about the world around them, encouraging deeper analysis of societal issues and promoting intellectual engagement.
Challenges:
- Sensitivity: Some video topics may be sensitive for certain students, as each individual brings their own experiences to the classroom. If the class is not adequately prepared for content related to, for example, genocide, the video may evoke unexpected reactions.
- Presenting a single perspective: Videos that focus on only one side of a topic or a single group’s viewpoint can reinforce stereotypes and limit students’ understanding of complex issues. It’s important to provide diverse perspectives and raise awareness about the limitations of the video format, whether it presents an insider’s view or an expert’s analysis.
- Misrepresentation: Some videos may propagate stereotypes or generalize cultures, religions, or social groups, leading to prejudice and misunderstandings. They may also reinforce stereotypes students hadn’t previously recognized.
- Lack of critical reflection: Simply watching a video without encouraging reflection or analysis can result in passive learning, which misses the full educational potential of the content.
To prevent these challenges, thorough preparation and follow-up activities are crucial. Below are some key considerations and tips for educators.
Before showing a video in a teaching situation
1. Consider the learning objectives of using the video for your students:
Videos in education can be powerful tools for achieving specific learning goals. They can spark interest in a topic, provide diverse perspectives, introduce expert knowledge, convey information, and offer insights into different cultures. It’s important to identify the intended learning outcomes when choosing a video. Much of our content is designed specifically to support learning in areas like inclusive citizenship and human rights education.
2. Watch the video in advance before using it in your teaching:
Some films on this platform address topics, such as events and stories from genocides and wars, while others offer insights into various religious practices. Depending on the content and themes presented, different pedagogical approaches could be necessary.
- Videos on the genocide in Srebrenica: These videos cover what happened during the genocide and consequences today. They include images and clips that could reinforce trauma for some viewers. In an educational setting, it can be helpful to prepare participants for such content and to validate their reactions by acknowledging that it is okay to find it difficult.
- Videos on Religious Diversity in TunisiaThese videos explore various religions in Tunisia and provide insights into different practices. To avoid reinforcing stereotypes, it can be useful to discuss how understanding different religious practices can foster empathy. It may also be helpful to talk about prejudices related to religion. Beginning with students’ existing knowledge of religions and Tunisia can be a good way to initiate this conversation and a way to address potential negative stereotypes.
- Videos on the genocide in Srebrenica: These videos cover what happened during the genocide and consequences today. They include images and clips that could reinforce trauma for some viewers. In an educational setting, it can be helpful to prepare participants for such content and to validate their reactions by acknowledging that it is okay to find it difficult.
- Videos on Religious Diversity in TunisiaThese videos explore various religions in Tunisia and provide insights into different practices. To avoid reinforcing stereotypes, it can be useful to discuss how understanding different religious practices can foster empathy. It may also be helpful to talk about prejudices related to religion. Beginning with students’ existing knowledge of religions and Tunisia can be a good way to initiate this conversation and a way to address potential negative stereotypes.
3. Engage students’ existing knowledge:
While it sometimes can be beneficial for participants to watch certain videos without prior information to spark interest, other videos may be more impactful if participants already have some knowledge of the content. Therefore, we recommend activating participants’ prior knowledge before viewing. Educators should consider whether providing additional resources is necessary to understand the video.
4. Address Potential Prejudices:
To promote inclusive citizenship education and challenge prejudices, it can be useful to encourage students to identify their own assumptions or biases before watching a video. This can be done by facilitating reflections on students’ prior knowledge before watching a video, focusing on where their knowledge comes from and how their own beliefs and values might influence their interpretation of the video’s content. However, be careful not to position individual students as representatives of certain views, beliefs, or groups, as this can reinforce stereotypes and create feelings of isolation, undermining an inclusive classroom environment.
6. Encourage students to engage in active listening and observation while watching the video:
This can be achieved by encouraging participants to for example take notes, write down any questions they have during the video, or by providing them with questions to consider while watching.
After viewing a video in a teaching situation:
Processing impressions from a video can be as important as the viewing itself. It gives participants the opportunity to reflect, discuss, and internalize what they have seen. Here are some tips for how you, as a teacher, can facilitate meaningful follow-up work after showing a video:
1. Facilitate reflection:
Video communicates a lot of information in a relatively short time. After viewing the video, participants may need space to reflect on what they have seen. This can be done individually or in groups. Use open questions such as:
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- Was there anything that surprised you or made you think?
- How can you relate this to what you have learned before?
- What were your thoughts while watching the video?
2. Explore and Integrate Different Perspectives:
Encourage participants to explore a variety of perspectives to promote inclusive citizenship. This can be achieved through activities, creating assignments that analyze different perspectives from the video, asking open questions about other possible viewpoints, discussions, and reflections, or by incorporating supplementary texts and resources alongside videos. Providing additional materials helps to deepen understanding and offers a more comprehensive view of the subject, allowing students to see beyond a single narrative.
3. Facilitate the Exchange of Perspectives:
Create an environment where participants are aware that multiple perspectives exist beyond what is presented in the video. This can be done through small group discussions, where participants share their thoughts, feelings, and reactions. Such exchanges not only allow participants to challenge each other’s views but also help build empathy. Smaller groups often ensure that every participant feels heard, contributing to a more inclusive and understanding classroom environment. Ensure that various perspectives to avoid alienation, while also emphasizing that perspectives should not be harmful to others, as this can hinder inclusive education.
4. Offer Support for sensitive topics:
For videos that address sensitive or traumatic subject, support may be necessary after viewing. This can include individual conversations with students or providing additional resources for those who wish to explore the topic further. Ensure that participants have the option to step back if needed.
5. Encourage a critical view of the video:
Encourage participants or design assignments that prompt them to critically evaluate the video’s content. This can involve questioning if anything is missing, exploring potential biases, and reflecting on how the information affects them personally. It can also include questioning the video itself, as videos are merely a snapshot of reality.
Before showing a video in a teaching situation
Videos in education can be powerful tools for achieving specific learning goals. They can spark interest in a topic, provide diverse perspectives, introduce expert knowledge, convey information, and offer insights into different cultures. It’s important to identify the intended learning outcomes when choosing a video. Much of our content is designed specifically to support learning in areas like inclusive citizenship and human rights education.
Some films on this platform address topics, such as events and stories from genocides and wars, while others offer insights into various religious practices. Depending on the content and themes presented, different pedagogical approaches could be necessary.
- Videos on the genocide in Srebrenica: These videos cover what happened during the genocide and consequences today. They include images and clips that could reinforce trauma for some viewers. In an educational setting, it can be helpful to prepare participants for such content and to validate their reactions by acknowledging that it is okay to find it difficult.
- Videos on Religious Diversity in TunisiaThese videos explore various religions in Tunisia and provide insights into different practices. To avoid reinforcing stereotypes, it can be useful to discuss how understanding different religious practices can foster empathy. It may also be helpful to talk about prejudices related to religion. Beginning with students’ existing knowledge of religions and Tunisia can be a good way to initiate this conversation and a way to address potential negative stereotypes.
While it sometimes can be beneficial for participants to watch certain videos without prior information to spark interest, other videos may be more impactful if participants already have some knowledge of the content. Therefore, we recommend activating participants’ prior knowledge before viewing. Educators should consider whether providing additional resources is necessary to understand the video.
To promote inclusive citizenship education and challenge prejudices, it can be useful to encourage students to identify their own assumptions or biases before watching a video. This can be done by facilitating reflections on students’ prior knowledge before watching a video, focusing on where their knowledge comes from and how their own beliefs and values might influence their interpretation of the video’s content. However, be careful not to position individual students as representatives of certain views, beliefs, or groups, as this can reinforce stereotypes and create feelings of isolation, undermining an inclusive classroom environment.
This can be achieved by encouraging participants to for example take notes, write down any questions they have during the video, or by providing them with questions to consider while watching.
(i dont think we should use this layout – however, wanted to show you why it doesn’t work)
