International Review of Educational Cinematography (Jan-Dec 1934)

THE CINEMA IN TEACHING programme. This problem would seem to make any discussion of the subject a merely theoretical one, but it is to be hoped that as the cinema industry progresses we shall eventually have good apparatus at a low price, which would facilitate the spread of the school cinema. The Cinema During Cinematograph projecLessons. tions during lessons must respond to four pedagogical requirements : (a) they must facilitate observation of the phenomena of movement in beings and things whenever these are the subject of school lessons, thus making the intuition of life possible; (b) they must stimulate the action of the pupil's mind, that is to say, they must start the mechanism of his reasoning powers ; (c) they must call his attention to the real nature of things, thus avoiding a teaching that is too closely bound up with books ; (d) they must put the pupil in a cheerful state of mind, making study lighter and easier. It follows that the projection must march as far as possible step by step with the lesson, like demonstrations with the aid of the lantern slide and blackboard. In any case, there is one thing that must be avoided at all costs, namely, too frequent changes from light to darkness and vice versa by the interruption of projections which tires the children and might end by injuring their sight. On the other hand, we must consider the reverse side of the medal : the fact that the fleeting impressions given by a moving picture prevent the teacher from giving his verbal comment during the projection, however necessary such a comment may be. This means that the projection must be repeated, in part, at any rate. For this reason, it is best to have short projections such as demonstration films. Projections before Pedagogy requires that and after the Ver the verbal explanation bal Lessons: g;yen by the teacher shall be preceded or accompanied by the presentation of objects or pictures which help the pupil's intuition by arousing his obser vation, under the guidance and incitement of the teacher. This principle, which constitutes the ordinary course of the phenomenon of intuition, must not be neglected in presenting the cinematograph document. The brevity of projection moments and the rapid succession of images on the screen necessitate a less rigid observance of this formula. It might be followed literally in the case of projections which are so static as to be almost like fixed pictures, such as geographical films and, frequently, those dealing with natural sciences. In the other, more numerous cases, a different procedure must be followed : the projection should be preceded by a verbal explanation calling the pupils' attention to the more characteristic passages that will be presented to them. In order that the verbal explanation may be brought as close as possible to the visual demonstration, the projection should be divided into several parts and alternated with the oral comment. Differential Value and From what we have Didactic Utility of sajd aDOve, it is ob Long and Short yious that ;t ;s neces Projections inter . -j _. . . . . , sary to consider two polated by the , ,. . . , , _ , , -. sub-divisions ot teach leachers Um .... . ing hlms in connection ments. .s with the use or hlms during lessons : demonstrative and documentary films. Demonstration films are short length films, the pictures in which do not exceed a few metres in length and refer to a single fact, a simple phenomenon, a detail, which forms an illustration like the engraving inserted in the text of a book or the sketch drawn by the teacher on the blackboard, but has infinitely greater possibilities. A number of these films might be interspersed throughout the lesson, or the same film could be repeated, according to didactic requirements. The teacher's comment could precede or accompany the projection, according to the case. Animated cartoons naturally come into this category. They offer a very wide and interesting field for the scholastic cinema,