Visual Education (Jan 1923-Dec 1924)

April, 19 2 3 111 What We Have Gained From School Films How one school analyzed the failure that met its attempts to use the film educationally, and how careful scrutiny of material and methods, followed by a drastic reform of the modus operandi, converted failure into success J. J. Zmrhal District Superintendent of Schools, Chicago, Illinois IF there is a fruitful field for investigation and experimentation anywhere in the realms of pedagogy, it is the field of moving pictures and the use of films in teaching. As yet we have donevery little in adapting ourselves to this wonderful invention — certainly not enough to adapt the film to our uses in the classroom. On the whole, considerably more has been done in the latter direction than in the former. I have taken the trouble to investigate what was being done with the "movies" elsewhere, only to be disappointed and discouraged. This is what I found : In most cases moving pictures in schools were a sort of extra amusement, desirable to a certain extent, but valueless as a help in teaching — as they were used. In some schools an attempt was being made to make the pictures serve an educational purpose, with the result that the film programs were an unspeakable bore, ?s evidenced by the listlessness and inattentiveness of the pupils. Is it any wonder, therefore, that we find so many earnest and often progressive educators condemning the use of films in schools, some on the grounds of unjustified expense — the exhibitions from their standpoint being a costly luxury — others again because they believe the educational value of the exhibitions to be almost negative? Without a doubt, too much has been claimed by the sanguine gentlemen who went so far as to prophesy that the cinematograph would ultimately replace the teacher ; that textbooks would soon be obsolete and unnecessary; that the present course of study would be mastered in one-third the time, etc. These zealots have grievously injured the cause of the educational film, because not one of these claims has ever been or ever could be borne out by the facts. On the contrary, the cinematograph has introduced a new problem to the educator— a problem which has not been properly recognized and certainly has not yet been solved. I do not wish to be understood as questioning the educational value of motion pictures, or saying that my own experience with them has been discouraging. I am a great believer in the film and have had splendid results from the use of the screen, as I shall show later. I think it necessary, however, to state at the outset some of the causes which have arrested the promising advance of the moving picture, in order to point out more effectively the remedy as I see it. It may be best at this juncture to relate briefly some experiences which I consider significant and which opened my eyes to the intricate problem we face. The Method of Seven Years Ago Our first experience with the moving pictures in school dates back seven years ago when, like a good many others, we believed that all that was necessary was to give an exhibition and the children would thereby at once be enlightened and instructed — in short, LITERATURE JU^L zJSsis -J^bc-t^, 7 .JL-A*66?72 asnd-- st^n^xsw, sS^^fL/sH; /y^sfZ^k . -jJh&c, <^22Z4M,~L<^_ '— ^faa^jf ^-g^ ^r£^£^2. .£Lax*otyi~rb<t<£4/, ttd^ COVER AND PAGE FROM A GRADE PUPIL'S "MOVIE NOTEBOOK" As a "utilization exercise" and a means of strengthening the pupils' power to observe and retain facts, this school required systematic note-keeping, held students responsible for a certain number of facts after each film showing, and linked the study of school films with the work in English composition. Every pupil who could write as little as a sentence had his "Movie Notebook," which by the> end of the year held within its covers a vast amount of useful and interesting information.