Videoing Student Reflections

Does videoing children’s reflection of a topic enhance their learning? by Gary Belworthy, Maori Hill School

Focus Movie making process - planning, filming, editing, play back Specific Aim To improve the values of movies made in the classroom. To gain strategies in getting children to develop plan prepare and take an active part in filming. Research Question Does videoing children’s reflection of a topic enhance their learning? Methodology Why I selected the topic? I have a strong interest in using a video camera/filming events. In previous years I have made several movies of my class. I attended Learning Circles/ workshops on Movies making and developed skills in movie making. How I went about my research? I involved videoing extensively in unit studies undertaken in my class this year. • Term 1 – Butterflies • Term 2 – Chinese Gold Mining Questions to be answered. What is the value of……? • On camera interviews, asking various questions of the children. • Filming a dramatic presentation • Children all explain individually a completed project i.e. models or art work • Children explaining on camera the knowledge that they have gained. • Class presentation or drama. • Time lapse – play back of movies to class • Playing back movies made by the class to the whole school. • Involvement of the whole class in the complete process • Distribution of completed product - Teacher Tube, assemblies

Management procedures The whole class was involved in the planning and discussions prior to making of each video. There were difficulties in filming the whole class at one time. I used my release time or time when my student was on control to withdraw groups of children to film. Time table Term 1 Unit study-Butterflies Filming took place after we had made a visit to the Butterfly House at the museum. We had a swan plant and caterpillar in the class so children could see the process. The filming took place towards the end of the study. Our filming took the form of a drama presentation using a model butterfly. The children talked to the butterfly and it answered their questions about the life cycle of a butterfly. It involved the whole class but filming took place in groups. After completion of the filming and editing the children were able to watch it over and over again. Observations Even though the preparation of filming involved much child/class input much of it was teacher directed. But due the continual play back they maintained much of their knowledge gained from the study over the subsequent months. Term 2 Unit study-Chinese Gold Mining This differed from other movie as it was a true reflection where by the children shared on camera the model gold mining villages that they made and their understandings of life on the gold fields for the people of the time. Every child in the class shared their knowledge and models.

Readings Enhancing Self Reflection in children: the use of Digital video in the Primary School Science Classroom. Yorkanka Valkanova University of Surrey Roehampton This research concludes that “making films about one’s own learning process provokes changes of behaviour in the classroom and may influence the sense self as learners”

Conclusions It is important that children need to understand the purpose of what they are trying to achieve. It is also important that the children understand the situations of filming e.g. environment, quietness and sunlight direction camera outside while filming? The second movie was more of a reflection compared to the first movie which was a dramatic presentation. However over time the children gained more from the first movie being a drama. This is because the first movie was entertaining and contained some humorous situations. The second movie contained more information and sharing of knowledge but lacked the entertainment value. Also the children were only interested in seeing themselves on film and missed and therefore needed prompting to understand other children valuable contributions. Movie making with children needs to include some entertainment value but also include an underlying message. The need to be shared in a variety of ways e.g. assemblies and Teacher Tube. The children need to be involved in the whole process – planning, filming, acting and distributing. This way the children can contain ownership of the entire project and therefore sustain the knowledge and skills gained form the study.

Children’s comments “It was interesting that people came to New Zealand on boats and the sea was rough. You had to be tough to survive.” Jonathon. “It was interesting that they had to use pans, dynamite and shovels to get the gold” David. It is interesting the different stage a caterpillar goes through to become a butterfly” Nicholas. “I learned how a butterfly use its proboscis” Madeline.