Introduction
In the summer of 2005 The Thomas Hardye School (THS) in Dorset worked with Toolkit, a creative learning consultancy. They developed a model for students, staff and partner schools (secondary, middle and first) to make films about areas of Science and Technology which teachers find difficult, tricky or dangerous to explain. The initial stage of this project was funded with an award from NESTA (National endowment for Science Technology and the Arts).
The model was innovative for more than just its use of video. Teachers become clients, commissioning student film companies to make films that would be of direct use to the teachers in the classroom. This approach gave the films double learning value, creating new learning experiences for the students who made the films and the students who then viewed them. The client/film company relationship creates the potential to generate genuine collaboration between teacher and student, bringing a freshness of vision to the subject that has potential to hook students into watching the videos (potentially more than slick professionally produced videos). The films were disseminated through a the first Films for Learning website and are now available in the FFL Theatre enabling students and teachers to share films across the internet.
Film One: To view Doppler for Dummies >>>CLICK HERE<<<
Film Two: To view The Story of Yeast >>>CLICK HERE<<<
Film Three To view Van de Graaf >>>CLICK HERE<<<
Film Four To view >>>CLICK HERE<<<
A prototype Films for Learning website was hosted by the South West Grid for Learning for two years until Microsoft developed this site for FFL.
The first workshop
During the summer of 2005 we ran a two day scoping workshop for six Science and Technology teachers from the THS to develop this model. 30 students from all year groups were then led by the six teachers, Toolkit and support staff from THS to undertake filmmaking, leading to the production of our first Films for Learning.
Evaluation
Below are the results of a survey of the confidence of students participating in last summers FFL workshop. This was undertaken with a survey completed by each participating student at the end of every day. The results though simplistic give a realistic picture of the initial success of the project. If students feel confident in the technology and the subject they are communication we hope learning is improved.
The next steps
With the support of the Leading Edge National Collaborative (LENC) we then attempted to identify whether the FFL model specifically supported the ‘harder to reach/teach' students. We were particularly interested in following students in the lowest 20th percentile of achievement who were studying for Key Stage 3 tests in the Dorchester Area Schools Partnership (DASP).