Prehistoric movies, like most movies, have a large audience in America. Even Disney's destroyed 2004 version of The Battle of the Alamo was watched by millions of people. This is much more than the best-selling prehistoric books.
Most of the audience are children, watching these movies at the cinema, at home and on campus. I've seen teachers educate with the Alamo War many times.
But is this kind of film suitable for studying prehistory? As an expert in social education research, I (the original author is Scott Allen Mecger, associate professor of education at Pennsylvania State University) have also used movies to preview history, thinking that movies can really support learning, as long as they are used to meet specific policies and are related to appropriate themes.
The charm of prehistoric movies
The foundation of practice is still empty, practice is still a dream, and the pre-historical film will depict the way people think about the past. In a discussion about how the 15 family evaluated the historical significance of the Vietnam War, children and parents invariably recalled the movie Forrest Gump, which was taken as a reference by two generations.
Teachers will also use the power of this civilization to show movies in the course to stimulate students' interest in prehistory. In a study involving 84 teachers in Wisconsin and Connecticut, nearly 93% said they used video clips at least once a week. Although this is not enough to draw a clear conclusion, this study shows that teachers may frequently use prehistoric movies in education.
So why did the teacher choose to show movies in class?
Everyone has a teacher who shows movies in class without the dull image of "practical" education, but is busy, lazy and stressed. However, the discussion shows that such teachers have a prominent starting point in practice.
In the above discussion involving 84 teachers, most teachers think that students are more motivated and learn more when using movies. The case study also describes the educational policy of teachers using movies in class, including understanding the controversy of pre-history, visual narration of pre-history and taking movies as the "first-hand origin" to reflect the background of the times.
In a recent seminar attended by more than 200 Australian teachers, most of them described how movies add audio-visual elements to education, and showed how to look at pre-historical scenes and moments from the perspective of individual and substitution, and thought that these two aspects were in line with students' learning methods and preferences.
Do students trust movies?
Most young people are satisfied and know that movies and television are fictional products, but this does not mean that they can separate their past history from Hollywood. After all, the film and television that prevailed in prehistoric times will also be discussed by many people, and practice and virtuality will be mixed together.
In a seminar involving two American preparatory classes, the interviewed high school students said that "Hollywood" movies are not a very reliable source of information, but they are treated equally with other reasonable sources in the lecture activities. This may be because the teacher selected these films and then unconsciously gave them some rationality. A student explained, "The teacher must have seen some excellent pre-history." The other said, "I thought teachers wouldn't choose films at will."
A case study conducted by Alan Marcus, a professor of education, shows that students think that most movies they watch in class are at least credible, and use them as information sources for collecting practice.
A study involving 26 Wisconsin teenagers shows that students' trust is also related to their transcendental common sense or civilized views. The seminar was attended by half whites and half Indians. Indian teenagers trust kevin costner's movie Dancing with Wolves 1993 slightly more than their white peers. On the other hand, white students trust textbooks more than their Indian friends.
Education meets the challenge
When teachers use pre-history film education in class, one of the challenges they encounter is the complex relationship between practice and virtuality. It's not just a simple click on "Play".
For example:
Most pre-historical films are not suitable for children, and parents may not expect their children to see them in the lecture hall;
Some leaders may not agree to watch movies in class;
There is not much time to show this film because of the pressure of teaching the content of the educational syllabus and preparing students for the exam.
It is the composition of campus day that makes it difficult to fill in the course, especially including lecture hall review and review.
But perhaps the most frustrating thing is whether movies are suitable for students to study pre-history
At a seminar in Australia, most of the participating teachers thought the film was very useful, but some teachers said that the film might lure students into inaccurate historical descriptions. A teacher said: "Hollywood distorts history, but it is easier for children to remember what they see than to practice."
A psychological study found that when the current historical film matches the previous history books, it can make people remember it better. However, when movies conflict with reading materials, students will be misled by a lot of misleading information, because students will remember what they see, not the words in the book. This kind of work will happen even if the pre-school historical film is warned in advance that it is virtual.
If you point out some wrong details, most students can remember both accurate information and wrong information. Before the film is shown, teachers should be prepared to help students label the various elements in the film accurately and misleadingly in their minds.
How to learn pre-history from Hollywood
Prehistoric movies have the potential to learn things, but it is not easy to put the potential into practice.
Teachers need to have rich common sense about the theme to be expressed, so as to analyze the film and make clear the relationship between practice and virtuality. Teachers also need to determine a reasonable education policy and be aware of the diverse and civilized perspectives that students bring to the lecture hall. After watching the movie, students should be given some time and capital to make meaningful comments and reflections.
Simply showing movies or other media materials is not education.
If teachers are well aware of the film selection, education policy, subject knowledge and lecture activities, then students may really learn pre-history from Hollywood movies.