Critical thinking outcomes: A case study on the instructional use of mainstream film in high school United States history classrooms.

摘要

In today's society, students are influenced by visual media through films, which may have positive learning implications when educators use film as a teaching resource. This qualitative study examines eleventh grade high school students' critical thinking skills when using film to analyze historical concepts in a high school United States History course by addressing the following questions: Do today's students show preference to different learning strategies? How are students' critical thinking skills impacted by the use of mainstream films as instructional tools? How do students interpret the various viewpoints of an historical event through film over a period of time? The research applies to multiple viewpoints of the Vietnam War spanning 40 years. How will participants respond to an activity that is associated with recreation (viewing mainstream film) in an educational setting for instructional purposes?