Non‐optimal uses of video in the classroom

TLDR

The implications of non‑optimal media use are considered in light of renewed interest in integrating media literacy into K–12 instruction. This study examines instructional practices involving non‑optimal uses of video, films, and other mass media in K–12 classrooms and develops a typology of seven common patterns. Over six years, the authors observed and interviewed teachers in two Massachusetts districts and surveyed 130 middle‑ and high‑school teachers to document these patterns. Teachers report that colleagues frequently use media for non‑educational purposes such as filling time, keeping students quiet, providing breaks, or rewarding behavior.

Abstract

This paper examines some instructional practices concerning the non‐optimal uses of video, films and other mass media in the K–12 classroom. Based on a six‐year process of observing and interviewing teachers regularly in two school districts in Massachusetts, USA, this paper presents a typology of seven common patterns of non‐optimal media use, instructional practices that diminish or weaken the value of film and video viewing as a learning tool. A telephone survey was conducted with a purposive sample of 130 middle‐school and high‐school teachers to provide additional evidence concerning teacher perceptions of the frequency of their colleagues' non‐optimal use of video. Teachers in the USA report that their colleagues frequently use media for non‐educational purposes, including to fill time, to keep students quiet, as a break from learning, or as a reward for good behavior. The implications of non‐optimal media use are considered in light of renewed interest in integrating media literacy into K–12 instruction.