Names of teacher: Christopher Smith
Date: 15.12.2013
Theorist and concept chosen as
lesson foundation: James A Banks, 5
Dimensions of Multicultural Education
Class and grade: Documentary Theory,
Film & TV Media Assistants, Vocational School, 2nd year
Number of students: 12
Learning objectives:
The learning objectives over the whole course (which should comprise one
study week) are to understand what documentary is in the context of the history
of cinema. Students should come away with an understanding of the key theories which
have gone into documentary theory, what place documentary has in the context of
world cinema and how the genre is today morphing and developing, as well as a
good solid grounding in the key practitioners of documentary film-making today
and historically in global cinema.
Expected outcomes:
The
students should be able to identify with confidence the relevance of
documentary in terms of generic markers and its place in the history of cinema
and specifically world cinema, as well as be able to demonstrate knowledge and
understanding of some key documentary film-makers and the state of the genre
today.
Prior knowledge of students:
Students should have knowledge of at
least basic genre theory, understanding of the concept of generic markers, a
broad understanding of the need for awareness in different genres and having a basic
cine-literate approach to viewing film. Competency in English is also required.
Forms of assessment:
Assessment
will be three-fold: one third comprising class attendance, one third comprising
individual participation and discussions with the student on what they have
learned and one third comprising the assessment of a 2-page written paper, the
subject of which is an exploration of the meaning, relevance and success of one
documentary from world cinema.
NB:
For the
purposes of this exercise, I have decided to outline in my lesson plan for how
the first day’s class would go, which totals five teaching hours, rather than
the whole study week.
Lesson
structure:
Activity
|
Key outcome (e.g. students
should...
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Class structure (e.g. students in
groups, seated individually)
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Time
(min.)
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Introduction
An interactive
lecture on the basics of documentary theory, placing it historically and in
the concept of world cinema, with plenty of examples from highly regarded
documentary film-makers.
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Students should
understand clearly what are the generic markers of documentary as well as
what are have been the key movements globally.
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The students are
sitting in a lecture theatre with a projector and speakers in order to see
the film clips.
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1h
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Main section
Students are asked
to watch and analyse prescribed contemporary documentaries from world cinema
with an eye on their cultural significance, relevance in historical context and
meaning today in those cultures.
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Students should be
able to say with confidence what the documentaries mean in historical,
cultural and generic context.
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For this part of the
class, the students are divided into 6 pairs and sent off to watch the documentaries. (see footer)
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2h15m
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Conclusion
Students should
return to the class having prepared a 10-minute presentation on the documentary
they have watched, telling the rest of the class about it, what it means,
where it comes from and what they thought about it, possibly, if time allows,
showing a sample clip to illustrate their argument.
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Students should be
able to demonstrate understanding and analytical skills in the context of
global documentary.
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Each team should
present their own 10 minute presentation from their own documentary research.
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1h
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Homework
Students should come
up with some ideas for a documentary production in Finland which looks at a
minority.
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As well as thinking
about documentary form, students should be aware of minorities in Finland and
the issues surrounding them.
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This task will be
done individually and students will prepare a short presentation on their idea,
so they can get feedback from their classmates.
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30mins
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