EduSci

Here's my Lesson Plan Template, looking at teaching world cinema documentary theory using theory of Dr. James A. Banks, which I found fascinating and inspirational.


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...
Class structure (e.g. students in groups, seated individually)
Time
(min.)
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.

Students should understand clearly what are the generic markers of documentary as well as what are have been the key movements globally.
The students are sitting in a lecture theatre with a projector and speakers in order to see the film clips.
1h
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.



Students should be able to say with confidence what the documentaries mean in historical, cultural and generic context.
For this part of the class, the students are divided into 6 pairs and sent off to watch the documentaries. (see footer)
2h15m
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.



Students should be able to demonstrate understanding and analytical skills in the context of global documentary.
Each team should present their own 10 minute presentation from their own documentary research.
1h
Homework
Students should come up with some ideas for a documentary production in Finland which looks at a minority.

As well as thinking about documentary form, students should be aware of minorities in Finland and the issues surrounding them.
This task will be done individually and students will prepare a short presentation on their idea, so they can get feedback from their classmates.
30mins

Documentaries: Etre et Avoir (France, 2002), Buena Vista Social Club (Cuba, 1999), Encounters at the End of the World (Germany, 2007), Waltz With Bashir (Isreal, 2008), Bilal (India, 2008), Senna (Britain, Brazil, 2010)

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