When appropriately used in the art classroom, videos play an important and vital role in instruction. From addressing diverse learning styles to meeting state standards, videos have the potential to be a significant teaching tool. Knowing when and how to use videos, however, is key to successful implementation. This article examines a few…

In his previous articles (1997, 1998, 1999), the author developed a theoretical and applied approach to analyzing interactions between the uses of constructive design elements in a wide range of images and the anticipated responses by their viewers. This Image Presentation Theory--IPT--is based in the traditional cinematic concepts of "window" and…

Ponce de Laon describes his experience of watching different films at different stages of life from 1971 when he was at the age of nine. From these experiences he choose his own career as a scholar and as a director of the UCLA Chicano Studies Research Center.

The postrevolutionary Mexican presence in Los Angeles profoundly influenced the emergence and consolidation of film and other media there. Mainstream responses suggest that dominant uses of sound in film exercised an ideological police power that was ultimately aimed at symbolically containing Mexican dissent.

All life begins in the sea, people are taught, and a great transformation extends it to new places on land. The sea has always echoed this transformation in images of human aspiration in myths and metaphors. In the summer of 2003, this powerful image appeared again in the movies. In three very different films, "Seabiscuit," "Whale Rider," and…

Over the years, many movies have presented on-screen a struggle between machines and human beings. Typically, the machines have come to rule and threaten the existence of humanity. They must be conquered to ensure the survival of and to secure the freedom of the human race. Although these movies appear to expose the dangers of an autonomous and…

Children have a right to play. The idea is so simple it seems self-evident. But a stroll through any toy superstore, or any half-hour of so-called "children's" programming on commercial TV, makes it clear that violence, not play, dominates what's being sold. In this article, the author discusses how teachers and parents share the responsibility in…

Against a formidable national discourse that emphasizes academic standardization, accountability, and high-stakes testing in educational policy, "Character and Moral Education: A Reader" seeks to re-introduce and revive the moral mission of education in public conversation and practices in America's schools. With contributions from a…

The book aims to change the conversation about sexuality education for adolescents, making it consistent with a democratic cultural politics that is attuned to changes in youth and popular culture. Traditional sex education is nearly obsolete; sexuality curriculum is now primarily learned through popular culture and youth culture, which teach…

The "ISSS Annual Conference Proceedings" is a peer-reviewed professional publication published once a year following the annual conference. (Individual papers contain references.) [For the 2010 proceedings, see ED509647.]

Learning theory suggests that student learning can be improved if students are required to articulate and reflect about work that they have done. This process helps students think more clearly about their work and such articulation also enables tutors to better assess student knowledge and mental models. There are various electronic tools…

Digital video equipment and studios newly available for faculty use can be incorporated into the technological repertoire of college faculty, enabling professors to customize and enhance the learning experience of their students. Today's students are particularly attuned to analyzing visual images and data, so the use of customized films in the…

In this article, the author points out that in this increasingly visual world, outstanding films can engage classes and lift the curtain on the cultures and modern history of Latin America. He recommends some of the most gripping and perceptive films on this topic, and offers advice on how teachers can provide the background to these dramas and…

This paper considers how a university teacher uses reflexive writings to explore what might constitute becoming a 'better' teacher within her classroom practices. The writings derive from an encounter with students where they had opportunity to reflect upon notions of childhood as portrayed within the film "East is East". Specifically,…

The Crusades are among the few medieval events with which most students have familiarity. However, during these days of heightened tensions in the Middle East, for many the Crusades have taken on an urgency as a distant historical phenomenon that speaks powerfully to present religious and political concerns. This helps explain why in 2005, two…