"Film Tactics" and Learning Styles

Blog 2:  Film Tactics and Learning Styles

On Tuesday, September 18^th we watched Harry Joe Brown’s 1945 archival film entitled Film Tactics.  While the main purpose of the film was to demonstrate instructional techniques for a naval operation, I couldn’t help but notice the diversity of teaching methods which were used to appeal to various learning styles.

Visual Learners:

As a visual learner, I really enjoyed watching the visual metaphor of what was going on in Sam’s head.  For instance, the large rifle that he was carrying symbolized his memories of how he first learned to fire a shotgun.  The blackboard drawings also featured pictorial cues for the operation, which were later decoded and translated into written form (ie. manoeuvre, signal, direction, performance, and execution).

The large thermometer in the film also seemed to carry different meanings for me.  It could be interpreted as a visual metaphor to describe one officer’s battle with exam anxiety (ie. shortness of breath, perspiration, racing heart, etc), or it could be that the officer actually finds some attributes of the classroom environment difficult to handle (ie. the heat cranked up too high, or a confined space to work).

Auditory Learners:

Verbal instructions and directions that would appeal to an auditory learner were also playing repeatedly in the background.

Tactile and Kinaesthetic Learners:

Later on in the film, the officers were given a chance to apply what they learned in a real life situation.  For some students, visuals and verbal instructions are not enough.  Some students learn best by hands-on activities and actually working on a project.  Tactile and kinaesthetic learners must have the opportunity to roll up their sleeves and get involved in the action.

The moral of this blog:

When planning lessons for children, it is especially important that we incorporate all learning styles into our activities, that way they will understand what we are trying to teach them, and enjoy coming to school.