Complicated Conversations: Faculty and Graduate Student Perspectives on the Role of Film in Understanding Diverse Field Experiences
Abstract: The following panel addresses the complicated conversation (Pinar, 2011) between faculty, graduate students, and undergraduates about the influence of bias and prior experience in processing and understanding field experiences in diverse schools As we view education through the filter of our own experiences, a brief glimpse into unfamiliar school settings often reifies assumptions rather than expands understanding (Freire, 1998) This project was born out of a need to provide context for undergraduate students observing diverse school settings Intersecting ideas of critical pedagogy (Kincheloe, 2005) and research as praxis (Lather, 1986), the faculty of this undergraduate class partnered with the faculty of a graduate research class and presented graduate students with the challenge to develop short ethnographic films of seven diverse school communities The intention was to create a film for each school that portrayed the essence of the school’s culture, vision, and challenges, and the undergraduates would view the film prior to observing the school Questions, concerns, uncertainties, and possibilities surfaced as students and faculty moved into this new, creative territory The following panel brings together the experiences and perspectives of two initiating faculty members and one participating graduate student in order to analyze the successes, challenges, and complexities of the project
Presider: Efrat Pieterse, Western Galilee College