I Showed a Movie For a Final

Published: 2023-12-18 4:00 PM

Category: Teaching | Tags: science, environmental science, patterns, identification, assessment

Sorry for the clickbait title, but I really did. My environmental science class just finished our unit on human populations and the affects it has on the environment along with the effects of social constructs, resource availability, and other factors on the population growth. Along with everything we've done so far this year on biodiveristy, resource allocation, and other ways we interact with the environment, it is the perfect time to watch Wall-E.

I normally don't like using movies in class because the chintzy worksheets that go with many are just busywork. This time, I'm putting a spin on the watching. Instead of completing a simple fill-in-the-blank page of very specific detail-oriented questions, I gave my class a prompt:

Take notes of themes or topics you notice that apply directly to the learning you've done so far this year. It can be any topic from any unit. When you notice something, add it as a bullet point in your doc. This will be the basis of your final synthesis where you discuss and describe your notes in detail for your final exam.

In other words, watch the movie and make a note when something looks familiar. Easy enough.

I want to see how students can synthesize information from a larger stretch of time. Wall-E is a fantastic resource for this class because it is a clear representation of what could happen if some of our trends don't change. Anything from pollution to overpopulation is fair game for the students and each one will have a different perspective and take on the content.

Vox captures this well in their 2017 retrospective:

...the film's genius is probably due to Stanton's [the director's] assiduous efforts to stay neutral. There are no familiar slogans or symbols easily identified with a politicized notion of the environment anywhere in Wall-E. Instead, the film paints a pretty stunning picture of the deleterious effects of letting two things continue unchecked: a society's insatiable need to consume (cheap products, entertainment, food, resources), and private industry's drive for profit when it overtakes public good.

Each unit so far has asked students to consider the human impact on the environment and this is an opportunity to see how they relate to a fictionalized version of a less-than-ideal future.

I haven't seen their notes yet, but the group was attentive and people were actually writing things down, which is an encouraging start. Hopefully this will be a strategy I can use again.