A History of Film as Method

Abstract

This chapter explores the history of the film medium as a tool for pedagogy before examining the ways that qualitative methodology can be utilized to examine the use of film in the classroom. Attention is given to the ethnographic and phenomenological methods and methodologies that allow researchers to consider action and place in educational research as well as general qualitative approaches. The author considers a variety of definitions for film as well as examples of products that might be aligned with the term film. Particular attention is given to the potential for examining film as a text or textual resource for instruction, and future directions for research include a methodological focus on constructing classroom portraits.