Abstract:

One of the challenges faced by professors is to engage students in the learning process in spite of material that may not be as interesting to them because it is a required course rather than one related to their majors. Today’s students are also more visually oriented getting their information from sources other than the printed page.
A device that I have used successfully in my Environmental Law and Policy course is to marry problem-solving with audio-visual material as a means of fostering class discussion. The subject of Environmental Law presents more than the usual challenges to student engagement because it is primarily public or statutory law consisting of acts passed by Congress and regulations. This material is not exactly fodder for stimulating classroom participation.
I have constructed a series of problems culled from federal and state court cases and has written “problems” based on the facts in these appellate cases. I have located video from a variety of sources including PBS’s Frontline, 60 Minutes, Nova, Bill Moyers Journal, the History Channel and Films for the Humanities and other sources which present both sides of controversial environmental issues. I present problems to the class for discussion. Students examine and debate the facts presented and give their opinions as to which side, plaintiff or defendant should win. Then I show the students the film. I favor videos not longer than thirty minutes in length but which offer experts with conflicting opinions that may confirm or disagree with the students’ initial impressions. Among the topics: electromagnetic fields, nuclear power, drilling ANWR, the Exxon Valdez, chemicals that affect human hormones etc. Students are then asked to reexamine their initial opinions in light of what the experts have stated. None of the films are fictional.
My success with this methodology might prove interesting and useful to colleagues who teach science and other technical subjects that do not readily lent themselves to class participation.