Abstract:

Media, including audio-visual materials, are seen as a popular way of fostering education and of improving the quality of lessons in formal education settings. Fictional movies, television and educational films may have a positive influence on information recall amongst university students and on learners in primary and secondary schools. However, detailed research on the precise impact of audio-visual materials in educational settings is lacking. This is especially relevant for age groups 14 to17 years, a time when future schooling decisions are made by learners. The present study, carried out in secondary schools in Germany and Austria, investigated the impact individual and situational factors on various performance factors. In this manuscript we report on the effect of individual demographic factors and of showing educational science film on learners’ interest and motivational gain in the presented topic.

Methodologically, the study evaluated films specifically produced for the usage in school settings. The films were embedded in an undisturbed classroom setting with only the presence of the regular teacher. In total 442 learners between the age of 11 to 20 in Germany and Austria were included in the survey. After watching the film, the learners filled out a questionnaire that measured their interest in the film topic and their recall of the film content as well as their impressions about the film.

The educational science films impacted positively the interest of the learners in the film topic. Disparities exist between the learners regarding a passive (would like to know more about the topic) and an active interest/motivation gain (will further inform him/herself about the topic). Older learners have more active interest gain than the younger learners. Educational science films have a greater impact on the passive and active interest of girls. And while the active interest in the topic after watching the educational science film is the same for both countries, the passive interest is higher in Austria than in Germany. The lack of impact of previous knowledge together with evaluations of specific film characteristics indicates that passive and active interest gain have a strong emotive element. Implications of the findings are discussed.

Keywords:

Interest, motivation, films.