Journal of Precision Teaching Volume 2 Number 2FACTS, FUNS, AND FREES DURING EDUCATIONAL FILMS
Abiga i l B. Ca lk ln Topeka Pub l ic Schools
Americans t a l k about freedom a lot . We say we a re more f r e e than c i t i z e n s in t h e S o v i e t UnI on. We say ou r system o f e d u c a t i o n is free. We say t h is I s t h e home o t t h e f ree . For hundreds o t yea rs people have moved h e r e t o ob ta in re l ig ious , p o l i t i c a l , and economic freedom. Even so, no one has ever measured freedom before.
To l ea rn more about freedom i n t h e c l assroom, f i r s t and second graders, j u n l o r h igh students, and graduate students counted facts, funs, and f rees wh i l e watching f a c t f i l m s ( f i l m s w i t h high fac tua l content) and fun f i l m s ( f i l m s designed t o be fun).
What are t h e frequencies o t facts, funs, and f rees? What i s t h e d i f fe rence between f a c t s and funs on t h e f a c t f 1 lms and t h e fun f 1 lms? Do we f e e l f ree when Ie a r n l ng? Do we f e e l f r e e when h a v l ng f u n ? Are t h e f requenc les o f facts, funs, and f rees d i f f e r e n t a t d i f f e r e n t ages? Are there f r e e f i l m s ?
Backaround
inner Behavfors Psychology began as the study o f a person's inner mental mechanisms, grew i n t o a study o f outer behavioral observatlon, and i s j u s t recen t l y r e t u r n i n g t o the study o f the Inner i nd i v idua l (Jacobs and Sachs, 19711. Jacobs and Sachs reported t h e measuri ng o f fear, depression, we1 l- be1 ng, p o s l t i v e and n e g a t i v e emotions, imagery, and o t h e r i n n e r events. Duncan (1971 and 19721, H i v e l y and Duncan (19721, Dean (19731, Sokolove ( 1 9731, and St romberg (1 977) have a l l r e p o r t e d i n n e r da ta on t h e Standard Beh av l o r Chart.
For ty -seven f i r s t and second g raders and 28 seventh, e igh th , and n i n t h g r a d e r s f r o m an urban Kansas school d i s t r i c t , p l u s 23 peop le f rom a Un i v e r s i t y o f Kansas Educa t iona I Admi n i s t r a t i on graduate c I ass, counted f acrs, funs, and f reedoms wh Ile watch ing f a c t f i lms and f u n f 1 lms. The teachers volunteered t o have t h e i r classes pa r t i c ipa te .
The f i r s t and second graders saw 10 f a c t f i l m s and 10 fun f i lms. The jun io r high students saw one f a c t f i l m and one fun f i l m . The graduate students saw three f a c t f ilms and two fun f iIms.
To v e r If y t h a t f ir s t and second grade ch IId ren c o u l d c o u n t accu ra te1 y, showed them 10 w i l d animal p i c t u r e s from Homes and Habi t5 af Anrmals (Schmidt, 19541, turned around four t o f l ve times, and sa id % ~ o o d l ~ ~ seven t o 11 t i m e s I n response t o t h e i r naming t h e a n i m a l s c o r r e c t l y . Each c h i l d t a l I l e d t h e number o t p i c t u r e s I showed, t u r n s I made, and t i m e s I s a i d ulGood!ll. To ensure t h a t t he elementary and j u n l o r high students knew what facts, fun, and f r e e were, I had them g ive the1 r own examples o t each.
I chose 20 f i lms , 10 o f which presented many f a c t s and 10 o f which were fun. The f a c t f i l m s were above t h e grade level o f f i r s t and second graders, w i th top i cs ranging from m u l t i p l i c a t l o n t o astronomy. The f i l m cata log ra ted the f a c ~f i l m s from an intermediate elementary through an a d u l t level.
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The f u n f i l m s used i n c l u d e d t h o s e w i t h t h e h i g h e s t median f u n c o u n t s i n a p i l o t study, t hose p rev iewed on t h e b a s i s o f t h e c a t a l o g d e s c r i p t i o n , and f i Ims t h e schoo l d l s t r i c t ' s media s p e c i a l 1 s t recommended. They i n c l uded f a i r y t a l e s , Dr . Seuss s t o r i e s , f i lms made f rom award-w in n i n g ch i 1 drenls books, and award -w inn ing f i ims. Each f i l m was a p p r o x i m a t e l y 10 m i n u t e s long.
hh- During t h e f a c t f i l m and t h e fun f i l m , each p e r s o n t a l l l e d f a c t s , funs, and f rees . These f r e q u e n c i e s were c h a r t e d on t h e Da i l y S tandard Behav io r Chart. The e lemen ta ry s t u d e n t s had 4 x 6 i n c h w h i t e shee ts o f paper w it h a I i ne f o r t h e ch 1 I d's name, w it h "f unw, and '!freet! p r 1 n t e d In c o l umns ac ross t h e top. They t a l l l e d f a c t s , funs, o r f r e e s on t h e shee ts d u r i n g each f i l m . A t t h e end o f each f i l m , a c h i l d co l le c ~ e d t h e sheets and pu t them i n a large man i la envelope 1 abe led e i t he r " f a c t f 1 lml' o r Itfun f i lmlt. They watched a fun f 1 l m and a f a c t f il m each day f o r 10 days. The j u n i o r h igh and graduate students labeled t h e i r own sheets and shared t h e i r frequencies a f t e r t h e f i lms.
Wh h a l v s i s The frequencies were charted on t h e Standard Behavior Chart. The analyses used included frequency d i s t r i bu t i ons , t h e frequency range, the mld-median t e s t w i t h Fisher's exact p robab i l i t y , and c e l e r a t i o n I ines.
Counting Accuracv Chart 1 shows t h e frequency range, t h e median, and t h e range o f coun t1 ng e r r o r f o r t w o c l asses o f f Ir s t and second g r a d e r s when t h e y coun ted p I c I ures, tu rns , and ltGood ll%. The probab 1 l lt y t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e c o u n t s o c c u r r e d by c h a n c e i s a l s o shown. Probabi l lty leve1 s were computed w it h the m 1d-medi an t e s t and F i sher's exact probab il ity .
The f ir s t g rade c l ass counted p i c t u r e s and 1tGood!19s more accu ra te1 y t h e second day. The range o f a1 l t h e c o u n t s decreased f r o m t h e f ir s t t o t h e second day. Using t h e counts from t h e second day f o r t h e f lr s t grade c lass and t h e c o u n t s f o r t h e f i r s t - s e c o n d grade c lass , t h e range o f c o u n t s f o r p i c r u r e s was x13 f o r t h e f i r s t g r a d e r s and x2.3 f o r t h e f i r s t - s e c o n d graders; f o r t u rns , x 2 and x2.5; and f o r lfGoodI1ls, x3.8 and x2.4. Both c Iasses accu ra te1 y coun ted p 1c t u r e s and undercounted lfGoodl%. The f ir s t grade c lass s l 1g h t ly overcounted turns.
~ i r ~ D r f f e r e n c e B e t w _ e e n F a c t ,EYn,anrtFreeF~lwsQtlmm Fl Ims EYCl u?Charts 2, 3, 4, and 5 show the median frequencies f o r f ac ts , funs, and f r e e s dur ing t h e f a c t f l Ims and t h e f u n f i Ims in each c lass. Each c h a r t i s s e c t i o n e d in t o f a c t s , funs, and f rees. The f l r s t f requency i n each s e c t i o n is t h e median f o r t h e f i r s t f 1 1 m; t h e second frequency is the med Ian f o r the second f ilm; etc. The ce le r a t i on l ine shows t h e t r e n d o f t h e median f requenc ies . The p robab i I i t y e q u a t i o n s t a t e s t h e probab i I It y t h a t t h e d i f f e r e n c e s between f a c t s and f rees , f a c t s and funs, and funs and f rees occurred by chance.
C h a r t s 2 and 3 show t h a t median f r e q u e n c i e s f o r f a c t s were s i g n l f i c a n t l y h igher 1n f a c t f ilms. Charts 4 and 5 show t h a t med Ian frequencies f o r fun were s i g n ~ f i c a n t l y h i g h e r i n fun f i l m s . Comparing a l l f o u r cha r t s , It i s c l e a r t h a t med Ian f a c t frequencies on f a c t f i lms were h igher than med Ian fun frequencies on fun f i lms. Also, median f a c t and fun frequencies were lower I n t h e f i r s t grade class. F ina l ly , medlan f r e e frequencies were low i n both
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There were t h r e e s t r u c t u r a l l y f r e e f ilms -- M U , &MU pf len, and Movement& Plarcts. U was the only f i l m which had f rees as the highest count. This occurred i n the f irst-second grade. The median f r ee frequency was 7, the median f a c t frequency was 4, and the medlan fun frequency was 5.
brtherreallencrernf-Fm~lnasD_f.fferentmDt.ffarent? Chart 6 shows the frequency d i s t r i bu t i ons of f i r s t and second graders and adul ts on fac ts , fun, and f r e e w h i l e wa tch ing a f a c t f i l m , M ~ I t i ~ U c a t i m ,and a fun f i l m , frPm Ssvss M Loore. T h i s Char t shows t h a t t h e a d u l t s learned more f ac t s than the ch i ld ren and t h a t the ch i ld ren had more fun than t h e a d u l t s . The r e s u l t s on t h e f r e e s do n o t show t h a t one g r o u p cons1 s ten t l y f e l t more f r ee than t he other.
Cnar ts 7, 8, and 9 show t h e frequency d i s t r i b u t l o n s o f f i r s t and second graders, jun l o r h igh students, and adu lt s on P_owers pf 3x1, a f a c t f ilm, and BIaze Glory, a fun f i l m .
Chart 7 shows t h a t f ac t s were cons is tent ly and s l g n l f i can t l y higher on the f a c t f i l m than on t h e fun f i l m f o r a l l t h r e e groups. I t i s o b v i o u s f rom Char t 7 t h a t t h e probabl l i t y l e v e l s w i t h i n each group f a r exceed t h e p robab i l i t y leve ls calculated f o r the di f ferences between the groups.
Cha r t 8 shows t h a t t h e f u n f requenc les on t h e f u n f iIm were s i g n i f I c a n t I y higher than on the f a c t f iIm f o r aI I three groups. Again, the probab i1 1t y d i f f e rences w i t h i n each group f o r t h e f a c t and fun c o u n t s o n t h e f un f i l m f o r each group were much g r e a t e r t han t h e probab il 1t y leve1 s between t he groups.
Cha r t 9 shows t h a t both f iIms had low f r ees i n a l I t h r e e age groups. The adu l t s had the highest frees; the Junior high students had the lowest frees.
There Frsa Urns? The jun 1o r h i gh s tuden ts expressed an In t e r e s t in making f r ee f ilms. Three students each made a f ree f 1Im. The teacher made a fun f i l m . The f i l m s were made i n t he Spring and shown the fo l low ing Fal l . Over ha l f the c lass were new students, and the teacher was d i f f e r e n t also.
Cha r t 10 shows t h a t M a r t i and R o s a l i e each made a f i l m i n which f r e e s had t h e h i g h e s t f requencles. Bruce's f i l m had low fac t , fun, and f r e e frequencies. V i rg in ia 's fun f i l m had the highest frequencles on the funs.
Efae Feel Itlgs This study found t h a t f r ee counts on f a c t and fun f 1Ims were low I n a l l three age groups. The one exception t o t h i s was the f irst-second
&.hi. Wh iIe t h e adu I t f r e e f requenc iesgrade c l ass's counts on t h e f 1 Im, were h igher t han e i t h e r t h e f i r s t and second graders o r t h e Jun io r h i gh students, they were s t i l l low.
One e x p l a n a t l o n I s t h a t t h e f i l m s chosen had l i t t i e freedom i n them. Another p o s s i b i l i t y i s t h a t t h e v i e w i n g o f t h e f i l m s was a c o n t r o l l e d operant s l ~ u a t i o n , i.e., the viewers d l d no t have a choice i n what they saw o r i n when they v iewed t h e f i lms . Given t h a t a l l t h e f i l m s were shown i n c Iassroom s e t t i ngs, t h e v iewer d id n o t t r u l y have t h e o p t i o n t o Ieave t h e room.
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frae Fl.lms Two j u n i o r high students each made a f r e e f ilm. The h igh f r e e c o u n t s i n d i c a t e t h a t it i s p o s s i b l e t o make a f r e e f i l m , b u t t h a t t h e f a c t and fun e a u c a t i o n a l f i l m s i n t h i s s tudy were n o t f ree. W h i l e t h e j u n i o r h i g h s t u d e n t s f e l t t h e l e a s t f r e e i n t h e f a c t and f u n f iIms, t h e y a t l e a s t knew t h e i r own operat ional d e f i n i t i o n o t freedom s u f f i c i e n t l y we1 l t o make f i l m s which had h igh f r e e counts.
Ffrs.t and Sacond Grad.ers The f i r s t - s e c o n d grade c l ass had h i g h e r f r e q u e n c i e s than t h e f l r s t grade c lass . I t i s p o s s i b l e t h a t t h e f i r s t graders became bored watch ing t w o f 1 lms dai ly. The f irst-second grade was an open classroom, and the f i r s t grade was t rad i t i ona l . I t i s poss ib le t h a t an open c lassroom atmosphere induces more l e a r n i n g and f u n t h a n a t r a dit1 ona i c lassrwm.
E c e g u . ! Across &BS The r e s u l t s from the elementary, jun l o r h igh, and graduate students show t h a t there are greater d if f erences between f a c t and fun f r e q u e n c i e s t h a n t h e r e a r e between t h e t h r e e age groups. T h i s shows t h a t t h e f a c t f i l m s a re h igh i n fac tua l content and t h e fun f i l m s a r e h igh i n fun. Thus, the important d i f f e rence i s n o t t h e age o f t h e v iewer b u t t h e content o f t he f 1lm.
1. Ch lldren, teenagers, and adu l t s count fee l ings w it h approxl mate ly the same frequency ranges when presented w i t h the same mater ia l .
2. Feel ings can be counted and studied using ob jec t i ve behavioral science. The frequency d l s t r i b u t i o n s of the th ree fee l i ngs have t h e same spread.
3. Pr imary ch ildren, teenagers, and adu lt s can operat ional Iy d if f w e n t 1a t e between f a c t and fun f ilms as measured by f a c t and fun frequencies counted on f a c t and fun f i lms.
4. The d i f fe rences between t h e f a c t f i l m and t h e fun f il m were greater than the d l fferences between the primary ch ildren, the teenagers, and the adults.
5. Primary chi ldren, teenagers, and a d u l t s do n o t fee l f r e e w h i l e watching f i l m s i n a classroom set t ing .
6. It i s poss ib le t o make a f r e e f l l m .
F i lms producing h igh f r e e f requencl es need t o be found o r made. Th I s could be done by a high school o r co l l ege f i l m class. I t may be poss ib le t o make a f i l m w i t h h lgh facts, high funs, and h lgh frees.
A good t o p i c f o r research would be t o have t h e f l l m viewers count f a c t s they f e l T t h e y learned, as we1 l as sha re a f t e r t h e f i l m f a c t s t h e y a c t u a l l y learned. Th i s would g i v e a t e a c h e r in f o r m a t i o n on wh i c h f ilms produce learn1 ng as we1 l as make the v iewers f e e l they learned and had fun.
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Schmidt, K.P. hmm and Hab pf tspf An,i,md.s. New York: Donohue and Co., 1934.
Sokolove, H.E. inner Babavior: ILm &jy& 1 Becomas public. lnformatlon. Kansas City, Ks.: Precision Media, 1973.
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