Investigating Historical Skills Through the Lens of Film: A Case Study on Historical Thinking Skills Acquired Through Student-Produced Videos

Abstract

Communication is a necessary skill for students to develop in the 21st century, particularly with the advancement of new and novel practices of communication, but has not reached broad saturation in core curricula. The history classroom is well-poised as a context to build rich historical skills, digital literacy, and media literacy as part of a broader adoption of video production. This single instrumental case study evaluates the historical skills developed through student-generated video in graduate history classrooms. The theoretical framework includes Cognitive Constructivism (Bruner, 1977). and Activity Theory (Engeström, 2001). Ten participants were recruited from one site across different courses. The findings from interviews, focus groups, journal reflections, and video artifacts included four key themes: framing, evaluation, synthesis, and technical video skills. Participants drew connections between their historical training and implemented it into the design of their videos. They modeled the historical process through the production of the videos. The findings blend findings from historical thinking skills as well as distinct phases of the video production process. Implementation of similar projects in graduate history classrooms could warrant honing of historical skills and development of video production skills. Further research is necessary to understand its impact on primary, secondary, and undergraduate education.