Documentary Film in Teaching History: Its Effect on Students' Academic Achievement

Abstract

INTRODUCTION

With the onset of digital technology, one of the institutions heavily influenced is Education. The teaching and learning process have been transformed from the traditionally practiced standards towards a more modernized technologically bound system. In this study, the researchers assessed the effect on students' achievement level of using documentary film in teaching history.

METHODS

The study used the Quasi-experimental Method of Research in the form of Pre-test -Post-test Equivalent Groups Design to test the effectivity of utilizing documentary films in students' conceptual understanding in History. It compared the achievement scores of students when exposed to documentary film-aided instruction and traditional instruction in teaching History. It also utilized the Descriptive Method of Research to determine the preferred strategy of the students whether it be the lecture-based instruction or the documentary film-aided instruction.

RESULTS

The study revealed that the students perform better when taught using Documentary Film-Aided Instruction than using Lecture-based instruction. The mean scores of the students are significantly higher in classes using documentary film as an aid in instruction. It was also noted that the majority of the students preferred the Documentary Film-aided Instruction because modern students are audio-visual learners.

DISCUSSIONS

The use of documentary film in teaching history is an alternative strategy to the usual history instruction suited to the learning styles of students in our present generation. Students nowadays prefer technology-bound instruction because they believe that it makes learning more interesting and fun.