CVCV Offers Video Arts as a Teaching Tool
7/25/2007
Dr. Suzanne Miller is director of the City Voices City Visions digital film project and an associate professor in the Department of Learning and Instruction.
City Voices City Visions is a partnership between UB and the Buffalo Public Schools that provides teachers in grades 6-12 with innovative approaches to using digital video arts as a literacy tool in their classrooms. The goal is to raise the academic achievement—and thus increase the post-graduate opportunities—of these students, who attend classes in a variety of urban neighborhoods.
The New York State Education Department provides funding to the program, which is a partner with other area organizations, including Squeaky Wheel, WNED Television and the Western New York Writing Project. In addition, the John R. Oishei Foundation is funding the program, including support for a large-scale evaluation of its impact.
Now in its seventh year, City Voices City Visions (CVCV) has offered annual professional development institutes and year-round support to teachers from a total of 20 city schools.
According to Miller, a majority of the teachers report back that the technology has energized their students and themselves. "Most of them integrate it in their classrooms and most really fall in love with it as an embodied way of learning and they end up doing three to six projects a year at their schools," she said.
Keith Hughes, who teaches U.S. history and government at McKinley High School in Buffalo, said participating in the City Voices City Visions program has improved his teaching and his students.
"I have constantly challenged my students and myself into producing a wide range of digital videos. The result has been higher scores on my students' Regents examinations," Hughes said.
Preliminary studies have shown that City Voices City Visions has a powerful impact on student learning, engagement, attendance and student achievement, according to Miller, who is conducting a full study over the next year.
Next year, WNED-TV plans to produce a documentary about the program, and Miller also is organizing a CVCV showcase for October so more people can see how the program has promoted different ways of representing meaning.
Despite its successes, Miller cautioned that City Voices City Visions may not be for every teacher.
"We want people who are already leaning toward teaching subjects in alternative ways. We give them a way of thinking about how that can engage students."
For information about City Voices City Visions, call (716) 645-2696, ext. 1158.
Read the full article on the UB NewsCenter page:
http://www.buffalo.edu/news/8766
