Engaging
Afghanistan: Collaborative Documentary Filmmaking at Lehigh
In the summer of 2010,
Political Science Assistant Professor Nandini Deo requested
support from the TRAC (Technology, Research and
Communications) Writing Fellows Program for her fall course
on Afghanistan. But her request came with a twist. Instead
of assigning traditional research papers, she desired her
students to communicate their grasp of concepts and topics
through documentary video production.
Professor Deo wanted the 22
students enrolled in the course to understand Afghan history
and culture, drawing on course materials and their own
research, and believed that documentary video production
would be a good way for students to articulate that
understanding.
In order to facilitate
intensive collaboration, Deo went beyond individual or
small-group production in favor of a project that would
require all students in the course to collaborate on a 15-
to 20-minute documentary video.
A request for filmmaking
assistance is not unusual for LTS staff. With the help of
the LTS Documentary Resource Team, professors in English,
history, anthropology, journalism, and marketing have
immersed their students in this form of communication for a
number of years. However, video peer mentoring is an
entirely new form of support. Fortunately, two TRAC Writing
Fellows were ready to seize this opportunity as a pilot for
the TRAC program.
This ambitious filmmaking
collaboration provided a wonderful platform for the TRAC
video fellows pilot. To prepare for the innovative work
they would be doing for the Afghanistan course, two
undergraduate writing fellows were trained to guide faculty
and students through the documentary filmmaking process.
Deo wanted students to
become familiar with the technical aspects very early in the
semester so the TRAC fellows were able to practice their
newly acquired skills. With help from LTS staff, TRAC
Fellows Ana Alexandrescu and Jake Kennon were able to take
on an enlarged peer-mentoring role.
As educators, we aim to make
the filmmaking process a rich and engaging learning
experience. From rough, fine, to final cut, filmmaking is a
process of drafts. The added element of collaboration
helped move the process along.
Though the Afghanistan
project was new and challenging, students rose to those
challenges and exceeded all collaborative and learning
goals. From concept to production, students were involved
in some form of collaboration with classmates, staff,
faculty, and TRAC Fellows.
The Afghanistan course
provided us with a successful pilot and sustainable model
for collaborative documentary production. Working across
disciplines, TRAC Fellows, librarians, instructional
technologists, and faculty development offer faculty and
students collaborative support for a wide range of
documentary projects.
--
Julia
Maserjian & Greg Skutches
Article posted March,
2011
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