The great thing about movies is that they fulfill so many purposes. They should always be great entertainment, of course, but they can also teach us about life and be educational and inspiring. For that reason, showing a movie in the classroom can be one of the best things a teacher can do, particularly if they work in science, technology, engineering, and math classrooms. Of course, it’s important that you choose the right film that gives out the right message, so here are three movies that are perfect for the STEM classroom, and which are also great to watch in their own right.
Back To The Future
Being a STEM teacher is one of the most important roles of them all, as today’s pupils can help transform the society we live in tomorrow. That’s why gaining a STEM teaching certificate can lead to an incredibly rewarding career, and the course provided by Fresno Pacific University shows you how to inspire and motivate pupils in the STEM subjects. Using movies and multimedia solutions is a great way to do this, especially when the films have a science and engineering storyline. A great example of this is the Back To The Future franchise. They can be used to develop discussions of where technology is likely to lead in the future and whether time travel is really possible?
A Beautiful Mind
Few STEM-friendly movies are more relevant, or more moving, than ‘A Beautiful Mind’ What makes it so powerful is that it tells the true story of John Nash, with Russell Crowe deservedly winning an Academy Award nomination for his starring role in a film that garnered four Oscars. Nash was a Nobel Prize winning mathematician, but at the height of his career, he also had to deal with his increasing incidents of paranoid schizophrenia. This movie says that you can overcome mental illness and achieve truly remarkable achievements in the STEM field, which is an inspiring method for pupils to hear.
The Fly
On one level, ‘The Fly’ may be a slice of science fiction that’s purely made to entertain, but although it’s very successful in this aim, it can be a great movie to base a classroom discussion around. It makes us think about the ethics in scientific and technological advancement, and with genetic discoveries and advances very much in the news, it can be used to discuss the advantages and disadvantages that can come from genetic manipulation and engineering.
‘Back To The Future’, ‘A Brilliant Mind’, and ‘The Fly’ are three very different films but they all share two things in common: firstly, they are all critically acclaimed and very entertaining movies, but secondly, they all feature characters and storylines that relate to the STEM world. There are plenty more movies that can also be utilized that way, including the Star Wars and Star Trek range of movies, and even some elements of the Harry Potter films. When watching these movies, children are learning at the same time that they’re being entertained, and that’s a wonderful objective for any STEM teacher to achieve.