I discovered these two films last spring while doing some research. They’re entertaining, but also extremely relevant to this week’s readings – especially Dewey, in my opinion.  This is what the progressive education he was advocating for in the late 30s might have looked like.

If you have a chance to watch these, I think you’ll be pleasantly surprised. I’m very curious how others in the class would characterize the pedagogical methods in these films. Both are examples of active learning, but do they follow Dewey’s guidelines for carefully-shaped experiential education? How do they differ (if they do) from his model? Do you think they would be equally effective, or is efficacy determined by the context and educational goals being set?

School: A Film About Progressive Education (1939, short documentary on Hessian Hills School)