Educator in Focus: Judith Hemans

Tools for Educators

Educator in Focus: Judith Hemans

Judith Hemans is an educator at ACCESS GED Manhattan (part of the Office of Multiple Pathways to Graduation), which prepares over-age and under-credited late adolescents for the GED Exam and entry into either college or career. Thanks to generous support from the Ford Foundation’s Good Neighbor Committee, EVC was able to provide professional development and in–class coaching to teachers at ACCESS GED Manhattan to support the implementation of EVC’s curriculum. Ms. Hemans is now in her second year of using the EVC curriculum independently with her English Language Arts students at ACCESS. This past spring we awarded her with EVC’s first Visionary Educator Award presented to her at our First Annual Youth Powered Video Festival for the outstanding work she and her students have produced.
As the first recipient of EVC’s “Visionary Educator Award” could you describe what draws you to use video as a tool for teaching and learning with your students?
Our school, Manhattan Access, is a vibrant community of teachers and learners partly because it is understood that curricula enhancements like using video as an instructional tool, are integral to, not separate and distinct from, the core academic subjects. Essential to effective teaching is acknowledgment of the varied interests, abilities and learning styles of our students who have grown up in the digital age. Practice that speaks to current methods and materials is critical.
Using video production in the English Language Arts (ELA) class means that students have an ongoing, hands-on experience of planning, communicating, problem solving, working in teams, using computer technology, completing a project and celebrating success. In short, using video as a tool in ELA class is preparation for post high school steps toward continuing education and the workplace.
Can you describe the video project your students worked on this year?
Over a period of several days, students discussed and debated the merits of twenty possible documentary topics, before deciding on a community inquiry on national healthcare reform. While students had personal stories about experiences with healthcare or lack thereof, they knew that they needed more information about the national healthcare debate and President Obama’s plan. Internet research yielded sufficient information to help students write questions for their inquiry. For the next steps, we relied heavily on EVC resources, including the DVD segments in the EVC curriculum that detail types and uses of camera shots and angles and techniques that are practiced in class before conducting interviews outside. We previewed student videos to sharpen analytical skills and formulated ideas about what makes for effective film work. These skills came in handy when deciding which interview segments would be included in the video. Students learned how to use Apple’s i-Movie editing and Garage Band software to create a final product.
What did the students learn through the process about the subject of their documentary and about themselves?
[First], Students learned about their subject: Healthcare is a global concern. The national debate is a complicated one that has been discussed and debated for decades. The community interviewees were very forthcoming with their varied ideas and perspectives. President Obama made healthcare reform a priority for his administration.
[Second], students learned about themselves: Most students had firm opinions about the availability and costs of healthcare, and they punctuated their viewpoints with personal stories about hospitals, doctors and clinics.
Many students gained an understanding that their decisions to work in the video project gave them opportunities to make decisions, solve problems, work in teams and do effective research and have fun. There is beauty in paying attention to the details of the production processes.
What did you learn as their teacher?
I’m not certain that I learned any new lessons, but some lessons were certainly reinforced. Even though students may vow to take on only one responsibility or role in video production, they will rotate roles if they are sufficiently encouraged. While students often navigated the web with ease, they needed help with research skills.
We reaped enormous benefits from:
Having a wide range of activities and possible responses to questions and activities,
Taking time to reflect on process, and
Fostering a classroom culture that acknowledges students as able, intuitive, creative and deserving of our trust to decide how their documentary should look.
What was the most memorable moment of this project?
I think the most memorable moment occurred when it seemed as though the whole school emptied out and poured into the subway to travel to the EVC Youth Powered Video Film Festival. Manhattan Access has always enjoyed wide support for its school-wide activities, so it was not unusual for so many students, teachers, counselors and our principal to participate in the celebration. However, this event was especially memorable because we had an evening of learning and sharing with dynamic young filmmakers from schools throughout the city.
What was the biggest challenge or stretch as a facilitator?
The biggest challenge for me was meeting the film festival submission deadline, which meant staying in school late so that a student could do final edits. As the end of the school year approached rapidly, it wasn’t clear that the students who could edit carefully at crunch time would be present. Perhaps at the heart of the matter was helping students understand that a required signed contract meant personal responsibility to follow through with all of the steps that led to completion of a very special project. It takes time for that message to be at the core of students’ thinking.
What was the biggest achievement?
It’s so difficult to choose one achievement. Each student who participated in the process was, I hope, challenged to work outside of his or her comfort zone. The shy [ones] had to approach strangers for interviews; reluctant writers had to take their turns at the flip charts, even if it meant grammar and spelling uncertainty; the reluctant speakers had to articulate reasons for their documentary topic choices. These qualitative changes in student performance may be difficulty to measure, but they are real achievements and a joy to witness.
What advice do you have for teachers who want to integrate video into their classrooms?
Be connected – Get support from the entire school community including administrators, counselors, teachers, and students who may or not be in your class.
Be flexible – There may be resistance on the part of some students who feel pressured to spend all of their class time preparing for tests in the core academic subjects and who view video production as a departure from and even a distraction from their immediate goals. My original intention was to work with my last period ELA class. When the majority of that class indicated very little interest, the project was switched to an earlier class, including former last period students who were interested.
Be informed and energized – Invest in your professional development by attending the EVC Summer Institute for Teachers, a challenging and supportive way to learn from the experts and share with colleagues who are committed to bringing the best in digital technology experiences to students.
Be moved – Attend an EVC Portfolio Roundtable to see first hand how students craft their documentaries and how seriously they are engaged in communicating their messages. Attend one of EVC’s Youth Film Festivals and the Human Rights Watch Youth Powered Video Film Festival to see and hear how youth are spotlighting local community and global concerns and calling us to action. I like to attend when the filmmakers are available to speak with audience members.
Be open – When one of our MACs was repaired, a new version of i-Movie was automatically installed. Once the students saw it, they exclaimed in a chorus, “I like this, it’s like Final Cut Pro!” There was no turning back to the timeline method of the old i-Movie version 5 that I had learned. I told the students that I had no knowledge of the new version and it would probably take me a while to find a good manual and master enough skills to help them with their editing questions. They assured me that they had everything under control and would be glad to help their teammates and me.
Do you have ideas for new projects in the coming years?
I try very hard to give students no idea of what I think would be a good topic for a documentary. It is hoped that students take leadership roles in all aspects of video production and learn to rely on the input of their classmates.
Of course, we make the best use of our camera equipment, by using it to document a variety of school activities including graduate forums, talent and fashion shows and, a personal favorite, individual student reflections on life as an Access student pre-graduation and life post-graduation.
A closing word to my colleagues who plan to use video in their ELA classes: There is no need to reinvent the wheel. The EVC curriculum is a great desk reference of reading and writing activities. Using this reference is a great way to help students master higher order thinking skills – analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation.

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Educator in Focus: Judith Hemans