DEAD POETS SOCIETY (1989)
Run Time: 128 minutes Synopsis: "Carpe diem! Seize the day boys, make your lives extraordinary," advises educator John Keating to his class of young men at an all boys boarding school. These words guide his unorthodox lessons that will change their young lives forever.Reflection:
Do John Keating's instructional techniques mirror any of the effective teaching characteristics discussed in this chapter? What additional attributes of an effective teacher did you discover in the film that are not described in this chapter? Is Keating's teaching an art, a skill, or both? Recall scenes from the film to support your answer.
Questioning is not just about teachers: Students are also partners in the questioning process. Creating an environment that welcomes student-initiated questions is important to engaged learning time. How did Mr. Keating teach his students to ask questions? How did these questions deepen student understanding?
Consider how the character of the student body created a community. How might the storyline change in an all girls school or a historically black school?
Follow-up Activity: You've read about effective questioning and seen "on screen" effective questioning in action. Now take a turn at practicing these techniques. Compose a classroom discussion of Dead Poet's Society. Write out a sequence of questions, one each from the six levels of Bloom's taxonomy.
