Students representing mathematical knowledge through digital filmmaking

During initial attempts at filmmaking by my Year 7 class my focus was on the technology. However, I observed many positive learner behaviours inherent in the filmmaking process. Could these positive learner behaviours be harnessed, through filmmaking, to improve learner outcomes in mathematics? Two trials were conducted comparing a mathematical mini-documentary making revision strategy with pen-and-paper revision. It was concluded that mini-documentary makers retained information at least as effectively as, if not better than, students who used pen-and-paper strategies. This implies that mathematics educators can be confident of positive effects on students’ knowledge retention through student filmmaking in mathematics