Evaluation - Scottish Screen

Initial reaction to Scottish Screen’s input
Teachers had different levels of ICT skills to bring to the project but, while some approached
the project with anxieties about the technical demands, all were ultimately positive about the
support they received from Scottish Screen staff, often describing it as ‘excellent.’ The
support from the CPD centre had been appreciated and, where it had been received, teachers
commented on the high quality of the lead practitioner’s training inputs. Most teachers
reported very positively on the follow-up support and accessibility of the lead practitioner,
when further support was required. A small number of teachers, however, felt that access to
the lead practitioner was less than they would have liked. A number of teachers highlighted
the focus on analysis as being highly interesting and supportive of their MIE work and the bfi
pack was also pointed up as being an excellent source of good ideas. One headteacher
commented that, on return from the training, ‘…staff were all fired up’.
All (who had received inputs in school) spoke highly of the lead practitioner’s input and the
children’s responses, which were universally positive. The teachers spoke of the high level of
motivation and enjoyment engendered in the pupils by the lead practitioner sessions and his
enthusiasm was reported to have ‘caught on’ in both teachers’ and pupils’ strong
embracement of MIE. Confidence and self-esteem were again stressed as being clearly
evident during, and beyond, MIE sessions:
I could see a big difference in confidence and self-esteem…
the children could take different parts – director, actor, editor –
and they were so proud of their achievements.’
Teachers saw clear links between MIE and the potential to develop the four capacities of A
Curriculum for Excellence through this medium of learning. All were able to talk about
specific capacities and illustrate, through their MIE experience so far, how they saw the
growth of particular capacities in their pupils. One teacher spoke of the MIE primarysecondary
transition project and the specific development of the pupils’ capacity to be
effective contributors; this was realised through the pupils being able to express ‘their own
voices’ and lead the responses to the primary children’s concerns through creating their own
transition films. Another teacher went further on MIE - ACfE links, expressing the belief that
the four capacities were clearly embedded in MIE:
It just says it all – A Curriculum for Excellence was made for MIE,
not the other way round!
Impact of the programme on teaching
Involvement in the project had caused some teachers to reflect on the impact of MIE on their
own pedagogy. The majority of teachers reported increased motivation when teaching MIE -
even amongst those who had been unclear about the project aims and/or those who had been
initially daunted by the technical aspects. Some teachers had paused on this issue of
motivation and were thinking how this sense of enthusiasm might be injected into their
general teaching across the curriculum. Most had a sense of how MIE could be incorporated
into any curricular area – and across the subject areas.
One member of the secondary school staff had set up an MIE development group (with
colleagues drawn from a range of subject areas) with the specific goal of looking at how
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