Writing with sound and vision: The audiovisual essay in the classroom

A medium that is revolutionising film criticism and bridging the gap between theory and practice, the audiovisual essay is also increasingly being taken up as a pedagogical tool. Providing an overview of the findings and ideas presented in the November 2018 symposium Not Another Brick in the Wall; Teaching and Researching the Audio Video Essay, Catherine fowler and sean redmond argue that the form offers students opportunities to develop their own voices, analytical skills and creative practices. In this era of constant, relentless testing and assessment .of students, it seems as if there is less free space in the classroom for curiosity and discovery. Attainment standards and benchmarking constantly shape the terrain we work within, while the strictures of the marketplace, such as targets and deliverables, have resulted in the slow rationalisation of pedagogy. National curricula in the school system and learning outcomes at tertiary level are clearly necessary, but an overemphasis on results has built new, datafied walls in front of imaginative learning and teaching. As teachers and educationalists, we feel it is our responsibility to lay siege to these walls, since they constrain what and ho we teach- and what is more, they seem to be restricting how our students think and create....