Hands-on Learning: Students Create Videos Promoting Positive Social Change

Any student who takes a sociology class can learn about social change, but how many of those students are pushed to actually impact social change? Albion College Anthropology and Sociology Professor Lynn Verduzco-Baker asks her students to do just that: make an impact.

To finalize their learning from SOC 222 - Sociology of Childhood, Verduzco-Baker challenges her students to create a video arguing for positive social change. These videos must be well reasoned and supported with extensive research. The projects are then posted to YouTube in the hopes of reaching those who want to learn more about the topic.

“Students learn to articulate the concepts and information they’ve learned during the semester in a whole different way,” says Verduzco-Baker. “They still have to organize and present the ideas in an effective and coherent way, but in a 21^st century format.”

During the process of this project, students learned to write a video script, consider audience, message and tone, shoot film, create animations, and edit and finalize a video.

“The biggest challenge is fear!” adds Verduzco. “Students feel like it’s an impossible task to create a video. However, once they start working on it, they usually get excited and their confidence grows.” Verduzco-Baker adds that students will often have their content finished, but spend extra time fine-tuning the production value or presentation on the project.

Verduzco-Baker says she absolutely recommends professors consider finding a way to incorporate analytical video creation projects into their courses. “It’s a skill I believe students will need when they leave college. I encourage them to create a video that’s professional enough to use in a job or employment portfolio.”

If interested in incorporating a video project into a course at Albion College, contact for resources, guides, or to discuss the possibilities.