Using a Movie as a Capstone Activity for the Introductory Course

Abstract

A capstone experience serves as a culminating exercise for students to assimilate the information learned in a course and to realize how to use the material and skills in different contexts. Both majors and nonmajors benefit from having the material in the introductory course consolidated in such a way, for later study in the field and to more firmly establish its main themes in their memory. For such an experience in the introductory course, we used the classic film 12 Angry Men as the basis for discussion and an assignment. The film contains many scenes that highlight various psychological phenomena from across the curriculum that can be used to integrate those phenomena. We tested the experience in a classroom setting and found that students accessed and integrated material from across the semester significantly better than those who did not have the capstone assignment.