The preceding instructional strategies share one element in common: the use of a film or videotape to trigger
viewer response and interaction. The interaction is the essential ingredient for learning; the film or tape is a
highly effective means of bringing it about. Strategies for using trigger films are appropriate only if interaction
among persons is an indicated method for achieving instructional goals. Some general examples of goals in this
category are affecting attitudes, clarifying values, modifying perceptions, and generating commitments.

In a college or university setting, trigger film strategies might be applicable in areas where the primary focus
is on problems and issues—for example, behavioral sciences, social professions, teacher education, and law.
They may also be applicable in training for more effective interpersonal skills—interviewing, counseling,
academic advising, patient relations. They may be employed for training in problem-solving and decision-
making in management courses. These applications logically extend to possible uses in business and industry.

While trigger film strategies have wide applicability, they should be used judiciously in a mix with other
instructional strategies. As important as when and why to use a trigger film is the matter of how to use it
wisely: proper discussion management is important. A very good trigger film can be made completely
ineffectual by imposing constraints, control, or evaluation on the interaction that develops from the film.
Development and Production

When examining trigger films and trigger tapes, one frequently finds certain characteristics: limited data
presented, open-endedness, relative incompleteness, and an emotional aspect. These features are deliberately
built into the film in order to generate rapid viewer involvement. The viewer quickly begins to work with the
feelings and tensions that are being experienced, to hypothesize about missing data, and to look for
interrelations among aspects of the situation in an attempt to construct a more understandable whole.

In the design of a trigger film, the primary consideration is identification of educational goals, as it is in any
instructional problem. The next consideration is development of a situation that will generate attention to the
area of the objectives. The point at which to enter the situation and the extent to which data can be omitted are
both very significant, since brevity seems to heighten the impact of a trigger film.

Of all the decisions that are necessary in a trigger film production, the most critical is determination of where
to terminate the film for optimal triggering of viewer interaction. Trigger film producers often ask themselves,
"What immediate response do I want from the group when the film or tape ends?" Generally, closure is to be
avoided. Alternatives and dilemmas may be posed, but the action should stop short of a decision. The idea is
not to present solutions, but to create a context in which people explore ideas, examine alternatives, and reach
their own decisions.

People frequently become interested in developing their own trigger films, but are concerned about the cost.
It is true that a professionally-produced 16mm trigger film of a minute or two in length might cost several
thousand dollars, but costs can be cut drastically by using videotape and producing on campus. As well,
portable color cameras and editing equipment have become very sophisticated.

For the average academic department, which finds even a few hundred dollars to be a prohibitive
expenditure, there are other alternatives. For many in-house purposes, satisfactory trigger films can be
produced with 8mm film or black-and-white videotape, using portable equipment; film and tape costs are low,
and not a great deal of time or experience is required. And the really creative person may be able to accomplish
the same results with 35mm slides and synchronized audio tape for, perhaps, as little as $10. The ultimate in
low-cost production is a "single-frame" triggering device: a carefully-chosen provocative photograph from a
newspaper converted to a transparency for an overhead projector at a cost of a few cents.

The prime criterion for evaluation of a trigger film is: Does it trigger response? If it does, it will be
successful. The choice of an instructional strategy is also a pragmatic one: will it accomplish the desired results?
Trigger film strategies are often useful when the goals are behavioral and attitudinal changes brought about by
group interaction. If this is what one is trying to achieve, then trigger films may be arrinnovatiorrto consider.—j

my DOUGLAS COLLEGE
Linc. Fisch

Eastern Kentucky University ARCHIVE

 

 

For further information, contact the author at EKU, Department of Natural & Mathematical Sciences, Richmond,
KY 40475-0959.

 

Suanne D. Roueche, Editor
January 31, 1986, Vol. VIII, No. 2

INNOVATION ABSTRACTS is a publication of the National Institute for Staff and Organizational Development, EDB 348, The University of Texas at Austin,
Austin, Texas 78712, (512) 471-7545. Subscriptions are available to nonconsortium members for $35 per year. Funding in part by the W. K. Kellogg
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© The University of Texas at Austin, 1986
Further duplicaon is permitted only by MEMBER institutions for their own personnel. ISSN 0199-106X