Does a film teach better than the same workshop without it?
Answered
Students who saw the film gained more knowledge and reported more engagement on average, but the groups weren’t matched, so I can’t credit the film alone.
What I tested
Paly's consent and relationship workshops, called RISE CARE, are taught by upperclassmen. I wanted to know whether adding Picture Perfect made those workshops teach better than the same workshop without it.
How I tested it
In the 2025 to 2026 school year I ran three workshops at Paly. One was the workshop alone, with 31 students. Two were the workshop with the film, with 63 students. Everyone took a survey before and after that measured what they knew, from 0 to 7, and how engaged they felt, from 0 to 5. After screening, 20 responses from the workshop-only group and 46 from the film group were usable. A grant from the Mitchell Park Teen Services ThinkFund paid for pizza and donuts so students would come.
What I found
Students in the film group gained more knowledge on average, about 1.2 points against 0.85, and said they were a little more engaged, 4.05 against 3.85. They didn't score higher in absolute terms, though. They started lower and finished slightly lower than the workshop-only group.
Knowledge score before and after the workshop, out of 7
How engaged students said they were, out of 5
| Group | Responses | Knowledge before (out of 7) | Knowledge after (out of 7) | Average gain | Engagement (out of 5) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Workshop only | 20 | 5.9 | 6.7 | 0.85 | 3.85 |
| Workshop with the film | 46 | 5.6 | 6.5 | 1.2 | 4.05 |
The film group also answered one open question about healthy and unhealthy behavior in the film. Students who answered averaged about 1.7 out of 2, but 17 of 48 left it blank.
What I can't claim
- The groups weren't matched. The workshop-only group was mostly sophomores who had already had the curriculum, and the film group included freshmen seeing it for the first time, who had more room to improve. That makes it hard to credit the bigger gain to the film alone.
- The samples were small, and I only measured learning right after the workshop.
I presented this at the Foothill Research and Service Leadership Symposium.
What I'd test next
I'd run matched groups, ideally only students who haven't had the curriculum, and add a follow-up survey a few weeks later to see what students actually remember.