What can educators learn about good teaching from a Hollywood screenwriter? Grab ‘em by the throat and never let ‘em go

Hollywood screenwriting legend Billy Wilder

Now, before you report me to the authorities, I am not advocating for a Miss Trunchbull style of classroom management.

No, these are the words of famous Austrian screenwriter and filmmaker Billy Wilder, the craftsman behind movie classics such as Sunset Boulevard and Some Like it Hot.

But what has this got to do with education?

Wilder is regarded as giving some of the best advice for how to write the perfect screenplay - that engages the audience until the end and elicits an emotional experience for the viewer.

And this is what good educators strive for: to make learning engaging and meaningful.

So what can a legendary screenwriter teach us about learning?

Let’s look at Billy Wilder’s 10 Rules of Screenwriting and see how we can apply them to education.

1. The audience is fickle.

They might like horror one minute and science fiction the next. So worry less about the latest fads and trends - and worry about telling a good story. Good stories, like good lessons, stand the test of time. 

2. Grab ‘em by the throat and never let ‘em go.

Hook your learners at the start by giving them a reason to get involved and pay attention. No good movie starts by giving you a bunch of information and then asking you to remember or recite it. Most compelling stories start with a mystery or some kind of inciting incident. Start your unit of work with a compelling question, hook or mystery. Then keep them engaged and guessing.

3. Develop a clean line of action for your leading character.

Know and understand the journey your learners will embark on. You want every step to feel like a natural part of the overall experience, so the learners see the value and relevance. Make the overall goal something meaty, as you want to drive them forward through the learning journey.

4. Know where you’re going.

Knowing how the learning will culminate helps you understand the key subject knowledge and skills your learners should develop. Every step along the way then becomes an integral part of the overall “story” or project.

5. The more subtle and elegant you are in hiding your plot points, the better you are as a writer.

Integrate key learning points seamlessly into the lesson. Avoid making the session feel like a series of disconnected facts; instead, weave information into a coherent and engaging narrative.

6. If you have a problem with the third act, the real problem is in the first act.

Just as the first act of a screenplay sets up characters, motivations, and conflicts, the beginning of a learning experience should clearly establish learning objectives, expectations, and the relevance of the material. If students are not engaged or don't understand the purpose early on, they are likely to lose interest by the time the "third act" or the later stages of the learning process arrives.

7. A tip from Lubitsch: Let the audience add up two plus two. They’ll love you forever.

Don't give your learners the answers. Instead create a framework which allows them to discover the answers themselves through active learning. This fosters deeper understanding and retention.

8. In doing voice-overs, be careful not to describe what the audience already sees. Add to what they’re seeing.

When explaining concepts, provide additional context or insights rather than merely repeating what is already visible or obvious. This is particularly important for engaging your higher-attaining learners who will switch off if they can predict what's coming.

9. The event that occurs at the second act curtain triggers the end of the movie.

I'd really be pushing it to shoehorn this metaphor into my already stretched conceit…

10. The third act must build, build, build in tempo and action until the last event, and then—that’s it. Don’t hang around.

Then it's time to step back and allow time and space for your learners to reflect on the learning experience. Reflections are a really important step in consolidating learning. But they are most meaningful when led by the learner themselves, so get out of the way!

So there you have it. Without his knowledge, Wilder has helped make our classrooms more engaging and purposeful with his timeless moviemaking wisdom.

Now all we need is the popcorn.

From Conversations with Wilder by Cameron Crowe.

Image of Billy Wilder: Times, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons