Playfull Classroom on Paediatric Ward
Italian hospital teacher on how films transform children’s days
School teacher Angiola Piovani works with Film in Hospital on a daily basis. From her classroom inside the paediatric ward, she shares how films and accompanying activities help children stay connected to school life, process their emotions, and feel less isolated during treatment. The interview offers a first-hand look at how our programme supports learning, well-being, and cooperation between teachers, families, and medical staff in an Italian hospital context.
How does film support children’s education during hospital stays?
During their hospital stays, children have a lot of free time. They often spend their time on devices (phones and tablets) for social media or electronic games. Film in Hospital program offers them selected, high-quality educational materials. It’s easy for us teachers to suggest screenings of short films or movies with excellent structured activities to then work with educationally.
What are the biggest challenges you encounter in integrating film activities into hospital teaching?
The challenge is precisely to prevent children from wasting their time on non-educational activities. Unfortunately, sometimes they think they’re having fun with their activities, but in reality, they get bored. Our children are motivated to watch the films offered on the Cinema in Ospedale website because they enjoy the films and enjoy them in a constructive way, allowing them to interact with their classmates or wardmates.
How do children react to films, and what have you learned about their needs?
Children show interest in our activities through the Cinema in Ospedale website. We start from their needs, meaning we offer them material relevant to their interests, age group, and passions.
How has this program influenced your teaching approach and your work with children?
The teaching approach is playful. We know children will enjoy watching the films on the Cinema in ospedale website. Starting with a fun activity, it allows us to delve deeper into in-depth content for students to analyze. This content is obviously relevant to what they would have studied in school. For example, if one of our children in the hospital is in third grade and they’re studying oxygen, there’s a delightful short film entitled “Oxygen” on the Cinema in ospedale website. We can watch it together, reflect on it, and share it with the rest of the class so we have common material to work on.
What part of the program do you think is most valuable for children’s development in a hospital setting?
In the hospital setting, both individual screenings, those viewed on a tablet or computer at one’s bedside because one is unable to get up, and group viewings in the classroom are very useful. In the case of group viewing, the children’s ages are often heterogeneous, but this isn’t a problem; each student is able to contribute according to their needs.
Photos from Ospedale Pediatrico Giovanni XXIII, Bari, Italy
