{"id":168287,"date":"2026-08-24T13:17:30","date_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:17:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/?p=168287"},"modified":"2026-08-24T13:17:30","modified_gmt":"2026-08-24T17:17:30","slug":"wright-state-hosts-regional-educators-for-film-focused-learning","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/webapp2.wright.edu\/web1\/newsroom\/2026\/08\/24\/wright-state-hosts-regional-educators-for-film-focused-learning\/","title":{"rendered":"Wright State hosts regional educators for film-focused learning"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Wright State staff, faculty, students and alumni led the Muse Machine Summer Institute at the Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures. (Photos by Sarah Babcock)<\/p><\/div>\n

At Wright State University, K\u201312 educators traded their classrooms for the set of a documentary film studio, stepping behind the camera to explore\u00a0how\u00a0stories take shape.<\/span><\/p>\n

Hosted by Wright State\u2019s Tom Hanks Center for Motion Pictures<\/a>, Muse Machine\u2019s Summer Institute for Educators challenged teachers to become students themselves as they learned the fundamentals of documentary filmmaking and collaborated with peers.<\/span><\/p>\n

This year\u2019s institute, \u201cWhat the Camera Asks of Us: Curiosity, Care and Critical Thinking,\u201d brought 38 educators, two undergraduate students and one teaching artist representing 26 schools across the Greater Dayton region to Wright State\u2019s campus from July 20\u201323.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cCollaboration is intrinsic to the arts but can be challenging for educators who are the only subject-matter expert in their building and often have to be independent contributors,\u201d said Emily Gray, director of secondary and educator programs at Muse Machine. \u201cThe educators who come to this institute get the opportunity to work with their peers in this kind of creative, messy atmosphere where the process is more important than the outcome.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

Muse Machine is a\u00a0nationally celebrated\u00a0arts education organization serving more than\u00a076,800 students\u00a0across 114 schools in Southwestern Ohio and Kentucky<\/span>.<\/span><\/p>\n

While Wright State and Muse Machine have previously worked together to offer performance tickets and backstage experiences to high school students and their teachers, this marked the first time the university hosted the Summer Institute. It was also the first time that motion pictures was the institute\u2019s focus, drawing on the expertise and facilities of the Tom Hanks Center.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cAs an alumna and instructor in the motion pictures program, it was wonderful to share our facilities with regional educators,\u201d said Selena Burks-Rentschler, instructor of motion pictures and 2003 graduate. \u201cI feel a deep pride being associated with this program, and it was especially meaningful to share this experience with our student volunteers, who represented the program beautifully with their professionalism.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

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Participants left the program with hands-on filmmaking experience and new approaches that they can adapt for their own students.<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

A pre-institute workshop was held earlier this year at The Neon, where participants gathered for a screening of \u201cSeeds,\u201d the award-winning documentary<\/a> by 2014 Wright State graduate Brittany Shyne. The film, which won the Documentary Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2025, launched the institute\u2019s conversations around storytelling and truthful filmmaking.<\/span><\/p>\n

The institute was facilitated by Nichol Simmons, a 1999 alum and director of the Tom Hanks Center. She was joined by student assistants Ciarah Jenkins and Haylie Chavez, as well as alumni<\/a>\u00a0and faculty members serving as teaching mentors:<\/span><\/p>\n