Cinematic Storytelling for Education

We share stories and histories of communities that are often obscured in the national narrative of the United States. Working with those communities, we create films and multimedia learning tools that spark empathetic learning – and we ensure these resources are open and accessible. In this way, we work for educational justice.

Latest Projects

News

Upcoming Events

Past Events
Community Events:
Chicago, IL
Wed
July 19, 2023
— Fri, July 21 @ 9:30 AM — 3:30 PM (CT)
Teachers' Institute on Asian American Histories
Teachers' Institute on Asian American Histories

Join a cohort of educators to build community and explore Asian American histories in K-12 classrooms. This in-person institute is designed to support teachers implementing the TEAACH Act into their K-12 classrooms by featuring a lecture and discussion by Asian American Studies scholar Dr. Meredith Oda of the University of Nevada, a workshop with Asian Americans Advancing Justice, and sense making opportunities with other educators. Participants will gain a foundational knowledge about Asian American histories, access to digital history tools, and exposure to pedagogical approaches that meaningfully engage students. Priority consideration will be given to those who complete the interest form by Friday, June 30th.

Participants will receive a $300 support stipend plus provided lunch on all three days.

Apply via our interest form
HERE.

Chicago History Museum & Midwest Buddhist Temple (parking available at both sites)
Eugene, OR
Sun
March 12, 2023
11AM PST
DisOrient Film Festival
DisOrient Film Festival

Program TBD

Front Theater, 492 E. 13th Ave., Eugene, OR 97401
Chicago, IL
Wed
March 8, 2023
9AM - 3PM CST
Facing History & Ourselves Teachers' Workshop
Facing History & Ourselves Teachers' Workshop

Japanese American Incarceration and the Teaching of Asian American History

This workshop will help teachers consider the requirements of the TEAACH (Teaching Equitable Asian American Community History) Act and will highlight Full Spectrum Features digital humanities projects.

Watsonville, CA
Fri
March 3, 2023
*Exact date & time TBD
Watsonville Film Festival
Watsonville Film Festival

Program TBD

Santa Cruz, CA
Wed
March 1, 2023
7:00PM PST
UC Santa Cruz Night at the Museum
UC Santa Cruz Night at the Museum

Project team members Reina Higashitani (Film Director), Dr. Ashley Cheyemi McNeil (Education Director), Katherine Nagasawa (Educational Website Producer), Patrick Hall (Researcher), RJ Ramey (Web Developer) and Jason Matsumoto (Producer) in conversation with lead academic advisor Dr. Jasmine Alinder. Public reception to follow.

Santa Cruz Museum of Art & History
San Jose, CA
Sun
February 26, 2023
12:25PM
San Jose screening at Films of Remembrance
San Jose screening at Films of Remembrance

Talkback with Director Reina Higashitani

Betsuin Buddhist Church, 640 N 5th St., San Jose Japantown
Seattle, WA
Sat
February 25, 2023
10:30AM PST
Seattle Asian American Film Festival
Seattle Asian American Film Festival

Film screening as part of a short film collection.

Northwest Film Forum, 1515 12th Ave, Seattle WA 98122
San Francisco, CA
Sat
February 25, 2023
11:55AM
San Francisco screening at Films of Remembrance
San Francisco screening at Films of Remembrance

Talkback with Director Reina Higashitani

AMC Kabuki 8, 1881 Post St. San Francisco Japantown
Chicago, IL
Sun
February 19, 2023
1:30PM CST
World Premiere at Chicago's Day of Remembrance
World Premiere at Chicago's Day of Remembrance

Director Reina Higashitani and Scholar Dr. Helen Cho in conversation about film creation, educational themes of Japanese American resettlement. Moderated by Full Spectrum's Director of Education, Dr. Ashley Cheyemi McNeil. Public reception to follow.

Chicago History Museum
Academic and Teaching Events:
Virtual and Chicago, IL
July 9 - August 6, 2024
NEH K12 Institute “Japanese American Post-War Resettlement in Chicago, 1943 - 1950"
NEH K12 Institute “Japanese American Post-War Resettlement in Chicago, 1943 - 1950"
Virtual
April 5, 2024
April 5, 2024
NEH K12 Application Decisions Released
NEH K12 Application Decisions Released
Virtural
March 5, 2024
11:59 PT
NEH K12 Institute Apps are Due
NEH K12 Institute Apps are Due
Virtual
January 25, 2024
6:00pm PT / 8:00pm CT / 9:00pm ET
NEH Institute Information Session #2
NEH Institute Information Session #2
Virtual
January 22, 2024
4:00pm PT / 6:00pm CT / 7:00pm ET
NEH Institute Information Session #1
NEH Institute Information Session #1
San Francisco, CA
January 4-7, 2024
American Historical Association
American Historical Association
Virtual and Chicago, IL
September - December, 2023
Full Spectrum Education’s Teachers Fellowship: Cultivating Creative Responses to Asian American Histories
Full Spectrum Education’s Teachers Fellowship: Cultivating Creative Responses to Asian American Histories
Springfield, IL
October, 2023
Conference on Illinois History
Conference on Illinois History
Virtual
August, 2023
Virginia Humanities K12 Educator Fellowship
Virginia Humanities K12 Educator Fellowship
Chicago, IL
July, 2023
Full Spectrum Education’s Teachers' Institute on Asian American Histories
Full Spectrum Education’s Teachers' Institute on Asian American Histories
Virtual
July, 2023
Library of Virginia Annual Teacher Institute
Library of Virginia Annual Teacher Institute
Little Rock, AR
April 23-25, 2023
Arkansas Association of Instructional Media
Arkansas Association of Instructional Media
Atlanta, GA
April 12-15, 2023
National Council on Public History
National Council on Public History
Long Beach, CA
April 6-8, 2023
Association for Asian American Studies
Association for Asian American Studies

Who we are

Our Values

We anchor our purpose through:

Inclusive storytelling

Community-driven multimedia projects that focus on hidden histories of the United States
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  • storytelling that foregrounds our collective capacity for empathy and interconnection
  • storytelling that bridges generations, geography, and identity groups – everyone is welcome to be a stakeholder of history
  • storytelling at the intersection of art and scholarship to ensure deeper and farther reaching impact
  • storytelling that uplifts and celebrates the heterogeneity within underrepresented communities

Educator and learner empowerment

Building from the belief that all educators can be learners and that all learners can be educators
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  • develop pedagogical frameworks unfastened from traditional methods that can often condition and constrain empathetic, holistic learning in direct partnership with educators and learners
  • provide educators and learners with exciting, adaptable tools that prioritize humanistic inquiry and justice-oriented learning
  • support learners to connect personally to history through social emotional learning
  • uplift the expertise and leadership of local educators; trust educators to know how best to deliver content to learners and for their local community

Media literacy

Accessible web-based learning tools
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  • each project is comprised of an original short narrative film produced with curricular online tool of historical content curated by scholars and educators
  • immersive learning is built from a cornerstone of accessibility for people with disabilities
  • cinematic digital history projects that are open-access and scalable to best support learners’ needs
  • releasing our code that helps meets the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) as free and open-source, to advance more thoughtful digital learning spaces in the industry

Our Collaborators and Funders

Full Spectrum Education is a division of Full Spectrum Features, a Chicago-based nonprofit organization dedicated to driving equity in the independent film industry and providing education about social and cultural issues through the power of cinema.

Full Spectrum Education focuses its educational filmmaking projects on exploring parts of history that are often untold in classrooms, recognizing our collective need to more fully understand the many facets of U.S. history.

a logo glyph with words: Full Spectrum Features