University faculty perceptions and utilization of popular culture in the classroom

Abstract

This article discusses results of a survey on the utilization of and attitudes and beliefs towards the use of popular culture among faculty in higher education. A total of 212 faculty members from a mid-sized public regional university provided responses, with the majority indicating that they utilize popular culture in their classroom teaching with some frequency. Overall, the sample exhibited moderately high levels of confidence in their ability to use popular culture effectively, and found popular culture to be both important to incorporate and beneficial for enhancing critical thinking. Significant differences in both frequency of use and attitudes and beliefs were found among teaching disciplines, with those in Humanities and Social Sciences utilizing popular culture more frequently and having more positive attitudes and beliefs towards popular culture than participants in natural sciences and mathematics. A set of guidelines were provided to help advance the use of popular culture in higher education.

Superheroes of the Electromagnetic Spectrum: A Non-Traditional Way of Teaching Ionising Radiation

“…Popular culture in the classroom can benefit the learning process and enhance student critical thinking. For example, popular culture has already been used to positively support lessons at high schools on digital studies (Schmier, 2014), English literacy (Parry, 2014), economics (Brian, 2017), mathematics (Greenwald & Nestler, 2004), and science (Dark, 2005;Gardner et al, 2009), while at third level institutions, there is empirical evidence that educators use examples based on popular culture (Peacock et al, 2018), as well as practical examples (Brown et al, 2017;Fitzgerald, 2018aFitzgerald, , 2018b. Studies of Millennial students (born between 1981 and suggest that these students prefer an engaging learning environment where student participation is encouraged and where learning materials with elements from popular culture are included (Price, 2009).…”

Powerful learning tool or ‘cool factor’? Instructors’ perceptions of using film and video within teaching and learning

“…Some scholars note that films can reinforce problematic stereotypes or discourses if not properly critiqued, for example (Kuzma & Haney, 2001;Madsen, 2014), while others underline that films are a limited and partial source of knowledge that students might use inappropriately (Ansell, 2002;Madsen 2014;Marcus & Stoddard, 2009). Building on such concerns, some highlight that films or videos cannot simply be shown, but rather require clear instructor framing and objectives (Holland, 2014;Kabooha, 2016;Sigler & Albandoz, 2014), a task made more complicated by the fact that many faculty are not sufficiently trained in effective pedagogical use of audio-visual media (Peacock et al, 2018) and some draw on film and video in ways that have not always been carefully thought through (Hobbs, 2006). Perhaps most interestingly, a number of writers allude to concerns about the perceived frivolity of using film and television within classroom contexts, indicating possible faculty and student resistance to considering audio-visual media as meaningful sources of knowledge or significant pedagogical supports (e.g., Madsen, 2014;Peacock et al, 2018;Swimelar, 2013;Travis, 2016).…”

“…Building on such concerns, some highlight that films or videos cannot simply be shown, but rather require clear instructor framing and objectives (Holland, 2014;Kabooha, 2016;Sigler & Albandoz, 2014), a task made more complicated by the fact that many faculty are not sufficiently trained in effective pedagogical use of audio-visual media (Peacock et al, 2018) and some draw on film and video in ways that have not always been carefully thought through (Hobbs, 2006). Perhaps most interestingly, a number of writers allude to concerns about the perceived frivolity of using film and television within classroom contexts, indicating possible faculty and student resistance to considering audio-visual media as meaningful sources of knowledge or significant pedagogical supports (e.g., Madsen, 2014;Peacock et al, 2018;Swimelar, 2013;Travis, 2016). Such challenges stand to impinge significantly on the uptake and efficacy of film and video as teaching tools, but they are often only discussed elliptically in existing research.…”

“…As Myers and Abd-El-Khalick (2016) note, there has been long-standing attention to the ways in which film and television can be used as 'teaching aids' in science instruction, for example, although research on the effectiveness of such tools is relatively scant. At the same time, recent studies suggest that the increasing availability and accessibility of media (Andrist, Chepp, Dean, & Miller, 2014;Holland, 2014) and growing student interest in learning environments that employ popular culture (Peacock et al, 2018) support the use of film and television in teaching within the contemporary moment. Further attention to how such media are incorporated within formal teaching contexts is thus merited and timely.…”

Distributed Leadership Theory in Creating Capabilities and Learning Outcomes in Higher Education: An Analysis of Online Leadership

“…In short, these studies were conducted solely based on the authors' research interests to see how Twitter communications are a part of professional development, organizational leadership, and teaching and learning. Another recent study(Peacock et al 2016) provides an exemplary survey based on a 5-point Likert scale that provides insights from a teaching staff's perception of their espousal of Twitter usage as it pertained to a popular culture project at a mid-sized southeastern university in the US. Unlike former studies, the main research goal was neither to dissect nor analyze the content of the Twitter messages for the intent of making sense of it.…”