Popular Culture in the Classroom

I recently carried out a survey, requesting the views from a student teacher, regarding using popular culture in the classroom. A range of ideas and consideration was due to the students thought processes which concluded with a mixed response.

The student’s initial reaction was to embrace the use of popular culture, with the idea that to plan a lesson around an individual’s interests will increase engagement and commitment to learning. Linking to, Marsh, Brooks, Hughes, Ritchie, Roberts and Wright (2005:6) whom wrote in a study that the introduction of popular culture, media and/or new technologies into the language and literacy curriculum has a positive effect on the motivation and engagement of children in learning. Similarly to Dyson (1997) who wrote that by using popular culture allows the teacher to draw from children’s different experiences therefore providing engagement. Drawing from my own personal experience, I observed a plenary where the whole class played ‘Who wants to be a millionaire?’ The questions were all educational and based on the topic they were learning presently however the atmosphere was completely relaxed. All children were engaged and a sense of competitiveness motivated all the children to focus on their knowledge to gain the correct answer. A high level of engagement and motivation, while incorporating individual’s previous experiences and knowledge, is a recipe for a productive learning environment.

Nevertheless, this then stimulated further questions during the survey; What if the popular culture area/subject chosen was not engaging for all pupils in the class? Would children get mixed up with their hobbies and interests and then learning?

This takes us to Lambirths (2003) view, who suggests some teachers find popular culture, particularly television and computer games, intellectually inferior and that children are exposed to these cultures enough at home. Additionally, Marsh (2003) highlights the lack of confidence teachers have when teaching using popular culture. This is due to the lack of previous experiences teachers have had and also the lack of control they have over what they can teach. Therefore teachers are more likely to persist in traditional planning which they feel comfortable teaching. From my own experiences I have seen a popular cartoon character or story being used as a stimulus for a lesson, not necessarily watching a TV programme or playing a computer game.

The survey and research I have undertaken has challenged my views and raised issues I was not aware of before. For example, Arthur (2004) identified views of the use of technology and popular culture in the classroom in the late 1990’s; where technology and popular culture were not necessarily used as a learning tool in primary settings. Therefore the use of watching television and videos, containing popular culture, were seen more of an entertainment tool rather than an educational opportunity. Although time has moved on, schools will still be at different levels concerning technological resources and therefore the exposure to popular culture will vary in each school. Especially as popular culture is increasingly digital due to today’s generation being bought up in an evolving digital world. Furthermore, the new curriculum states that, by the end of key stage 2, children should be able to and have had the opportunity to explore computer networks and use a variety of software on a range of digital devices... as active participants in a digital world (DfE, 2013).

Concluding that, as teachers and for future practice, we will need to be able to adapt planning and learning depending on the facilities provided in school. Whilst making sure popular culture is being used for successful and productive learning experiences, without being afraid to take risks when doing so.

References:

Arthur, L. (2004) Popular Culture: Views of parents and educators. Routledge Falmer Oxon.

DfE (2013) 2014 National Curriculum [pdf] Available at: >https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/national-curriculum< [Accessed 24^th January 2014]

Dyson, A (1997) Writing Superheroes: Contemporary childhood, popular culture and classroom literacy. New York: Teacher’s College Press

Lambirth, A. (2003) “They get enough of that at home”: understanding aversion to popular culture in schools. Reading Literacy and Language

Marsh, J., Brooks, G., Hughes, J., Ritchie, L., Roberts, S. and Wright, K. (2005). Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies. Sheffield: University of Sheffield. Available at: http://arrts.gtcni.org.uk/gtcni/bitstream/2428/27212/1/DigitalBeginningsReport.pdf [Accessed 24th January 2014].

Marsh, J. & Millard, E. (2003) Literacy and Popular Culture in the Classroom  Reading: National Centre for Language and Literacy