Popular Culture In The Classroom

This book is written for teachers, researchers, and theorists who have grown up in a world radically different from that of the students they teach and study. It considers the possibilities involved in teaching critical media literacy using popular culture, and explore what such teaching might look like in your classroom. Published by International Reading Association

Most children engage with a range of popular cultural forms outside of school. Their experiences with film, television, computer games and other cultural texts are very motivating, but often find no place within the official curriculum, where children are usually restricted to conventional forms of literacy. This book demonstrates how to use children′s interests in popular culture to develop literacy in the primary classroom. The authors provide a theoretical basis for such work through an exploration of related theory and research, drawing from the fields of education, sociology and cultural studies. Teachers are often concerned about issues of sexism, racism, violence and commercialism within the discourse of children′s media texts. The authors address each of these areas and show how such issues can be explored directly with children. They present classroom examples of the use of popular culture to develop literacy in schools and include interviews with children and teachers regarding this work. This book is relevant to all teachers and students who want to develop their understanding of the nature and potential role of popular culture within the curriculum. It will also be useful to language co-ordinators, advisers, teacher educators and anyone interested in media education in the 5-12 age-range.

Classroom Teaching: An Introduction provides both prospective and practicing educators with a provocative examination of some of the most practical concerns of teaching. Topics include classroom management, effective and creative teaching methods, classroom violence, motivation, legal issues of teaching, technology, diversity, and parental involvement in their children's educational progress. Throughout this volume, special attention is given to respect for the profession and to the capacity for self-direction among educators. Both practical and visionary, Classroom Teaching: An Introduction examines the challenges of today's classroom new and exciting ways and engages teachers with questions involving educational purpose, curriculum development, contemporary educational politics, the various contexts in which schooling takes place, and the conceptual frameworks on which teachers can ground their teaching. This is a smart book on the nature of teaching and how to do it well. There is no other book like it.

A collection of eloquent essays, Tooning In critically examines and interprets the concept of 'popular culture.' Many interesting works have addressed this subject, but few have provided a critical perspective regarding the possibilities of popular culture as a tool for teaching and learning. White and Walker suggest that popular culture is a vital aspect of contemporary life and can be wielded as a tool for efficacy and empowerment, particularly among youth. The book addresses such important questions as: What is the role of popular culture in students' lives? What are the possibilities for popular culture in schooling and education? What are the differences between traditional and transformative approaches to popular culture? With essays specifically devoted to film, music, television, games, and other alternative popular culture texts, Tooning In invites readers to re-examine the fundamental aspects of popular culture as a societal force.

The integration of popular culture into education is a pervasive theme at all educational levels and in all subject areas. Popular Culture, Pedagogy and Teacher Education explores how ‘popular culture’ and ‘education’ come together and interact in research and practice from an interdisciplinary perspective. The international case studies in this edited volume address issues related to: how popular culture ‘teaches’ our students and what they learn from it outside the classroom how popular culture connects education to students’ lives how teachers ‘use’ popular culture in educational settings how far teachers should shape what students learn from engagement with popular culture in school how teacher educators can help teachers integrate popular culture into their teaching Providing vivid accounts of students, teachers and teacher educators, and drawing out the pedagogical implications of their work, this book will appeal to teachers and teacher educators who are searching for practical answers to the questions that the integration of popular culture into education poses for their work.

A provocative collection of articles that begins with the idea that the "popular" in classrooms and in the everyday lives of teachers and students is fundamentally political. This anthology includes articles by elementary and secondary public school teachers, scholars and activists who examine how and what popular toys, books, films, music and other media "teach." The essays offer strong critiques and practical pedagogical strategies for educators at every level to engage with the popular.

Literacy and popular culture are intrinsically linked as forms of communication, entertainment, and education. Students are motivated to engage with popular culture through a myriad of mediums for a variety of purposes. Utilizing popular culture to bridge literacy concepts across content areas in K-12 settings offers a level playing field across student groups and grade levels. As concepts around traditional literacy education evolve and become more culturally responsive, the connections between popular culture and disciplinary literacy must be explored. Disciplinary Literacy Connections to Popular Culture in K-12 Settings is an essential publication that explores a conceptual framework around pedagogical connections to popular culture. While highlighting a broad range of topics including academic creativity, interdisciplinary storytelling, and skill development, this book is ideally designed for educators, curriculum developers, instructional designers, administrative officials, policymakers, researchers, academicians, and students.

Teaching about the media and popular culture has been a major concern for radical educators. Yet in recent years, the hyperbolic rhetoric of "critical pedagogy" has come under attack, not only from theoretical perspectives such as feminism, anti-racism and postmodernism, but also in The Light Of Actual Classroom Experience. The Notion That Teachers Might "liberate" students through rationalistic forms of ideological critique has been increasingly questioned, not only on the grounds of its political arrogance, but also because of its ineffectiveness in practice. This book seeks to move beyond the limitations of these debates, and to explore positive alternatives. It contains a broad international range of contributions, covering practice from primary schools right through to higher education. The authors draw on diverse perspectives, including poststructuralism, postmodernism, cultural studies, anti-racism and feminism; yet they share a willingness to challenge radical orthodoxies, and to offer positive practical alternatives.