LOW KEY, THAT LECTURE WAS “LIT”: ENGAGING STUDENT DISCUSSION USING POP CULTURE REFERENCES

Presented by: Shaan ShahabuddinFaculty Convocation 2017

Blinn CollegeJanuary 10, 2017

Before we begin…

• I teach Psychology, but I will try to make

this relevant to all fields

• ALWAYS teach by your own style

Walking in today, how did you experience pop culture?

• Pop culture in music

• You can play music/video before class

and connect it to content

• You can have students request songs

“Summer of 69” – Bryan Adams

• History – The year 1969

• Geography – Canada

• English – George Orwell’s book, 1984

• Sociology – Relationships among peers

• Psychology – Memory

“Lit”

• Any event or experience that was

extremely fun and memorable

“Come to the faculty senate meeting, it’s gonna be lit!”

• A state of intoxication due to drugs

and/or alcohol “I got a little too lit at the New Years party”

(Taken from: UrbanDictionary.com)

“Low Key”

• To keep things secret

“Low key, that lecture was pretty

lit”

“Low key, I might change my

major to psychology”

• Slightly or kinda

“I usually hate math, but I’m low key digging my stats class”

(Taken from: UrbanDictionary.com)

Slang Terms

2000’s1990’s 20171980’s

Slang Terms

2000’s

• Wazzup

• Chillax

• Bling Bling

• Diss• Emo

• Tight

1990’s

• All that

• As if

• Boo Ya

• Fly• Ghetto

• Oh snap

• Scrub

• Sweet

• Wicked

2017

• Ayyy

• Turnt (Turnt

Up)

• Savage• Bruh

• Fam

• Roast

• Live

• Respek• Ratchet

1980’s

• Airhead

• Awesome

• Bad

• Bodacious• Bogus

• Chill

• Def

• Gnarly

• Lame• Psych

“Popular Culture”

• Anything current from outside of class/textbook that can be used as an example

Films / TV Shows

Songs

Viral videos

Quotes

Current news

Technology

Memes

Ex: Lecture on “Conformity”

Solomon Asch, 1955

• Individuals conform to group pressure

• Participants purposely give wrong answer to a simple question

• “Following the crowd”

BitMoji

Fads

New Technology

Music and Dances

Mannequin Challenge

Mannequin Challenge

Ex: Lecture on “Drugs:

• Codeine / Promethazine

• Effects are similar to that of

marijuana

• Common street names:

Purple Drank

Drank

Lean

Oil

“Mix the sprite made a juicePrepare to lean off that codeine

Prescription cough syrup gets me looseWhite cup that's full of that oil

Texas Tea we call it drank”

- “What you been dranking on?”(2006) – Jim Jones, P.

Diddy, & Paul Wall.

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)

Unconditioned Response (UR)

Unconditioned Stimulus

(US)

Neutral Stimulus (NS) No Conditioned Response (NCR)

Neutral Stimulus (NS)Unconditioned Response (UR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Conditioned Response (CR)

Unconditioned Stimulus (US)Unconditioned Response (UR)

Unconditioned

Stimulus (US)

Neutral Stimulus (NS) No Conditioned Response (NCR)

Neutral Stimulus (NS)Unconditioned Response (UR)

Conditioned Stimulus (CS) Conditioned Response (CR)

Ex: Lecture on Visible Light and the Electromagnetic Spectrum

“Hue”

• What we refer to as “color”

• Determined by the wavelength

reflecting off of an object

Brightness

• Depends on amplitude (wave

height)

Saturation

• Color purity

“What color is this dress” illusion

“What color is this dress” illusion

Ex: Lecture on “Stereotyping”

Chemistry Class

• Use scenes from the

show “Breaking Bad”

• Some scenes show

great examples of

chemistry

Chemistry Class

• In this scene, the two characters are stranded in the dessert

• They create a car battery using household products

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLZXC0ZFd08 (0:15)

Horticulture Class

• Character grows

potatoes from scratch

• Entire cultivation

process is shown

Government Class

• This show depicts

corruption, blackmail,

power, and politics

History Class

• See what students find

important in their lives

• Provide a short history lesson before the

beginning of each class

Math / Stats Class

• This show contains several

clips that depict and explain:

Statistical significance.

Regression towards the mean.

The ultimatum game (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfE4ZL08twA ).

Other Shows

• Anthology series

• Modern version of Twilight Zone

• Every episode deals with advancement of

technology

Engaging Through Websites/Apps

• Most instructors do not

allow cell phone use in class

• Why not use new

technology for our benefit?

• Very easy to set up

• Don’t need to download app

• Used mostly for discussions

• Students can ask/answer questions

anonymously

• Log on to

http://todaysmeet.com/blinnpsych

• Do NOT use your real name

• Make up a Nickname

• Make your Nickname something funny,

creative, and catchy

• What’s something interesting you did

during your winter holiday?

• If you won the $1.3 billion lottery, what

would be your FIRST purchase?

•Used mostly for quizzes:

Multiple Choice

True/False

Short Answer

• Log on to http://socrative.com

• On the right tab, click on “Student Login”

• Enter Teacher’s Room:

BlinnPsych

• Enter your name:

Either real name or make up a Nickname

• Quizzes before/after class

• Games

• To take a break from lecture

• Student feedback

• Asking questions

• Discussions

• I would NOT suggest using these for a grade

• Be Creative!

How to Find Examples of Pop Culture?

• Embrace current films and

TV shows

• Netflix, Amazon Prime,

YouTube

• Ask questions

• Do your research

• Keep your eyes open

Questions?

Activity!

• Turn to the person next to you

• Discuss with them one common/current

pop culture reference

• Find out how you can fit this reference

into your class