Informal Blog Task 2

I agree with the student teacher that popular culture should be used in the classroom, and was positively surprised. Marsh et al (2005) found that, children develop skills, knowledge, and understanding of the world, by using popular culture. Furthermore, the student teacher argues using popular culture in the classroom, engages children, which is supported by Dean (2010), who argues that children are captivated into what they see, therefore, are motivated in their learning. Harrett and Benjamin (2009) found that children were enthusiastic to learn, because incorporating Doctor Who into the classroom made their writing, more meaningful and exciting.

The student teacher believes that using popular culture that children are interested in, motivates them to learn (Marsh et al, 2005). Motivation is one of the key reasons of why we use popular culture within the classroom. Marsh et al (2005) found that using popular culture in the classroom also supports, children progressing in speaking and listening, because of the language they are exposed too, and the quality of interaction they engage in with their peers.

The student teacher’s view is agreed with Flewitt (2005), who argued that multimodal literacies create meanings, that supports learning into real life contexts. Furthermore, the student teacher said that we need to check the media, before we show it to children to make sure, it is relevant to the age we are teaching, and it is only used if it enhances teaching and learning (Beauchamp, 2012). The student teacher illustrated this perfectly, with some examples; another example is checking the content of games, or even cartoons to make sure they are not too violent, because it can make them behave aggressively (Knorr, 2013). Past research has indicated that about 90% of movies, 68% of video games, 60% of TV shows, and 15% of music videos include some violence (Knorr, 2013).Therefore, as teachers it is our responsibility to check the media content first (Knorr, 2013).

Finally, the student teacher believes that we should use examples of positive role models from popular culture within the classroom (Anderson and Cavallaro, 2002). Anderson and Cavallaro (2002) found that children respond positively to heroes, as their role models, because of their unique skills that are portrayed in popular culture. Although, this would be a challenge for me, of using role models in the classroom, because of the lack of experience, but I want to take on this challenge, that the student teacher has mentioned, because it is key to support children’s learning.
 
Making the time to learn about children’s interest of popular culture, would be an implication for me, because I would need to manage my time effectively. Allowing my children to teach me, about their culture practices and interests, will support my practice, because I will have a better connection with the children I teach (Baker and Petrone, 2013). Although, I am a digital native like the children of today, it is important to learn from children, because we need to understand their interests, through their “native language” (Prensky, 2001).

Anderson, K. & Cavallaro, D. (2002) Parents or Pop Culture? Children’s Heroes and Role Models. [pdf] Available from: http://www-personal.umich.edu/~tmarra/class/anderson.pdf (Accessed: 23/01/14)

Baker, E. A. & Petrone, R. (2013) Youth, literacy, and popular culture: Implications for teachers. Voice of Literacy. Podcast, 02.12.13 http://www.voiceofliteracy.org/posts/54850 (Accessed: 23.01.14)
Beauchamp, G. (2012) ‘What is ICT in the Primary School?: Tools and Techniques’. ICT in the Primary School, From Pedagogy to Practice. Essex: Pearson Education Limited
Dean, G. ‘Rethinking Literacy’ in Bazalgette, C. (ed) (2010) Teaching Media in Primary Classrooms London: Sage
Flewitt, R. (2005) Multimodal Literacies in the Early Years Technologies. [pdf] Available from:
http://www.esrc.ac.uk/my-esrc/grants/RES-000-22-2451/outputs/Read/6f850405-2340-4168-af34-bd9ba4107bff (Accessed: 22/01/14)
Harrett, J. & Benjamin, T. (2009) Travel with a Time Lord: Using Media to Enhance Literacy. [pdf] Available from: http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ860210 (Accessed: 23/01/14)
Knorr, C. (2013) Impact of Media Violence Tips. [www] Available from: http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/impact-media-violence-tips (Accessed: 23/01/14)
Marsh, J. Brooks, G. Hughes,  J. Ritchie, L. Roberts, S. & Wright, K. (2005) Digital beginnings: Young children’s use of popular culture, media and new technologies. [www] Available from:
http://arrts.gtcni.org.uk/gtcni/bitstream/2428/27212/1/DigitalBeginningsReport.pdf  (Accessed: 22/01/14)
Prensky, M. (2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Part II: Do They Really Think Differently?. [pdf] Available from: http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.pdf (Accessed: 23/01/14)