For Teachers: How to Engage with Students Using Pop Culture References

Why Do Teachers Engage with Students Using Pop Culture References?

Student engagement with their teachers or professors can be enhanced due to the use of pop culture references in classroom examples and settings. These references can be used in classrooms ranging in grade level, from elementary school to middle school, high school and universities as a teaching tool throughout the school year.

Even teachers using remote learning can use pop culture references in their lesson plans by incorporating video clips and interactive examples into their lesson plans.

How Can Teachers Engage with Students Using Popular Culture References?

Students may feel like they are better learners when they can better understand class concepts being taught by their teachers. Pop culture references can peak student interest in class concepts when teachers or professors of higher education include them in lesson plans or class examples.

By engaging students in this way, the teachers may be able to relate to their students in new ways by offering common concepts in new ways within the use of popular culture references to engage more critical thinking from their students. Teachers teaching the concepts of social studies, english, math and other common school subjects in higher learning can incorporate these references into their lessons and classroom discussions.

These references can be used to show students’ experiences with the modern world outside of the classroom to their teachers for broader lessons overall. Some teachers or professors may even consider incorporating pop culture references into research projects to make them more enjoyable for students when faced with other real-world interactions. These references can enhance a students learning experience and learning process in many ways.

What Pop Culture References Are Relevant to Use in Classrooms?

Pop culture references can range from associations of things from tv shows or movies, social media, video games or other popular media sources used in student life outside of school.

Some examples can also include references to popular Youtube videos, TikToks, or other popular posts or media sources commonly known from online sources. Other examples may feature memes or funny photos/videos/GIFs into their examples.

Some commonly known characters and storylines may also be used like Harry Potter, Disney characters, and Nickelodeon characters to relate to elementary school students, middle school students, high school students and university students.