Course:

Movies  * TV  *  Music  *  Web 
Chat  *  Comic books  *  Video games

As teachers, we can try to keep these things out of our classrooms. Or we can view this as an opportunity.

Playful Interest Bridging (PIB) is a strategy to foster motivation and teach critical thinking. PIB is about taking a sincere interest in our students' fascination and skills with new technologies and entertainments. PIB is an inclusive, student-centered approach to connecting our students' interests with our curriculum.

Here are some examples of teaching using pop media and Playful Interest Bridging:

 * What do the X-Men movies say about discrimination and tolerance?
 * In games like SimCity and Civilization, what are the assumptions about history and social studies?
 * Is a popular website the same as a trustworthy website? Why/not?
 * How do the physics in a video game affect gameplay and fun?
 * What do Tomb Raider and The Taming of the Shrew have in common?
 * How can we use poetry terms to study music lyrics?

Click here for more information about this course.

This course will include lab time, to practice finding pop media and creating lessons.

Teachers from all grades and disciplines should find this course provocative and useful.

This course has been designed to meet the following Wisconsin Teacher Standards:

$233.40