Engaging My Gen Z Class: Teaching with Memes
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INNOVATION
Engaging My Gen Z Class: Teaching with Memes Aniela Mendez-Reguera 1
&
Mildred Vanessa Lopez Cabrera 1
Accepted: 2 September 2020 # International Association of Medical Science Educators 2020
Abstract Fostering engagement in a traditional setting with Generation Z learners was difficult enough; to do so online, while most educators are battling with technology, poses an even harder challenge amid the pandemic. In an unconventional assignment, students were asked to create an Internet meme to explain any immunology class themes. Keywords Generation Z . Zoomers . COVID-19 . Student engagement . Educational innovation . Meme
Members of Gen Z, true digital natives, have been navigating the internet and social networks, and immersed in video platforms since they were born. They have been described as pragmatic and socially active individuals. Most of their interaction has transferred from face-to-face to digital environments which have made them excel in representing complex situations in one-image or slang expression that makes online communication more efficient. Every time an element of a movie or expression goes viral, they are present. They live and understand these viral phenomena which shape their everyday lives and create an impact in their psyche. The current pandemic has forced educators, from baby boomers to millennials, to plunge into an online model. If fostering class engagement in a traditional classroom setting with Gen Z learners was difficult, do so online, while battling with technology teachers sometimes are not used to, poses an even harder challenge during this pandemic. Understanding the key features of the learners’ generation allows educators to define a strategy to approach them, as well as to understand and implement tools that could benefit the teaching-learning process. In an unconventional effort to promote class engagement and assess student understanding of the content of the immunology class, an unorthodox assignment was given. This assignment was set as optional and had no impact on course grades, and consisted of students creating a meme of their authorship and uploading it to an online discussion board
* Aniela Mendez-Reguera [email protected] 1
Tecnologico de Monterrey, Escuela de Medicina y Ciencias de la Salud, Monterrey, Nuevo León, Mexico
[1]. These sarcastic images, part of the student’s environment, have become widely known and part of pop culture and the extent to which they shape the students’ perception is still unknown. Teachers sometimes overlook the utility they have to create an impact on education and promote students’ engagement. The assignment required that the image depict or explained any of the second term themes or content: complement, phagocytosis, inflammation, antigen presentation, natural killer (NK) cells, etc. A positive response resulted in 64 memes designed by 45 students, some of them posting more than once. Informal student feedback on the meme activity was positive: “It was an entertaining assignment. Through the weeks I was even
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