USING ELEMENTS OF HIP-HOP CULTURE AS A MEANS OF INCREASING STUDENT IN

USING ELEMENTS OF HIP-HOP CULTURE AS A MEANS OF INCREASING STUDENT INTEREST AND LEARNING AMERICAN GOVERNMENT USING ELEMENTS OF HIP-HOP CULTURE AS A MEANS OF INCREASING STUDENT INTEREST AND LEARNING AMERICAN GOVERNMENT By John H. Mayberry, Jr. For ED 7999: Terminal Masters Project Submitted to the Office for Graduate Studies, Graduate Division of Wayne State University Detroit, Michigan In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts in Teaching 2004 MAJOR: SECONDARY SOCIAL STUDIES EDUCATION Approved by: ________________________ Dr. Bob Pettapiece Date CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION TO THE PROJECT Introduction One of the myriad challenges that face conscientious educators is the need to get and keep the attention of their students. With all of the fast-paced, mind-grabbing activities that students have at their fingertips, the task of sitting in a classroom and listening to a teacher talk to them (or at them) about anything can be everything but interesting. Teachers may have become comfortable with the way they do things in their classrooms; their ways are easy to them, it does not require creativity, and it can be perceived as a threat to their role as the classroom authority and expert in subject matter to be asked to change. However, the methods that some educators use may not result in student learning and mastery of the subject matter. Educators, as professionals, must be willing to develop, emulate, and initiate new strategies if there is the possibility that the use of these strategies would lead to improved student learning. One strategy that has been found effective is using elements of popular culture in teaching social studies. By starting with and using cultural items with which students are familiar and can relate, student interest in studying the subject may increase, resulting in better performance in the classroom, and better feelings about studying social studies. The teacher must become familiar with the culture that the students are immersed in, whether it is music, television, fashions, or other elements of their culture. The teacher must also be willing to connect the students culture to the subject matter being studied. This presents a challenge as many teachers, because of the differences in age, usually do not identify with the same popular culture as students. Purpose of the Study There were two questions to this study. First, would studying American government through the means of Hip-Hop culture result in increased student interest in the subject matter? Secondly, would studying American government through the means of Hip-Hop culture result in improved student performance in the course? By taking a look at these two questions, it may be possible to determine if infusing elements of popular culture is an effective educational strategy for teaching social studies. Significance of the Study This study should be of interest to social studies educators. If we wish to understand our students and reach them, we should understand the world that they dwell in. By understanding hip-hop culture, as well as popular culture as a whole, we, as educators, might find and develop strategies and activities that will have a positive affect on students desire to study social studies and their understanding of social studies concepts and information Population The population of this study included 10th graders from two sections of an American government course in an urban high school. All of the students were African-American ages 14-16. There were twenty-nine students in the traditional class (3rd Hour) and 31 students in the non-traditional class (5th Hour). Summary This study will demonstrate two things: First, studying American Government through the means of hip-hop culture will result in an increased interest in studying American Government, and secondly, studying American Government by using hip-hop culture will result in improved student performance. CHAPTER TWO REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE Introduction This chapter contains a review of literature related to the concept of using elements of popular culture in teaching in general, and social studies in particular. Research The inclusion of popular culture forms into the educational realm has a long history and has been accepted as a legitimate teaching strategy, in some realms. For example, using elements of popular culture in educational films and videos has been a welcome reality for decades. Yet, research in the field of popular culture forms like dramatization, television commercials, and rock and rap videos, how it pervades the lives of young people, and how schools should respond, is