Memes in class? Using multimodal texts to feed open-ended creativity
Memes in class? Using multimodal texts to feed open-ended creativity
Georgia-Zozeta Miliopoulou
What is the idea?
In 1976, Richard Dawkins defined memes as units of cultural transmission or imitation (Dawkins, 1976, p. 192) and later described memes as mutating patterns of information (Dawkins, 1986, p. 158). Memes have also been approached as replicators or representations and have been described as viruses becoming endemic within or between generations (Sperber 1996, p. 24-32 and p. 57-58).
The internet meme, usually consisting of a photo or image and a caption, appears to be all the above: a cultural transmission of ideas or feelings, spreading virally and constituting patterns of information. Though more limited in form, the internet meme has become extremely popular among young people (Jakubowski, 2021; Penney, 2020).
Memes can be used as tools for active learning almost by definition, since they act as units of cultural transmission, replicators, or patterns of information. By processing thoughts and ideas to be conveyed through a popular form, students may reflect on significant topics while engaging in a familiar activity.
Active learning includes methods of instruction which engage students in the learning process through meaningful and reflective activities (Bonwell & Eison, 1991) while fostering diversity and acknowledging differences of opinion and ways of thinking (McKeachie et al., 2006). Active learning fosters engagement and one of the ways to achieve this is introducing activity into the traditional lecture (Prince, 2004).
Meme-making can allow students to express their thoughts and demonstrate understanding of taught topics multimodally, to compare such thoughts, and to assimilate learning material through a critical lens. Memes in class have been found to promote critical thinking (Wells, 2018) and visual literacy (Romero & Bobkina, 2017), as well as in the peer review of chemistry exams (Underwood & Kararo, 2020) and in Pharmacy (Brown, 2020). In most of these cases, creating was meant to facilitate understanding of key topics.
In the activity we propose, students are asked to create memes to develop their creative skills, particularly in the context of marketing communications and creative advertising, an idea also considered by Dawkins himself and the advertising agency Saatchi & Saatchi (Solon, 2013). They actively engage in the learning of creating advertising. The students are asked to create memes during class time. They may be given a visual; or they may be given a topic. Then, they are asked to improvise adding captions to images or images to sentences to provide a resonant meme. Given the right prompts and instructions, students can engage in an intuitive activity, test and develop their skills in the context of active learning.
Why this idea?
This is a classroom activity. Students can use their mobile phones – legitimately! They may select an app they already use or download a free meme generator application. The act