The Effect of Integrating Pop Culture in Teaching Practices in Inclusion Graphic Art Classes
by Gloria Ann Rautman-Chernyakhovsky
Since the 1960’s, when artists like Andy Warhol celebrated images from pop culture as an art form, the effect of popular culture on the behavior of people in developed societies has only escalated. The behavior of children, because of their impressionability, is most affected by media exposure to popular culture. An education system as large as that of the American public schools ought to develop media literacy programs to help children recognize and understand how media symbols and messages influence their behavior in regard to identity development and consumption as consumers. Furthermore, tailoring this curriculum to help special education students with informed decision-making and occupational life skills development will improve their real life judgment. I conducted this study to determine how integrating pop culture with teaching practices increases the success of special needs students in inclusion classes. I used lessons to teach the origin of visual images through technology. The results show that students worked well with the art and technology projects, giving them the freedom and ability to make choices and work at their own pace, thus strengthening competencies in confidence-building and independent learning.
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