“Meme, myself, and I:” Self-directed effects in meme-centered pedagogy
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Neuroscience, the study of the brain and nervous system, has been steadily growing as a field of study in undergraduate establishments over the past four decades (Ramos et al., 2011). Neuroscience has a complex vocabulary that is new to most students, which in some students may cause some anxiety (Birkett & Shelton, 2011). To counteract this anxiety, some educators have begun to use alternative assignments. Researchers have found that interactive and cooperative learning settings can decrease science anxiety (Okebukola, 1986). Interactive learning has also been shown to increase engagement in the material (Mendez-Reguera & Lopez Cabrera, 2020). If interactive learning can decrease anxiety while increasing engagement, it stands to reason that interaction with other forms of media can possibly do the same. Memes are a contemporary form of media that are increasingly popular in younger generations (Beach & Dredger, 2017). In this study, researchers investigate the effect of using self-designed memes to increase engagement and retention of neuroscience information.