By Dr. Xi Lin
Keeping adult learners engaged in asynchronous courses can feel like a Herculean task in the ever-expanding world of online education. With busy schedules, diverse life experiences, and the isolation of virtual classrooms, fostering meaningful interaction is no small feat. Enter an unexpected hero: the humble meme. The present study (Lin & Sun, 2023) explores how student-generated memes can transform online discussions, sparking engagement, building community, and enhancing active learning for adult learners. If you’re an educator looking to shake up your virtual classroom, this approach may be the creative twist you’ve been searching for.
The Challenge of Engaging Adult Learners Online
Adult learners—often juggling full-time jobs, family responsibilities, and coursework—gravitate toward asynchronous online formats for flexibility. Yet, this convenience comes with a catch: low engagement. Without real-time interaction, discussion boards can become a graveyard of perfunctory posts, leaving learners disconnected and uninspired. Lin and Sun (2023) highlight how traditional discussion prompts often fail to resonate with adult learners, who bring rich, varied experiences but struggle to find common ground or feel motivated to share. The result? A lackluster online experience that hinders both learning and community-building.
How Memes Spark Connection and Learning
Lin and Sun (2023) introduced a delightful solution: asking adult learners to create and share memes about their experiences with technology as part of a discussion activity. Conducted in a graduate-level course on adult education, this approach yielded remarkable results. Here’s how memes turned the tide:
- Breaking the Ice with Humor: Memes—funny, relatable, and bite-sized—offered a low-pressure way for learners to express their feelings about technology. Students reported the activity as “surprising but fun,” with comments like, “I’ve never had such a fun assignment before.” This entertainment factor made discussions feel less like work and more like play, easing learners out of their shells.
- Fostering a Sense of “I’m Not Alone”: The memes revealed shared struggles—like wrestling with new tech tools—normalizing challenges and building camaraderie. One learner noted, “It was reassuring to hear others sometimes struggle with it also.” This relatability sparked peer interaction, as students connected over common experiences and learned from each other’s perspectives.
- Encouraging Active Learning: Crafting a meme wasn’t just fun—it required creativity and reflection. Learners had to distill their experiences into a visual format, then explain their choices and propose teaching strategies. This process, aligned with Engagement Theory’s “Relate-Create-Donate” framework, deepened their interaction with the course content and peers, turning a simple post into a meaningful learning opportunity.
- Overcoming Initial Hurdles: While some found meme creation daunting initially (“I was very stressed and avoided doing it for the first few days”), the challenge became a gateway to mastering a new skill. Students sought out meme generators, collaborated with peers, and ultimately felt empowered by their success—mirroring the very tech-learning process they were exploring.
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Memes generated and posted by students regarding their feelings about technology. |
The Instructor’s Role: Guiding Without Leading
The study underscores the instructor’s pivotal role in making this activity work. Clear, step-by-step instructions—like how to embed a meme in Canvas—eased technical fears, while frequent feedback and prompts kept the discussion flowing. Rather than dominating the conversation, the instructor encouraged peer interaction with questions like, “In response to [student]’s comments, what do you think…?” This student-centered approach fostered a vibrant, supportive community where learners felt safe sharing and growing.
Best Practices for Bringing Memes to Your Classroom
Ready to meme-ify your online discussions? Here are some tips inspired by the findings:
- Set Clear Expectations: Guide students on creating and interpreting memes, tying them to course themes (e.g., technology struggles or teaching insights).
- Make It Graded: A small incentive ensures participation, especially since voluntary interaction rarely happens organically online.
- Encourage Peer Responses: To spark dialogue and build connections, require students to comment on at least two peers’ memes.
- Provide Support: Offer resources (e.g., meme generator links or a demo video) to ease beginners into the process.
- Summarize Key Takeaways: Wrap up the discussion with a summary of insights to reinforce learning and show students their contributions matter.
Final Thoughts
This research reveals that student-generated memes are more than just a quirky gimmick—they’re a powerful tool for engaging adult learners in asynchronous online settings. By blending humor, creativity, and relevance, memes break down barriers, connect diverse learners, and make discussions a highlight rather than a chore. While the study was limited to one week, its promise suggests broader applications—imagine a semester-long meme thread weaving through your course!
So, why give it a try? Next time you design an online discussion, toss in a meme prompt and watch your adult learners light up the board with laughter, insight, and connection. Who knew a picture and a punchline could do so much for learning?
Reference
Lin, X., & Sun, Q. (2023). Student‐generated memes as a way to facilitate online discussion for adult learners. Psychology in the Schools, 60(12), 4826-4840. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22884