ACADEMIC RESOURCES

TEACHING SOCIAL JUSTICE AND ENGAGING GEN-Z STUDENTS IN DIGITAL CLASSROOMS DURING COVID-19

The outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020 disrupted the lives of people on all fronts, but especially the traditional education system. Now dependent on online learning during a global pandemic, political unrest, and a contentious presidential election, many school educators were forced to transition to virtual instruction amid the ongoing health crises posed by COVID-19 and the ever- present issue of racism. We gathered and analyzed the teaching experiences of instructors at an historically Black college or university as they addressed social justice issues during the COVID-19 pandemic. The majority of college-age students today are from Generation Z (Gen Z), the “digital native” generation. They are living in a time in which recent social justice movements have called them to the frontlines. To teach Gen-Z students, faculty should create courses that fit their needs and consider innovative teaching strategies to engage them in classrooms. We discuss three classroom activities that showcase instructors’ pedagogical efforts during such unprecedented times.

THE DRAMA OF PRIME-TIME: IS IT HEALTHY

According to Nielsen’s National Television Household Universe Estimates, there are 120.6 million TV homes in the U.S. for the 2019-20 TV season (Nielsen, 2019). And the most popular time to watch television is between 6pm and midnight, also known as prime-time (Statista, 2019). Today, viewers are exposed to various types of messaging through various genres of programming. One such type of messaging is health-related. This study focused on the top three Nielson reported prime-time dramas in on major TV networks in 2019. The researchers aimed to 1) identify the occurrence of health and health-related messages during prime-time televisions shows on major TV networks and 2) identify how the depiction of health-related messages differed among prime-time television shows on major TV networks. A coding schema was used to capture and analyze the frequency and type(s) of health occurrence observed during each episode that was watched. The findings from this study serve as a baseline for understanding more about viewer exposure and the use of health information observed during prime-time television viewing.