The article describes the results of teachers using a critical language lens to analyze linguistic stereotypes in TV series, movies, cartoons, and social media posts. I share the key questions teachers asked about language use in texts as well as the results of their analysis. Based in a cultural modeling pedagogy (Lee, 2007), teachers examined…

Purpose: The aim of this research is to investigate youth understandings of citizenship against the dual backgrounds of inclusive citizenship education and exclusionary discourse in the public sphere. Design / methodology / approach: The topic was explored through group interviews with 10th grade students, while the emergent theme of material or…

Today, schools are introducing STEM education and robotics to children in ever-lower grades. In "Beyond Coding," Marina Umaschi Bers lays out a pedagogical roadmap for teaching code that encompasses the cultivation of character along with technical knowledge and skills. Presenting code as a universal language, she shows how children…

This paper investigates foreigners' linguistic and visual representations observed in 17 recent Japanese animated shows (or "anime"), and explores ways to increase students' critical awareness of issues regarding Japanese language and culture. We find that foreign characters in "anime" tend to be linguistically represented with…

The Twin Cities PBS "Ready to Learn" project focuses on the building of science and literacy skills of diverse students ages 5 to 8. It also promotes equity for historically underrepresented children in science (race-ethnic minorities, low-income children with disabilities, English Language Learners). The Transformative Transmedia…

This article examines how undergraduate instructors of pre-service educators can address complex issues of sexuality and sexual orientation within the classroom. First, we explain our own backgrounds and positionalities to provide a context for our ensuing ideas and discussions. Second, by reviewing the literature on homophobic bullying, we…

The authors take a critical language pedagogy approach to examining a 2011 controversy over disparaging comments towards Mexicans made by commentators of the British Broadcasting Corporation's automotive show Top Gear. In particular, they focus on the characterization of groups and individuals according to their nationality and examine the…