Introduction
Understanding the key features of the learners’ generation allows educators to define a strategy to approach them, as well as to understand and implement tools that could benefit the teaching-learning process
—Mendez-Reguera and Cabrera (2020)
Research in education has long shown the benefits of implementing frequent, low-stakes assignments (Warnock 2013). In an in-person classroom, quizzes, group discussions, short reflections, and more can be used to supplement or even replace larger, high-stakes assignments. As instructors and students move toward fully online and hybrid teaching environments, largely due to limitations imposed by COVID 19 restrictions, low-stakes assignments are even more important.
While low-stakes assignments can help students maintain a sense of consistency and help them transition to and navigate this new online or hybrid learning environment, they can also feel monotonous, repetitive, and time-consuming. In the search to overcome issues of low student motivation (Finn 2015, Kornhauser et al. 2014), instructors are looking to enhance their courses with engaging, fun, and relevant alternatives. Enter: the meme assignment (Wells 2018, Paul 2020, Mendez-Reguera and Cabrera 2020).
Description of the Assignment and Methodology
As younger generations enter the classroom, educators can develop (or adapt) assignments that engage students’ technological skill sets (Scardina 2017, Mendez-Reguera and Cabrera 2020). One example of this is the use of a meme assignment (Wells 2018, Paul 2020, Mendez-Reguera and Cabrera 2020).
The assignments presented in this article bring together the perspectives of four animal behavior instructors, each of whom designed and implemented a meme assignment within their virtual classrooms in 2020. The instructors used Twitter as a means to engage with one another and obtain tips and suggestions for their respective meme assignment instructions. While each course varied in terms of course content, the meme assignment satisfied specific learning objectives. These included: 1) understanding and synthesizing complex content, 2) identifying and distilling content into a key point, and 3) translating and communicating this content in an engaging way. Tying together these objectives into a relatively simple and quick meme assessment not only facilitated student learning but also aided instructor evaluation of material comprehension, while adding novelty and fun into the (virtual) classroom.
Below we present information regarding the type of class, the assignment instructions, the method of grading, and tools used to deliver the meme assignments. Specifically, we hope to provide clarification as to how meme assignments can be employed as well as highlight potential variations in using this assessment. We conclude by presenting our collective tips for refining the assignment as well as example student memes and feedback received.
Course and Assignment Examples
Evolution and Behavior (Dr. Sarah-Elizabeth Byosiere, CUNY Hunter College)
Course description
In this course, students will learn about the study of behavior from an evolutionary perspective. We will look at the mechanisms underlying behavior and how behavior develops in an animal’s lifetime, as well as the fitness benefits of behavior and how behavior evolves across species. We will look at a variety of behavior topics, from reproductive and mating behavior to cognition and communication. Animal behavior is a fascinating field that draws from a variety of disciplines, including psychology, neuroscience and anthropology, and students will learn about how these and other fields have impacted our understanding of behavior. In addition to lectures, we may also have in-class discussions about a variety of topics.
Student cohort: Elective, 100 level course in psychology
Class size: 55 students
Assignment description
Asynchronous Participation: Sexual Selection Memes
This week we are creating memes! Yes, you read that right. For this week, I would like you to:
- Make an internet meme related to the content this week, specifically focusing on sexual selection, using a meme generator.
- This meme must demonstrate your ability to take an idea or concept and apply classroom appropriate text and images to the subject matter. It’s ok if your meme is not absolutely hilarious, but it should make sense and accurately reflect the material.
Grading: Assignment was worth 5 points out of a total of 65 points and part of their “asynchronous participation” which constituted 15% of the overall course grade. Submissions were largely graded on completion resulting in either a score of 5 or 0. Students were not required to submit anything other than a meme. In the future, will institute a change to include a 1–3 sentence description explaining their meme. In some cases it was difficult to ascertain whether the students attained full comprehension of the material. In these instances, feedback was given but resubmission or a follow-up student response was not collected.
Introduction to Applied Animal Behavior (Dr. Beth Ventura, University of Minnesota)
Course description
How do animals behave when they’re in captivity, and why does it matter? Through this course, we will explore how animals’ behavior is modified by their captive environments and by us (the humans). Specifically, you will: gain knowledge of how different factors (e.g. genetics, physiology, learning, environment) influence the development and expression of animal behavior; explore how animals perceive and sense their world, how their cognitive capacities affect how they learn, and how we as humans can work with these capacities; identify underlying causation of normal and abnormal behavior in animals; apply knowledge of animal behavior to safe, low-stress handling and training of animals; troubleshoot common challenges in managing animals in a domestic/captive context; develop awareness of recent developments in applied animal behavior research; grow your appreciation for the incredible complexity and abilities of animals.
Student cohort: Elective, second year course in Animal Science, open to all majors and levels
Class size: 56 students
Assignment description
Behavior Bite: Make a Meme
Make an internet meme on any topic covered this week (i.e., related to zoo animal behavior, environmental enrichment, or stress in captive wildlife).
The meme must demonstrate your ability to take an interesting or important concept related to this week’s subject and communicate that concept in an informative way. The point is to match text and image in an informative, attention-grabbing way. The meme does not have to be hilarious or particularly clever, so don’t stress about that. Though if you can make it funny, please do! You should know by now that the bar for what I consider to be funny is very low.
You can make your meme using any program you choose.
Reply to this discussion forum with a title for your meme and embed (don’t just link—linking will result in a minor points deduction because the point is also to allow your peers to easily see your creation) the meme into your response.
Grading:
Worth 10 pts out of 285 pts total, assigned as one of 11 weekly 10–pt “Behavior Bite” assignments. Students were instructed that, “Grading standards for this behavior bite are fairly relaxed [compared to other weeks]. As long as your meme communicates specific information about the requested topics, the image is relevant to the text, it resembles what a meme is supposed to be, and you’ve made the meme yourself, you will earn full credit.”
Companion Animal Behavior (Dr. Emily Blackwell, University of Bristol)
Course description
This course introduces the principles of animal ethology, behavioral development, common behavior problems and legal aspects of clinical animal behavior. Knowledge about ‘normal’ behavior is used to illustrate the different elements which impact on the ultimate behavioral signs shown by individual animals. The importance of the developmental period is examined as well as interactions between health, diet and behavior. Concepts of personality and temperament are considered, along with the interaction between nature and nurture in relation to behavior. This course also introduces the concepts and principles underlying learning theory, and the neurological processes by which learning occurs. Students are introduced to the techniques by which animal behavior can be modified in training and rehabilitation. The development of problem behavior is also covered, introducing behavioral problems and methods of behavioral modification.
Student cohort: Required 40-credit second-year course in Veterinary Nursing with Companion Animal Behavior program
Class size: 25 students
Assignment description
Assignment: Meme e-tivity
For this task we would like you to design an internet meme based on topics covered in the ethology lectures (i.e. anything relating to companion animal evolution, domestication, ethology, or social communication). You aren’t just limited to dogs, you can use any companion animal species!
The meme should demonstrate your ability to highlight an interesting or important concept relating to a relevant topic. The aim is to match the image with text in an imaginative, informative, and attention-grabbing way.
Find an image that you think represents the topic that you want to focus on. Your meme doesn’t need to be hilarious or particularly witty, but it should provide a clear illustration of your message!
You can make your meme using any software that you choose, but here are a couple of suggestions of free online meme generators.
Please reply to this discussion topic by embedding your meme into your reply (please don’t just link to it!). You have until Monday to complete this task, so please make sure that you have posted your meme by then, as we will discuss them in the synchronous online Ethology week ‘wrap up’ session.
And finally…. just to show that the bar for what is funny/imaginative isn’t very high, here’s my attempt; [Students shown an example meme]
Grading: Formative assignment, students given individual feedback.
Companion Animal Behavior (Dr. Miriam Gordon, Dalhousie University)
Course description
In this course, students will study the fundamentals of animal learning and how those principles affect success in training and behavior modification. Attention will be given to understanding and solving behavior problems (e.g. separation anxiety, dominance aggression, fighting, inappropriate urination, and behavioral stereotypes). The focus is on companion animals – dogs and cats. The normal development of behavior in those species will be covered.
Student cohort: Required course for first-year Veterinary Technology Diploma program; Elective for Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and Bachelor of Bioveterinary Science.
Class size: 100 students
Assignment description
Assignment: Companion animal behavior in the media
Find a picture/gif/video clip/meme/comic that depicts/references a behavior of a companion animal (cat, dog, horse, rodents, exotic pet, etc.)
You are to describe the following regarding the media piece you chose:
- Summarize/describe what your media piece is depicting.
- Is this an accurate depiction of the behavior, some humorous truth, or a misrepresentation? Why or why not?
- What consequences could this misrepresentation have?
- How does this relate to a topic we have discussed in class? (if a species we didn’t cover then relate it to the natural behaviors of that species & husbandry of that animal).
- Use 1–2 references to support (lecture notes are allowed); don’t forget to provide the proper reference for the media piece chosen if it’s not already provided within the media piece.
- I’m not putting any restriction on word count, but approximately ~250 words.
You have been broken up into small discussion groups. Post your media piece and description in a separate thread within that discussion forum. The activity is meant as a way of reflecting back on some of the things we covered. Have fun with your choices.
Grading: Assignment was worth 5% of final grade; assigned near the end of the semester. The following criteria was described in the rubric for full marks (5 points): The students gave an excellent, clear, and concise overview synopsis and well-described analysis of the media piece and the behavior being depicted. There was clarity in the evaluation and synthesis of theory and practice. References were all provided.
Selected Student Meme Submissions
Evolution and Behavior (Dr. Sarah-Elizabeth Byosiere, CUNY Hunter College)
Using the Uno Draw 25 meme, this submission (Figure 1) represents an example of sexual selection, specifically intersexual selection, where females might avoid mating opportunities with a “bad mate” (e.g. too young, too old, sick, provides low quality resources) due to a gamete differential between the sexes. In this case, the student is suggesting females would prefer to avoid possibly mating opportunities with “bad mates” even if this possibly comes at the cost of missing out on a reproductive opportunity. This meme was inspired by reading Borgia (1995).
Using the Drake Hotline Bling meme, this submission (Figure 2) represents an example of sexual selection, specifically, intersexual selection, where females have a preference for certain secondary sexual characteristics. In this case, the student is suggesting females prefer mating opportunities with ornamented males that perform courtship displays based on a BBC Earth (2015) video.
Introduction to Applied Animal Behavior (Dr. Beth Ventura, University of Minnesota)
Using the Bernie Sanders “I am once again asking” meme, this submission (Figure 3) presents the definition of environmental enrichment as defined by Dr. Ruth Newberry’s classical paper, “Environmental enrichment: Increasing the biological relevance of captive environments” (Newberry 1995). The meme plays on Bernie’s emphatic exhortation to highlight the article’s thesis that enrichment must result in improved biological health (functioning) outcomes to be considered effective.
Using the “Expanding Brain” meme, this submission (Figure 4) again highlights themes about animal enrichment and welfare, specifically emphasizing the qualitative differences between different approaches to enrich animals.
Companion Animal Behavior (Dr. Emily Blackwell, University of Bristol)
This submission (Figure 5) relates to a lecture on canine ethology and refers to the outdated view that a rigid hierarchical dominance structure determines canine social behavior towards both other dogs and humans. Using this comical take on a conversation between wolves, the student has highlighted that research on natural populations of wild wolves refutes the early evidence of ‘dominance hierarchies’ and suggests that the groupings are more based on co-operative family groups, where one breeding pair produce puppies and other members of the family assist with rearing them. These groups are based on co-operation, where the parents ‘guide’ their offspring in developing social and hunting skills and there is no ‘alpha’ achieved by strength or aggression. The meme was inspired by reading Bradshaw, Blackwell, and Casey (2009).
This meme (Figure 6) arose from a discussion topic on body language and communication in cats and relates to the common complaint from cat owners that their cat lashes out without warning, particularly when being stroked/petted (https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/behavior-focus-when-cats-attack). The discussion focused on feline ethology and the differences in social communication between an obligate social species such as the dog and domestic cats, whose behavior remains very similar to their solitary wildcat ancestors.
Companion Animal Behavior (Dr. Miriam Gordon, Dalhousie University)
The remaining meme descriptions were written by students as a part of course requirements. The responses are reproduced and credited to the student authors with permission.
This comic [Figure 7] depicts a dog barking as a person walks past the house. This is a pretty accurate representation of most dogs, as it is very common for dogs to bark a lot, it is their nature, however it does misrepresent the behavior of dogs in some way. First it depicts the dog as if it is scared, and that is why it is barking, however this is not always the case. Barking is a typical behavior exhibited by dogs who, 1. May be overly social and become excited when seeing another person walking by, or 2. May be protecting the home out of a sense of duty to guard their home or their people, 3. The dog may be aggressive towards other people and there are many other reasons a dog may be barking including playfulness, greeting, alarm barking, etc. (ASPCA 2020). This relates to the topic covered in this course as it shows a dog’s typical behavior and body language. In this course we learned about dogs’ body language and how to interpret what they are feeling, this would be beneficial in the case of this dog as if the dog owner knew what was causing the dog to bark it would be much easier to train it out of the dog. In this image the dog has ears back and tail partially down; this could mean a number of things including fear, stress, worry and possibly fearful aggression (Gordon 2020). Understanding this dog’s behavior is key to coming up with an appropriate solution which may include training out incompatible behavior, clicker training or a number of others (Pryor 1999). Finally it is important to recognize that despite all of this training a dog will still bark from time to time and that is its nature (ASPCA 2020), I think this comic does have a good representation of an owner who does not appear to be overly upset about this dogs barking as he recognizes its normal, and may even be performing one of the tricks to training his dog to stop barking (negative reinforcement- removing attention from behavior) (Pryor 1999).
—Staci-Ann Morgan
In this witty comic [Figure 8] we can see two owners who have been awoken by a sudden noise, even after turning off their alarm clock in an attempt to sleep in. Their cat is then seen entering the room crying for breakfast. The first owner asks if there is any way to make the meowing stop, to which the other replies “yes, give them sustenance”; the first owner then comments on the fact that feeding the cat when it cries is the reason it cries every morning. This comic shows an accurate depiction of feline behavior that is a reality for many cat owners. This behavior is caused by unintentional reinforcement, a type of positive reinforcement that can unintentionally condition a behavior that is very hard to break, even if it’s only rewarded intermittently (Atkinson 2018). This is a clear example of classical conditioning in which the sound of the alarm clock is initially an unconditioned stimulus that the cat has learned to associate with its owners getting out of bed to feed him, so he meows; the alarm clock has now become a conditioned stimulus (Gordon 2020). When the cat hears the alarm, he meows in anticipation of food even if his owners haven’t gotten out of bed to feed him. Many owners will attempt to extinguish this behavior by ignoring this meowing at first but eventually cave and feed the hungry cat. This delivery of food further reinforces the cat’s belief that meowing after the alarm clock sounds will result in him being fed, and thus the cycle continues. During one of our first lectures we learned about classical conditioning and how it can allow animals to predict certain events such as being fed. I think this comic is a fairly accurate and relatable representation of just how well cats can learn to associate certain sounds with being fed, while still making light of a struggle many cat owners face on a daily basis, myself included!
—Brittany MacLean
The meme [Figure 9] depicts what an owner with an anxious dog may come home to. This is an accurate representation. Dogs with separation anxiety tend to be destructive when left alone. This could be misinterpreted by the general public and be seen as cute or funny, but in reality 20–40% of dogs seen by a behavioral specialist suffer from separation anxiety (Arrigo n.d.). It’s a real disorder that many pet owners have to deal with. This relates to the topic we covered in class about dog anxiety. During this lecture we discussed how destruction can be caused by a number of things, including: play behavior, puppy chewing, reaction to certain stimuli, overactivity, fear response or separation anxiety (Gordon 2020).
—Molly Stewart
Final Results and Impact
Instructor assessment
Upon receiving student submissions, all instructors reported that they felt the assignment was successful. In most instances, submitted memes were relevant and accurately reflected the course material. This assignment also had the benefit of being visually appealing, straightforward, and relatively quick to evaluate—a boon to professors everywhere.
In certain instances, some memes were unclear to the instructor. While memes were not required to be “funny,” it is possible that in these instances humor was lost in translation or perhaps students did not digest and comprehend the material presented. While most instructors only required students to submit a meme as a part of the assignment, one instructor (M.G.) required a reflection component where students shared their interpretation of a meme. This allowed the instructor to provide important feedback to students while satisfying the learning objective(s). For future assignments we recommend instructors require students to provide a brief explanation (1–3 sentences) explaining their meme and how it relates to the course material.
While one of the instructors (S-E.B) implemented this assignment to assess comprehension of material in students individually, the other instructors (E.B., M.G., B.V.) allowed students to share and view their memes in small group discussion forums. In the former situation and perhaps due to the novelty of the assignment, some students also expressed a desire to share their memes with classmates. This interest in viewing the memes collectively (either in class synchronously, or outside of class asynchronously) suggests that a group reflection, project, or class vote on the “funniest” memes might further the impact of this assignment. For one course (M.G.), sharing the memes and the reflective summary with classmates served as a review of course material at the end of the semester.
Student feedback
While most of the instructors did not specifically solicit feedback regarding the meme assignment, student evaluations lent support for the assignment. Quotations in this section come from anonymous student responses and are reproduced with names withheld.
I really enjoyed her weekly “Behavior Bites.” [Meme Assignment]…They helped solidify my knowledge and apply it to different questions or situations, and I liked that they were always something fun and different.
The small quizzes and homework assignments were very helpful as well and really helped review and drive home the topics from that week without being overwhelming on the amount of content we had to focus on at one time.
More meme-like activities, they were really fun to make.
I really enjoyed this task as I love making memes and do so quite often, I also find that having funny little vignettes of certain broader subjects also helps for information to ‘stick’ when revising.
It was very engaging and I probably spent way too much time trying to make a decent meme.
I really enjoyed the task and found it very engaging and different.
I think it (the assignment) was excellent. It gave us students a chance to have some fun with it, while still learning and putting our knowledge to the test. It gave me a really good sense of how to look for animal behavior, even in comic pieces. I also got to see just how many different types of media pieces were out there that can negatively impact the way people may perceive certain animal behaviors, I of course used a fairly benign example, but there were others I came across that were funny but with an underlying seriousness. It was a good way to take something that we may look at everyday as we scroll through social media and really understand what the piece was trying to convey and how you can break it down to see what it all means!
Additional Resources
Meme Generators:
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