Pop culture has been an inspirational teaching tool for adolescents and young adults for centuries. In the 50's it was rock and roll and in the 90's it's hip hop, the Apprentice and American Idol. Young people in and out of college gravitate to the messages and themes in the creative expression of their media icons and many imitate and emulate them in fashion and character. Psychology Creativity Day is an innovative opportunity for students in my large (n = 240) Introductory Psychology class to share a meaningful part of their lives with their fellow classmates using creative expression

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, thus students are entertained and educated simultaneously. This program has been favorably compared to the popular American Idol TV show. Only a select number of students pass auditions and perform. The rest of the students serve as Judges based on a set of well defined criteria including "Relevance to Psychology", “Personality” and "Originality of expression". The professor is the "MC" for the evening. Past acts have included: every thing from spiritual praise dance to rapping to singing to musical instruments to dramatic plays. Student feedback has been literally phenomenal: Below is just a small sampling of hundreds of student comments:

I have hundreds of positive student comments which are testaments to both the meaningfulness and inspiration of this experience for hundreds of students each quarter. That is my best evidence of the programs’ effectiveness. The shows are also videotaped and some have been produced for local access television. To pull this off in one 80 minute class period (with other classes immediately before and after it) is a challenge in itself.

Advice on implementation: To do this, it takes a creative Instructor with his/her hand firmly on the pulse on the contemporary college student. Also one who truly believes in his/her students and what they can accomplish. I recommend implementation in a large class (n > 100) which increases the chances of professional talent for auditions as well as it creates a "concert type" atmosphere for performing and judging. I always announce that if the talent level does not meet my standards the program will be cancelled but, to date (after two years); I have never had to cancel a show yet. The professor has "guest performed" to standing ovations with a heart felt message about the value of education and responsibility. This has only added to the program and the experience for students. Performers get a few points extra credit with the winner getting two additional points and all student judges can do a homework assignment for two extra credit points as well. You need to have good audio/visual equipment for sound quality including a microphone, document camera and a quality CD player.

Pitfalls to avoid: It's important to judge the level of talent before having a show and like any good producer, if the talent is not up to par, it's best to cancel than to compromise the experience for students. Also since it is a class period you must stress time management of all student acts. I select 7 acts and each performer has 6 minutes. After each performance, student-judges have 45 seconds to record their ratings between acts on the standard rating form given to all students upon entering the class. Contemporary and popular instrumental music is played during the judging period to help maintain the festive atmosphere. Periodic "guest judges" (e.g. past winners, faculty colleagues, community leaders) are invited. A diversity of performers, creative expression and originality is desired and thus far has always been achieved without effort. Auditions are held during regular office hours and the performance line up is announced via e-mail 10 days prior to Psychology Creativity Day. Performers sign a media release for cable television. The central objectives are to have fun and to apply the concepts of psychology (e.g., developmental, personality, mental illness) in a creative and fun applied learning environment.

Dr. Kenneth L. Ghee is an Associate Professor at the University of Cincinnati
See examples of Creativity day by Searching The Psychological Channel Creativity Day and Creativity Day Students