Presenters: Shannon Islam and Laura Billingsley
Media to be analyzed: ESPN Commercial “Jocks,” accessed through YouTube, Video
Commercial Ad for the Sports Network, ESPN
Letter to the Parents:
Dear Parents or Guardians,
As your student’s ninth grade Algebra I instructor, I am required by the State of North
Carolina to contribute to the teaching of media literacy skills. Although obligated, I feel
privileged to be able to do so, as I see immense value in it. These information skills, “the skills
that prepare students to gather, process, use, and communicate information,” are crucial to
succeeding in any subject matter (Information Skills 10). As an integrated part of this course, in
accordance with the NC Professional Teaching Standards, I will present students with media that
are not only interesting and engaging, but also ones that are challenging and valuable learning
experiences– particularly in the relation to the field of math.
Our upcoming project-based lesson will allow students to both “read” and write a form of
media that will incorporate interdisciplinary studies, while retaining a focus on relevant
mathematics. Through this project I hope to improve the students’ skills in social cooperation,
mathematics, analyzing, writing, communication, research, and recognizing and handling
stereotypes and bias– all of which are goals for students outlined by the State.
The lesson I intend to utilize in class is based off of a commercial, entitled “Jocks,” which
was produced by ESPN for the purposes of promoting their network. The commercial shows a
group of nerds calling the jocks “nerds” because they are talking about sports-related
mathematical equations.
We will be watching and analyzing the commercial in detail during class, with the analysis
conducted in the form of a class conversation during and after viewing the clip. I will pose openended questions geared towards encouraging the students to inquire about the messages
embedded in the clip, as well as how and why ESPN may have created this piece of media. The
questions will help in uncovering and understanding the stereotypes that are strongly used in this
media and how math was used to “reverse” the conventional stereotypes we are generally
familiar with. The questions will connect to the key concepts of media literacy regarding content,
audience, intent, and values, among other things. After careful analysis of the commercial
through class discussion, students will then be given a related project assignment that will give
them the chance to “write” the media.
To complete the assigned project, students will choose a career that is often underrated in
regards to being intellectually challenging or demanding. Possible careers could include
carpenters, nurses, landscapers, mechanics, photographers, filmmakers, or professional athletes.
Using their chosen career, students will work with small groups of 3-4 people, “[teaching] the
importance of cooperation and collaboration” and creating “learning teams in order to help
students define roles, strengthen social ties, improve communication and collaborative skills,
interact with people from different cultures and backgrounds, and develop leadership qualities”
(NC Professional Teaching Standards 4) They will use research, an element of the study of
science, to discover the mathematics used in that particular field of work. Students should
properly “credit sources of information,” thereby completing objective 4.08 from the Information
Skills Curriculum (Information Skills 35). From their research they will create a dialogue/script
for a commercial such as the one studied, thus “[incorporating] literacy instruction within the
content area” of math (NC Professional Teaching Standards 3). The script should “[persuade] an
audience” to see the reversal of the general stereotypes of those who work in the selected career
by using the math pertaining to the career as the main way of doing so. Upon doing so, student
will have completed objective 5.03 of the Information Skills Curriculum (Information Skills 35).
Students must tie in concepts learned during class about media production and be able to explain
the mathematics involved using their current content knowledge (terms, definitions, operations,
etc.). Each group will be asked to act out their commercial for the class–incorporating drama–
and then explain the mathematics used in their script, relating it to class content–practicing
communication and reasoning skills.
Through the completion of this project, students will complete a number of objectives
required by the Information Skills Curriculum. They will “identify elements of composition…
[and] characteristics and advantages of various media formats (print, graphical, audio, video,
multimedia, web-based) for a specific task,” objectives 1.05 and 1.10 (34). They will “collect
and compare information about diverse cultures, environments, and peoples,” “identify bias and
stereotypes,” and “describe how information and ideas are influenced by prior knowledge,
personal experience, and social, cultural, political, economic, and historical events,” objectives
3.02, 3.03, and 3.05 (35). To fulfill objective 5.01, students will “respond to reading, listening,
viewing experiences orally, artistically, [and] dramatically, through various formats.” Objective
5.04 will be met as students “collaborate with others, both in person and through technologies, to
identify information problems, and to design, develop, and evaluate information, products and
solutions” (35).
The project will additionally meet many of the standards set forth in the new NC Professional
Teaching Standards document, that requires the teaching of 21st century skills. This is done by
making “content…engaging, relevant, and meaningful to students’ lives,” “[teaching] existing
core content that is revised to include skills like critical thinking, problem solving, and
information and communications technology (ICT) literacy, and “[integrating] among disciplines”
(1). The lesson will “counteract stereotypes,” “consider and incorporate different points of view
building positive, appropriate relationships,” and “incorporate life skills which include leadership,
ethics, accountability, adaptability, personal productivity, personal responsibility, people skills,
self-direction, and social responsibility” (2-3). The project will serve to “help students use
technology to learn content, think critically, solve problems, discern reliability, use information,
communicate, innovate, and collaborate” through our discussions (4). Together, the students and
I will “teach the North Carolina Standard Course of Study,” using media as the primary tool in
exploring ideas such as significant figures, rational and irrational numbers, reciprocals,
inequalities, differences, and using “linear functions or inequalities to model and solve problems”
(3).
Although meeting the standards is important, the most important goal is that students are
being taught in ways that will benefit them. The importance of media literacy is growing daily
“as we move toward a dynamic, global society, [because] we are continuously bombarded with
diverse ideas, new information, and innovative technologies that increase the demand for
students to become skilled in accessing, processing, and using information. Integrated with other
curricular areas, Information Skills will enable students to become lifelong learners and informed
decision-makers” (Information Skills 10). In order for these “digital natives” to gain these
necessary skills, it is important that media literacy be taught in the classroom with guidance. It is
imperative that students be equipped with such media literacy so that they can thrive in the
digital age, using “21st Century skills [to] discover how to learn, innovate, collaborate, and
communicate their ideas” (NC Professional Teaching Standards 1). This kind of education,
which encompasses analytical and production skills, has the power to enable the North Carolina
State Board of Education’s mission be realized, that “every public school student will graduate
from high school, globally competitive for work and postsecondary education and prepared for
life in the 21st Century” (NC Professional Teaching Standards 1)
For this kind of education to be successful, I will strive to “employ a wide range of techniques
using information and communication technology, learning styles, and differentiated instruction”
(NC Professional Teaching Standards 3). I created this project using the idea of multiple
intelligences to accomplish this task. The project highlights the strengths of those with linguistic
intelligence, by allowing them to use their “sensitivity to spoken and written language” and
“capacity to use language to accomplish certain goals” to help interpret the commercial, and
produce effective language to achieve the goal of reversing a stereotype. Logical-mathematical
intelligence is used to “carry out mathematical operations, and investigate issues scientifically.”
These students can help logically analyze the more systematic elements of the commercial and
are valuable for researching the necessary information. Students with interpersonal intelligence
can develop leadership skills when working in the small groups, acting as a mediator and team
leader. On the other hand, students with intrapersonal skills will be able to effectively relate to
the stereotypes and how they affect other people, based on their own experiences, and share that
insight with others. Finally, those with naturalist intelligence will be able to absorb the minute
details about the environment of the commercial and hopefully relay those observations to the
class for discussion (Gardner). Most if not all students will have at least one of these
intelligences. This will enable them to learn from each other’s strengths and therefore benefit as
a group. Therefore, this lesson has been designed in a way that it will relate to every student in
some way, and is beneficial to both the individual and the class as a whole in meeting the
standards created to produce successful students in the 21st century.
My intentions in including this project as part of our curriculum are not to take away from
learning time and solely increase student interest. My belief is that this project will bring the
class closer together, improve their skills in many different areas, spark an interest in the students
for math in the real world, give them confidence in their strengths, and teach them ways in which
they should digest the digital world they live in. The project is expected to fully carry out all of
the aforementioned objectives–fulfilling areas of the Standard Course of Study, Informational
Skills Curriculum, and the NC Professional Teaching Standards–creating conscientious, media
literate students. If you have any questions or concerns regarding this project, feel free to contact
me.
Sincerely,
Shannon Islam
Lesson Plan:
Ask students to make careful observations about the clip to be viewed.
Stop at these points, asking corresponding questions and generating discussion.
0:04: What could he mean by EWP?
-EWP is the expected winning percentage. EWP = (runs2 divided by runs2)+ runs
allowed2
Possible thoughts might be “earned,” “watched,” “points,” “probability”
0:10: What does he mean by he “flipped it”?
-He could have taken the reciprocal or mixed two things up.
0:12: What could a “WHIP” be?
-Whip is actually WP or the winning percentages for a baseball team.
WP = wins divided by (wins + losses)
-How could these abbreviations make the dialogue sound more complicated?
0:16: How is math used in this piece of media? Why is spoken math perceived this way?
-In this commercial math is used to give equations related to baseball statistics. It is
used to give the jocks the stereotype of being “nerds” by the nerds. The math is meant to
sound confusing because it is fast, but in reality this math is fairly simple. Spoken math
is perceived as confusing because you can’t see it, it isn’t written down and you can’t tell
whether it is correct or not without replaying it in your head and processing it, which
may even involve research.
0:19: Why are glasses associated with nerds?
-Nerds wearing glasses is a stereotype that we have had for a long time. One possible
answer could be that sports players would be more likely wear contacts than glasses
because of running and other fast movements that might cause glasses to fall off, or that
those who couldn’t see well weren’t good at sports because of their poor vision. A “nerd”
would be more likely to be reading or on a computer, using their eyes more, so therefore
they might need glasses from overusing them.
What is a nerd?
-According to the online version of the Oxford English Dictionary a nerd is “An
insignificant, foolish, or socially inept person; a person who is boringly conventional or
studious. A person who pursues an unfashionable or highly technical interest with
obsessive or exclusive dedication.”
Use follow up questions to continue the conversation, analyzing the piece in detail.
Explain the project and sample product.
Follow Up/Additional Discussion Questions:
1. All media are constructions.
a. What elements indicate specific construction and what elements make it seem
realistic or unrealistic?
-This video has camera angles and different views are used to show that it
was prerecorded as a commercial. It also has words displayed on the
screen at the end.
-Two guys talking in the cafeteria, the background noise, people walking
by and the food trays all make it natural.
-The clearly defined and separated groups of students make it seem both
realistic and not depending on different schools.
-The exaggerated stereotypes make it seem a bit unrealistic.
b. How and why is this media constructed for ESPN?
-You can tell that it was constructed for ESPN by the words on the screen
at the end of the commercial. It was constructed to play on the television
as a commercial to get audiences interested in ESPN and sports.
c. Why would the makers use stereotypical elements? What details are included to
reinforce the message?
-The stereotypes being reversed get people’s attention. It gives the
commercial a funny element and the jocks are looked at differently
because of it. Stereotypes are very often seen in many types of TV
productions. A lot of people can relate to different stereotypes.
-At the end there are words that come up on the screen. “It’s not crazy,
it’s sports. ESPN.” Without these words you would have no idea what
this video was promoting or saying. The fact that the nerds are the ones
calling the athletes “nerds” reinforces the message that athletes require
and exhibit intelligence.
d. What may have been considered in writing the script?
-The math in the script is thought out and has meaning. The second actor
has gotten the math wrong in the past; he “flipped it.” Having him
correct himself is a way for him to be engaged in the conversation. The
commercial’s script is very short and fast paced which gets the attention
of its target audience and holds it, and also makes it seem as though the
math presented is difficult to understand. Thus, the attention span of the
audience may have been a large factor.
e. Does it tell a story? Why/Why not?
-It does not immediately appear to tell a story because there is no
beginning, middle and end. This is just one clip of what could be a story.
Stories are structured and have different ideas, while this commercial is
one conversation of one idea.
-It could appear like a short story to some, with a potential interpretation
being the story of the nerds’ revenge against the jocks.
2. Media are commercial entities.
a. What is the purpose or intent of this commercial?
-The purpose of this commercial is to promote the ESPN sports network.
It attempts to show that baseball players, and possibly athletes in general,
use math daily and are not as dumb as stereotypes sometimes make them
out to be.
-Another potential message could be learning how to overcome
stereotypes.
b. Who is the target audience? How do you know? Why would this commercial
appeal to that audience? How do we influence this kind of media, as the
audience?
-The target audience is most likely men, sports players, and fans. The
majority of ESPN viewers are men so the commercial should obviously be
aimed at them. The only females in the commercial are not in any way
central figures in the message, so they are most likely not the target
audience. It is young people who are used, so ESPN might be targeting
younger audiences.
- The video contains all men and the overall tone of the commercial would
appeal to them. Most men like or play sports and/or watch sports on
ESPN; they would be entertained by any commercial that was related to
sports. This commercial especially appeals to a man’s general heightened
sense of humor. The fact that the target audience seems to be represented
in the commercial leads to the idea that that target audience would feel
almost as if they were a part of the situation acted out, engaging them.
-The audience of a piece of media determines whether it is successful or
not. If we like this commercial and start watching ESPN then companies
will make more commercials similar to this one in the interest of money.
c. What is the message behind this commercial? Why would ESPN use math to
communicate this message? What elements make it effective?
-This commercial is reversing stereotypes to show that baseball players
can do math and that they can have intelligent conversations. Math is
something used in many sports and there are useful meanings behind it.
Math is used in a way that gives credit to athletes for intellectual skills,
and would probably encourage people to want to watch sports because
they are enjoyable, and can be shown to be expressions of intelligence.
-Including more jocks at the table talking about math would increase
math’s importance in the baseball world.
-Making the cafeteria look more realistic might have captured the
audience a little better.
-Showing only young people may have excluded a large portion of viewers,
so showing a wider age range may have been helpful.
d. Why would this kind of commercial be valuable/worth the money?
-This commercial is valuable because it targets ESPN’s majority of
viewers, which are men. They can easily use it to gain a larger audience
and influence them to watch their TV station. The ad probably required
only a small budget and cost little for airtime because the message was to
the point. The supposed effectiveness of the message most likely
outweighed the costs.
3. Media communicate values and ideologies.
a. What kinds of values are expressed? Are they good or bad? Who might see them
differently?
-Stereotypes, school/sports, and “cliques”: Stereotypes that can be seen
are jocks nerds, loners, and popular kids. The two main stereotypes in
this commercial (jocks & nerds) are reversed, which adds an interesting
twist to the typical stereotypes. The lunchroom, school setting subtly
suggests the value of going to school and playing sports. The two groups
of jocks and nerds create the “cliques” so often found in schools.
-Having stereotypes is not always a good value. It can make you think a
certain way about people that you have never met. Going to school and
playing sports are usually good values but some parents might think that
going to school is second to working to support the family. Some parents
might think that playing sports should be second to school. Being in
“cliques” could be good or bad; good if you feel that the clique you
“belong to” is your second family, bad if they reject you. Not being a part
of one opens up communication with others.
b. Do the values communicated appear to be fake or even forced?
-The values come naturally except for the stereotypes. The stereotypes
shown in this commercial are forced. Typically the jocks would be the
ones calling out the nerds and bullying them but here it is reversed. This is
also an exaggerated form of these ideas making them seem fake in the
situation shown.
c. What kinds of relationships are seen between the people shown?
-The two jocks are obviously friends, willing to help each other out, and
all of the nerds seem to be friends. There is no violence between them but
you can tell that they do not associate on a regular basis and that there is
some friction present.
d. How are stereotypes presented? Does it reinforce or contradict how we view
stereotypes? Why? How can you relate?
-In this commercial the stereotypes are reversed and somewhat mixed up.
The jocks look like jocks but they are talking about math calculations. The
nerds look like nerds but they are walking by laughing at the jocks. This
commercial reinforces what we know about stereotypes but it also
contradicts what we know about them. We know how people act and what
typical stereotypes are. We can realize that the roles have been somewhat
reversed here and that reinforces what we know, but because the
stereotypes are reversed it contradicts the norm.
-Stereotypes and “cliques” are seen all throughout middle and high
school. Stereotypes are also heavily used in television productions that we
watch every day.
4. Media have social and political implications.
a. If this commercial “went viral,” what kinds of effects would it have on society/the
community viewing it, socially?
-If this commercial went viral it would open many people’s eyes to how
harshly these stereotypes are concentrated and how prevalent they are in
our society. People might begin to realize that math is used in more
places than we thought. People also might give professional athletes, and
other professionals, more respect.
b. What kinds of intentional or unintentional political biases are exhibited? How do
they remain, in their opinion, “politically correct”?
-The use of only one gender could be a political implication. It could
appear as though ESPN is biased in their target audience.
-It is interesting that the two jocks are of different races, whereas the
group of nerds is all the same race. This shoes diversity among the jocks
but excludes a large number of people from the nerd group that is
generally considered the more intelligent group.
c. What does this commercial make you think about math? Jocks? Nerds? How has
your view of stereotypes changed?
-Math appears to make people seem intelligent. Jocks seem to know math
and therefore be intelligent. Nerds seem to be bullies who make fun of the
jocks for being interested in math.
-It seems as though stereotypes are more dynamic than we usually think of
them as being. Using different “tools” such as math seems to be an
effective way of changing how people view stereotypes.
d. Do the “characters” influence how you think?
-The jock named “Chance” evokes sympathy by the way he reacts to the
“threatening nerds.” The jocks are represented in such a way that makes
you want to sympathize with the usually considered “dumb kids.” They
increase the level of awareness of math in everyday life.
5. Media forms are related to [their] content.
a. Why could it be helpful for this message to be communicated through a video
commercial? What limitations does it put on the creators? Why might this
message be less accurately perceived in a different form of media?
-The video form of this commercial allows for a number of senses to
communicate a strong message with few words, keeping it intriguing.
-The creators are then limited to viewers who are watching TV at the time
of the commercial on the station it is being played on, and must hope that
people actually watch it.
-In a flier form, for example, this message might be perceived as rude or
racist, rather than humorous and enlightening.
b. Would this “scene” be viewed differently if it were in a different setting, such as a
gym or a classroom? What if the people were a different race or gender?
-The reversal of stereotypes would have been much more difficult in a gym
setting, and a different message might come across even if it could be done.
-A classroom setting could work, but might not realistically offer a way to
distinctively separate different social groups.
-People of a different race or gender might change the viewing audience
and the message that could come across.
c. Would the commercial effectively communicate the message if the roles were
reversed? (i.e. The nerds doing math and the jocks making fun of it)
-This would convey a different message entirely; it would not make the
point that athletes are intelligent. It would only reinforce existing
stereotypes.
d. Does the math in this video make sense? Why would ESPN have wanted to use
real math?
-At first “glance” the math doesn’t make sense, but if you listen closely,
the formulas used in the script are actual baseball formulas. Had ESPN
not used real equations, those who did know the equations would discredit
the commercial, and those who didn’t know them but looked them up
would have discredited it.
6. Media have aesthetic qualities.
a. What are the most appealing aesthetic features of this ad?
-The realistic high school setting and minimal dialogue are enticing and
keep the audience interested.
b. What sense(s) does the ad target? How do your other senses help you perceive
this message? Which ones are not included and why?
-The ad is mostly visual but hearing is also a major component of
understanding the message within the commercial. The senses of taste,
smell, and touch would most likely not help convey the intended message,
nor does the media type directly allow those senses to be used by the
audience. The people in the commercial could experience them, but the
viewers cannot for themselves.
c. Why might have influenced the decisions of (no) music, costumes, and setting?
-The lack of music makes the scene more realistic. The costumes chosen
clearly exemplify the stereotypes the creators were trying to bring across,
and the setting is ideal for displaying the stereotypes in a natural way.
Overwhelmingly, it seems like the overall goal was to make the
commercial seem realistic.
d. Why did the directors choose the math formulas that they did? How would the
message be received if the math were different?
-The directors chose simple, but seemingly difficult formulas to show how
everyday baseball stats have intelligent formulas behind them. If the
formulas sounded too easy, the commercial would not be convincing and
may even confirm the jock stereotype. If the formulas were more
complicated, very few people would have been able to recognize them and
people may have lost interest.
7. Audiences help create meaning.
a. How might different social groups view this commercial? Jocks? Nerds? Loners?
Popular kids? Could this offend any of these groups?
-Different stereotypes will view this commercial how they believe their
social group is presented. Jocks and nerds alike could respond positively
because the jocks are made out to be smart and the nerds somehow seem
more “cool” than the jocks.
-The nerds could be offended by the fact that the actors portraying them
look the way they do.
-The “loners” might feel attacked by this ad because they are placed in
the background, much like they feel everyday.
-Popular kids are not necessarily shown negatively but they are not shown
as the stars of the show, which may be offensive to some.
b. How might a principal view this ad? Parents? Coaches? Teachers?
-A principal might have strong opinions whether or not this cafeteria
scene is realistic, and could possibly be offended by the way in which
schools are portrayed.
-Parents of students of different social groups might react emotionally.
-Coaches and teachers might be proud that the athletes are getting
intellectual mention. Teachers would most likely be delighted by the
enthusiasm the athletes express for the statistics.
c. How would those of different races view it? Those of different generations?
Those from low-income or high-income schools? Bullies? Victims of bullying?
-Minorities are clearly underrepresented in this commercial, which could
make some feel as though they were being excluded from the desired
audience or being discounted in regards to athleticism, intelligence, or
even social skills.
-The older generations might not think it is as funny as the younger
generations or might not be able to relate to high school years as easily.
-The school appearing as a higher income school might offend some.
-Bullies may find it funny, while victims of bullying could be agitated by
who they make bullying out to be a joke.
d. How would this commercial change if the target audience was women?
-The commercial would need to find a new focus that interested women,
such as ice-skating. The main actors in the commercial should be women.
The message and script should be one that appeals to the way women
think and feel, rather than harsh humor.
Other questions:
How does the script relate to the target audience?
-The target audience would be sports players and people who watch sports on
ESPN. The script gets the attention of sports players and fans. It is a fast script
that involves simple baseball math. The fact that baseball players are doing math
would stand out to them because that is not the typical stereotype.
Project Assignment:
To complete the assigned project, students will choose a career that is often underrated in
regards to being intellectually challenging or demanding. Possible careers could include
carpenters, nurses, contractors, landscapers, septic system planners, architects, mechanics,
photographers, film creators, or professional athletes (ice-skaters, football players, tennis
players…etc.). Using their chosen career, students will work with small groups of 3-4 people
and research mathematics used in that particular field of work. Students should properly “credit
sources of information,” thereby completing objective 4.08 from the Information Skills
Curriculum (35). From their research they will create a dialogue/script for a commercial such as
the one studied, thus “[incorporating] literacy instruction within the content area” of math (NC
Professional Teaching Standards 3). The script should be kept short and simple, and should
reverse the general stereotypes about those who work in the chosen career by using the math
involved in that career as the main way of doing so. Students must tie in concepts learned during
class about media production and be able to explain the mathematics involved using their current
content knowledge (terms, definitions, operations, etc.). Each group will be asked to act out their
commercial for the class and then explain the mathematics used in their script, relating it to class
content.
Example Product:
Scene description: Wife watches her husband try to fix the water pressure in the kitchen sink by
replacing the 2in pipe with 3- 1in pipes, assuming a total of 3in would provide greater pressure
and 2in. The pressure is still bad so the wife calls a plumber. The plumber shows up and laughs
at the mistake.
Dialogue:
–Plumber: “This is why you need a professional…”
–Man: “Everyone knows 3in is greater than 2in! I don’t understand!”
–Plumber: “It’s simple…N equals capital D squared divided by lowercase d squared where N is
the number of smaller pipes, capital D squared is the diameter of the larger pipe squared, and
lowercase d is the diameter of the smaller pipes squared. So to increase the pressure in the pipes
compared to what was produced with one 2in pipe, the number of the smaller pipes must be
greater than 4 since the diameter of the larger pipe was 2 and if you square that you get 4 divided
by 1in squared which totals 4. So to get more pressure, you have to have more than 4- 1in pipes
to replace this 2in pipe.”
(Husband looks dumbfounded, wife looks smug)
Sources:
Gardner, Howard. Howard Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences. PDF.
Information Skills, Standard Couse of Study and Grade Level Competancies. Public Schools of
North Carolina, 1999. PDF.
"Mathematics Standard Course of Study." North Carolina Public Schools. Web. 26 Oct. 2010.
North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards. Raleigh: North Carolina Teaching Standards
Commission. PDF.
"Ratio of Pipe Capacity Formula." Plumbing Help - For Your Plumbing Problems. 2010. Web.
23 Oct. 2010.