Pedagogical Techniques Employed by the Science Television Show MythBusters

The long-running Discovery Channel science television show MythBusters has proven itself to be far more than just a source of weekly entertainment. The popular cable program employs an array of sophisticated pedagogical techniques to communicate scientific concepts to its audience. These techniques include: achieving active learning, accommodating different learning styles, avoiding jargon, employing repetition to ensure comprehension, anthropomorphizing physical phenomena, using captivating demonstrations, cultivating an enthusiastic disposition, and increasing intrinsic motivation to learn. In this content analysis, episodes from the show’s 10-year history were methodically examined for these instructional techniques. MythBusters represents an untapped source of pedagogical techniques educators at all levels may consider availing themselves of in their tireless effort to better reach their students. Science educators in particular may look to MythBusters for inspiration and guidance in how to incorporate these pedagogical techniques into their own teaching and help their students in the learning process

How the Science Entertainment Television Show MythBusters Teaches the Scientific Method

All too often, high school—and even university—students graduate with only a partial or oversimplified understanding of what the scientific method is and how to employ it. The long-running Discovery Channel television show MythBusters has attracted the attention of political leaders and prominent universities for having the potential to address this problem and help young people learn to think critically. MythBusters communicates many aspects of the scientific method not usually covered in the classroom: the use of experimental controls, the use of logical reasoning, the importance of objectivity, the operational definitions, the small-scale testing, the interpretation of results, and the importance of repeatability of results. In this content analysis, episodes from the show’s 10-year history were methodically examined for aspects of the scientific method