Girls, Guns, and Zombies: Five Dimensions of Teaching and Learning in <i>The Walking Dead</i>

Rooted in sociocultural theory, this article utilizes a conceptual framework derived from Alexander, Schallert, and Reynolds’ four topographical dimensions of learning: who of learning, what of learning, where of learning, and when of learning. Situated learning (Lave and Wenger) is presented as a fifth dimension to address how learning occurs in communities of practice absent of formal schooling. Content analysis (Elo and Kyngass) is used to analyze a teaching and learning event from an episode of The Walking Dead based on the five topographical dimensions of learning listed above. Findings provide insights for pedagogical application for grades 7-12 by addressing the potential bene!ts of contextualized and scaffolded situated learning activities, gender equity, and authentic high-stress/high-risk tasks in secondary level curriculum design.