Download pptx - Six points for six posts: The use of facebook to compliment the mass lecture

WEST VIRGINIA UNIVERSITYDEPARTMENT OF COMMUNICATION STUDIES

SIX POINTS FOR SIX POSTS:THE USE OF FACEBOOK TO COMPLIMENT THE MASS LECTURENicholas David Bowman, Ph.D.Meagan Bryand, M.A.Lindsey Carr, B. A.


PREMISE• Mass lectures are an

historical and integral part of University experience…

• …that often leave students disengaged and disenfranchised


PREMISE

• Common complaints:– Lack of cognitive engagement – Lack of attendance– Lack of P2P connectedness


PREMISES

• facebook might address these by providing a persistent classroom

• a ‘ready space’ for engagement and relationships


RESEARCH QUESTIONS

• How does student membership in a course-related Facebook group affect:– RQ1: students’ cognitive learning?– RQ2: students’ class attendance?– RQ3: student-to-student connectedness?


METHOD

Sample• N = 321 students (195 male,

126 female) in an introductory mass media course

• Voluntary enrollment in supplemental facebook page

• Page started Day 1 to present, all students invited

Facebook Usage• 46% joined (n = 148)• Avg. of 6.88 posts (SD =

9.50, skew = 4.09); 1.88 responses per post

• Heavy positive skewed, suggesting a few ‘super-posters’ with many lurkers


RESULTS - USAGE Exam

ReviewAdmin Class-

Related Links

Peer Support

Humor Affect Unrelated Links

Instructor Support

Random

# posts 201 119 61 17 16 15 13 8 27

Avg # comments per post

3.60 2.47 1.46 3.41 2.74 .292 .288 .375 1.64

# posts initiated by Instructor

64 60 39 0 3 1 5 8 13

Avg # of comments per post

3.66 1.22 .923 0 4.33 0 0 .375 2.92

# posts initiated by students

137 59 22 17 13 14 8 0 14

Avg # of comments per post

3.54 3.71 2.00 3.41 1.15 4.39 3.75 0 .357


RESULTS – RQ1

• Attendance (assignments) – In-group: (M = 5.23, SD = 1.79)– Out-group: (M = 4.43, SD = 2.07)– t(319) = -3.69, p < .001

• No correlation between number of posts and attendance (r = .124, p = .144)


RESULTS – RQ2

• Cognitive learning– In-group: (M = 78.55%, SD = 8.54) – Out-group: (M = 72.64%, SD = 13.60)– t(319) = -4.71, p < 001.

• “No” correlation between number of posts and learning (r = .158, p = .061)


DISCUSSION

• Students engaging class online scored higher on their exams– Increased contact with content– Increased contact with each other

• A ‘double-dose’ of (persistent) content, from multiple perspectives


LIMITATIONS

• Quasi-experimental design does not account for self-selection

• Blunt measurement of cognitive learning qua memory recall (exam grades)


FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: Nicholas David Bowman, [email protected]@bowmanspartan

mailto:[email protected]