Masters Thesis

Social networking to support student learning in the seventh grade science curriculum

This thesis examined how social networking for academic purposes can be utilized to support students' science learning at the seven-grade level. As part of the study on social networking three factors were measured: a) academic achievement, b) motivation, and c) engagement. One hundred seventh grade students in a science class were the participants for this study. Fifty-seven percent of the students participated in social networking (47 percent through Instagram and 10 percent through Facebook) and 43 percent did not participate in social networking. Through social networking assignment updates, reviews and discussions were held. The social networking was introduced in the third quarter of the academic year. A comparison between the students who participated in social networking and those who did not participate in social networking was conducted. Additionally, a comparison between student performance before social networking use and during social networking use was conducted. Data were collected through a survey, interview, overall performance in the class, and performance on a collective exam. Study results indicate that academic achievement increased with the use of social networking. Also, student engagement and motivation increased with the use of social networking.

Items in ScholarWorks are protected by copyright, with all rights reserved, unless otherwise indicated.