Evaluating Facebook as a Teaching Tool: Does it Improve Student Engagement and Success?

• In Event: Poster Session

Abstract

Recent research suggests that the current generation of students—the "Millennials"—are not the same as past generations of students, and that different strategies are needed to be effective in teaching Millennials (see, e.g., Price, 2010). Given research showing that young people spend an average of 7.5 hours per day using electronic media (Rideout, Foehr, & Roberts, 2010), some pedagogical scholars advocate using electronic platforms such as Facebook as tools to increase student engagement (e.g., Nevid, 2011). We tested whether the informal use of a course Facebook group would improve student course outcomes and increase satisfaction and engagement with the course overall. Data were collected from students enrolled in two Criminal Justice courses taught during the Fall 2013 semester. Results revealed that, in contrast to our expectations, being a member of the course Facebook group was negatively correlated with course grades. In addition, Facebook group members did not significantly differ from non-members on measures of course satisfaction, peer interaction, or sense of community. There were, however, significant differences in perceived instructor support, with Facebook group members, as compared to nonmembers, reporting that the instructor was more supportive and accessible. Implications for integrating social networking into course design will be discussed.

Authors

• Meagen M. Hildebrand, University at Albany, SUNY

• Cynthia J. Najdowski, University at Albany, SUNY