"Facebook"- It's Not Just For Pictures Anymore: The Impact of Social Media on Cooperative Learning

Abstract

This paper will share the research on the use of social media (specifically Facebook) in an effort to promote critical thinking and reflection. It purports that although often overlooked as a teaching, learning and assessment strategy, social media is a viable method that supports cooperative learning through the encouragement of thoughtful responses and reflections. The research utilizes data from both quantitative and qualitative measures (surveys/questionnaires and open ended responses collected from the closed group Facebook page). The data were collected over nine months from undergraduate students who represented five different content areas (Nursing, Public Health, Psychology, Nutrition and Physical Education). The data revealed that students prefer and value the use of Facebook as a form of cooperative learning over other traditional methods of student course management (Blackboard). Additionally, it suggests that utilizing social media can be an engaging teaching, learning and assessment strategy. This research highlights the findings from a small group of students, therefore may lack generalizability. Future research should replicate the study on a larger scale. This paper includes both theoretical foundational knowledge and practical applications to support faculty teaching and learning which supports the literature by offering specific st strategies, that focus on methods to increase student engagement, critical thinking and 21 century technology.