Social Media in Chemistry: Using a Learning Management System and Twitter To Improve Student Perceptions and Performance in Chemistry

Abstract

The use of social media has greatly impacted teacher–student communication both within and outside the classroom. This study highlights how students perceive and perform in chemistry using the social media platform Twitter and a campus-based learning management system (LMS) called Desire to Learn (D2L). The study took place in a midwestern campus and involved first-year college students as participants. A sequential exploratory design was used to conduct the study, which focused on student microblogs and posts on D2L on topics they perceived to be important in chemistry. Students were introduced to the study during the first week of class and provided with detailed information about the study, including the use of Twitter and D2L discussion boards. The students’ prior knowledge was assessed through a one-hour exam. Students were introduced to various topics in the lecture. Following each topic, students were asked to post on D2L and a microblog to share their perceptions and understanding of the general chemistry topics that they considered to be important. Longer posts were made by students on D2L, followed by microblogs on Twitter. Toward the end of the semester, the American Chemical Society’s general chemistry test was administered to students as the final exam and included questions on topics that students shared their views about. Students were also given a timed post-test on D2L LMS that included questions on topics that were covered in lectures and that students had posted about on D2L and microblogged about on Twitter. Students took a survey that focused on the usefulness of social media. This chapter presents student perceptions of the importance of chemistry topics in general chemistry, the impact of student perceptions on student performance in chemistry, and student perceptions of the usefulness of social media. Further, student media posts that were rated by their peers and the instructor and correlated with student academic performance are also included.