In his article “Engage me or Enrage me” (Prensky, 2005) describes three types of student:
1. Those who appear to be intrinsically motivated - their motto is “I can’t wait to get to
class”,
2. The students who go through the motions - “We have learned to play school”, 3. The students who disengage – “Engage me or enrage me” (Prensky, 2005, p.2).
40 He maintains that in order for a school curriculum to be fully motivating to the third group of students (and to some extent the second also) ways have to be found to focus their attention and to sustain their long-term engagement:
In school though, kids don’t have the “don’t buy” option. Rather than being empowered to choose what they want…in school they must eat what they are served. And what they are being served is, for the most part, stale, bland, and almost entirely stuff from the past. Yesterday’s education for tomorrow’s kids (Prensky, 2005, p.3). Prensky believes that students of today are much more complex and demanding consumers and that given the chance to process “multiple streams of data” pupils can “make crucial decisions every half second” and are “continously challenged at the edge of their capabilities” (Prensky, 2005, p. 3). They quickly rise to the challenge that technology presents. He argues that even those with conditions such as attention deficit disorder might have a much more concerning message for their teachers:
It’s not ADD – I’m just not listening (Prensky, 2005, p. 4).
He perceived that if children in 21st century classrooms do have short attention spans, then maybe it is only for the traditional, more didatic, ways of learning:
They certainly don’t have short attention spans for their games, movies or Internet surfing. More and more they just don’t tolerate the old ways (Prensky, 2005, p.3).
Although Twitter is a relative newcomer in the world of social media, there have already been studies examining the effect of using Twitter with groups of higher education students. One study of undergraduates (Clarke and Nelson, 2012) examined questions such as ‘Can Twitter help increase classroom community?’ ‘Can Twitter increase pedagogical effectiveness?’ and ‘Can Twitter improve learning outcomes?’ The study involved two separate groups of higher education marketing students. In one group (n=48) the students and teacher employed frequent Twitter use and in the other group (n=36) the students did not use Twitter at all. At the end of the study, it was found that the Twitter using group had a significantly higher sense
41 of classroom community and perception of pedagogogical effectiveness than the non-Twitter group:
The pedagogical effectiveness scales imply that Twitter had a positive impact on the students’ thoughts and/or feelings about course mechanics, delivery effectiveness, and usefulness (Clarke and Nelson, p.7).
The study above however acknowledged its own weaknesses in methodology. Its quasi- experimental design used Likert scales to assess the participants’ own thoughts and feelings towards the course and control measures were not applied to ensure comparibility of both groups at baseline.
In a similar way to Prensky (2005 & 2006), a study by Kader (2012) described some students of his undergraduate classes who “are always disinterested and easily disctracted” (p.6) and the author believed that if he could encourage these students to contribute electronically then they might be “more invested in and motivated by the process” (p.6). For the purpose of this study he defined engagement as “educational benefit that is derived from a better interaction between students and instructor in the classroom” (p.10) and, although he did not measure engagement using a standardised tool, he discusses measures which could be used in later studies (e.g., the National Survey of Student Engagement – NSSE which can be obtained from www.nsse.indiana.edu). He used Twitter in two classes of economics students (1N=177) and (2N=145). In his conclusion, Kader states that:
Student engagement improved dramatically, resulting in a more vibrant classroom experience (Kader, 2012, p.14).
In 2013, a study by Evans entitled ‘Twitter for teaching; can social media be used to enhance the process of learning?’ described how undergraduates on a Business and Management course were encouraged to use Twitter to communicate with their tutor and each other during a 12 week course. At the end of the project Evans described how “using Twitter is an effective way to engage students” (Evans, 2013, p.914) and he concluded that there should be further
42 research conducted exploring exactly which aspects of the learning process can be enhanced using social media. Although this and other studies (e.g., Junco et al, 2011) have tentatively highlighted significant positive correlations between Twitter use and student engagement, causal relationships could not be infered and Evans clearly states in his conclusion:
It would be of considerable interest for future studies to assess which aspects of the learning process can be improved by Twitter and social media more generally (p. 914). Some schools and teachers in the UK have been quick to use Twitter to communicate with their local communities. For example Cwmcarn High School in Wales had to close for a short period in October 2012 due to a risk of exposure to asbestos. The school was quick to publish its newsfeed directly on Facebook and Twitter in order to keep the community up to date with renovation progress. The school also published links to homework tasks that the children could access whilst the school was closed (BBC News, 2012).
Many primary and secondary schools are now running their own Twitter accounts, some of which exist in isolation and some operate in conjunction with other media such as school websites and Facebook pages. The way in which schools use their account differ, with some being mere noticeboards, some used for parental reminders about forthcoming events and some as broader, real-time glimpses into the daily functioning of the school.
Considerable variations are also revealedwhen the way in which children learn about using social media is examined. Contributers to an article in the Times Educational Supplement (Ritchie, 2009) maintain that teaching web-based tools such as Twitter are an essential way of equipping students to meet the demands of a modern workforce:
The outcome of using any software would be about building pupils’ confidence in adapting to new tools and to apply those critically…they need to have a set of key skills that they can use web-based technologies to reinforce (Fraser, 2009, cited in Ritchie, 2009, p.1).
43 Blagona (2009) also argues that social media platforms such as Twitter enable students to be more aware of the world around them and to develop curiosity and enthusiasm about the curriculum:
Online learning has revolutionised the methods we use to teach pupils….and key to this is the feeling of being connected to the outside world that pupils like (Blagona, 2009, cited in Ritchie, 2009, p.1).
According to Deci & Ryan’s Self-Determination Theory diagram (Fig. 2), it would appear that in order for pupils to feel motivated and engage with the Twitter study, the study should fulfil three distinct conditions. As participants are contributing to the class Twitter account they need to feel that they:
a) have enough skill in order to master the technological aspects of Tweeting; b) as the appointed class Tweeter, have control over the content of their posts and c) are connected to their classmates, teacher and family as they do so (or as a direct
result of their posted Tweets).
However, it is also important to acknowledge that there is now emerging research which focuses on the damaging aspects of extended screen time and the over-use of technology for children. Palmer (2015) refers to the limits that should be placed on children when engaged in computer and other screen based tasks and Pavlik (2015) argues that it is important not to fall into the trap of solutionism (i.e., thinking that technology is the answer to everything). These issues, along with other concerns (e.g., possible addiction to social media and increased levels of depression and anxiety) and the risks that social media over-use can bring to face to face communication skills will be further discussed as part of the discussion section (5.5).
However, in the context of previous research, it is proposedthat, in this study, Twitter usage might be able to help pupils feel connnected with each other, to engage with their lessons and begin to develop psycho-social autonomy. It may also strengthen engagement with the wider community and help to increase pedagogical knowledge. Furthermore, it is suggested that
44 there could be some benefit in investigating how social media can help to engage parents more fully in classroom education. In order to explore these possibilities, this study will explore the experiences of the young people and their families who were using Twitter within their primary classrooms and the perception of staff re: its use (For research questions see section 1.5).
45
Chapter 3: Methodology & Research Methods
This chapter firstly sets out the epistemological and ontological position of the author. It examines the specific approaches to data collection and analysis used and its relation to the research questions and objectives. Details of the sample and the methods used to collect, transcribe and analyse data will also be provided.