UTILIZING FACEBOOK IN LEARNING AND TEACHING PHYSICS PDF

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UTILIZING FACEBOOK IN LEARNING AND TEACHING PHYSICS _________________________ A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the COLLEGE OF EDUCATION University of Southeastern Philippines Davao City _________________________ In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Science ...

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UTILIZING FACEBOOK IN LEARNING AND TEACHING PHYSICS

_________________________

A Thesis Presented to the Faculty of the COLLEGE OF EDUCATION University of Southeastern Philippines Davao City

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In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts in Science Teaching Major in Physics

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EDMER F. AGUILAR

May 2017

ABSTRACT

For several years, Physics has been one of the hardest and most hated subjects due to complexity of topics and ineffective teaching methods. Facebook, the widely used social media nowadays, changes the interaction, communication, and interrelation of students in their daily lives. This study was conducted to examine the effects of using Facebook in learning and teaching Physics. A pretest-posttest nonequivalent group design was used and a 25-item test was administered to Grade 10 students. Independent sample t-test was used for the statistical analysis and effect size to measure the relationship between two variables. Results show that there is a significant difference in the Physics mean gain scores between the experimental and control group. An effect size of 1.075 also reveal that the use of Facebook in learning and teaching is higher than other interventions and social media sites. Thus, Facebook can enhance students’ academic performance in Physics. Future studies should integrate the use of Facebook in learning and teaching but consider students’ accessibility to Facebook as well as equity and availability of resources.

CHAPTER 1 THE PROBLEM AND RELATED LITERATURE

Introduction Learning Physics, as commonly observed, brings negative impacts to the high school students (Ornek, 2008). Physics is one of the hated subjects in science (Lasry, 2009), which students would likely fail completing the necessary requirements and get low performance in both academics and conceptual reasoning skills (Salviejo, 2014). Physics, for many students, is never fun and the process is boring and difficult, thus students’ achievement in the field is relatively low (Kalam, 2005). During the last 15 years in most countries, the popularity of physics among students gradually drops and the enrolment has declined (Kaminski & Michelini, 2010). Research conducted by Marti and Torregrosa (2012) reveal that students’ learning and interest in Physics is dramatically lower. It has been observed that many educators have been reluctant in the task of preparing students in providing active teaching styles (Slowinski, 2000). It is fair to point out that the deficiencies of teachers’ methods and strategies are crucial in the low performance of students (Kulik, 2003). Ell and Grudnoff (2013) found out that this educational underachievement has been associated with traditional teaching methods. Furthermore, teachers’ tendencies of having traditional teaching have increased students’ anxiety, which in turn reduces their self-esteem towards school life (Hembree, 1988). Effective strategies in improving students’ understanding and learning performances in physics, apart from

traditional one, becomes the primary concern of some physics educators (Kiboss, 2002). Many researchers have pointed out that the students can hardly build concrete understanding in physics due to the complexity of teaching styles (Coulson & Spiro, 2001). Moreover, research indicates that replacing traditional methods with innovative strategies would help improve student learning (Barnett et al., 2002). Black and Wiliam (2015) very eloquently pointed out that teachers’ literacy on teaching and learning has the greatest impact on students’ development. The number of social media users has increased significantly over the past years with more than 80 percent of all online adults and 90 percent for the 16-21 age group (Duggan & Smith, 2013). Facebook, in particular, has been used by over 1.23 billion of people around the world (Ross, 2014). With more than 700 million users, Facebook has become the number one social networking site throughout the globe (Cowling, 2014) with 50% are active everyday (Cheung, 2014). These astonishing statistics, along with the rapid growth of mobile technology that includes 20.3 million mobile users (Abs, 2014), raises the question of how educators can harness such a powerful and high traffic technological tool to better enhance student learning experiences and outcomes. This thesis presents a type of teaching and learning strategy that utilizes social media, particularly Facebook, in response to the obsolete traditional method of teaching. This teaching strategy is drawn on technology-based instruction and social media linkages. Facebook, widely used social media application, has seeped most areas of communication. Students use Facebook in communicating with friends and

playing games. Since they use Facebook frequently and comfortably, the researcher has exploited this entertainment-oriented site in the field of education as an “edutainment” tool. Finally, it looks at the focus of innovative strategy and the growing recognition of the importance of learning outcomes. This research seeks to understand the potential of Facebook in enhancing student learning. This study is limited on the use of Facebook in learning and teaching Physics as opposed to other potential social media sites, based on the fact that Facebook is currently the most popular social media site (Davis et.al., 2011). This research also sets out to further understand the effects of social media to the students and explore the pedagogical use of Facebook across various educational fields. Likewise, this research identifies on the effects of Facebook on learning and teaching Physics. These included analyses of the perceived benefits to be gained, as well as any potential risks or issues, by using Facebook as a way of supporting teaching and learning. A further inquiry was to understand how Facebook intensifies students’ likeness to learn Physics.

Review of Related Literature Effective teaching strategy to improve students’ physics instruction and learning performances, rather than merely teaching basic-level physics concepts, become the primary concern and fundamental goal for physics educators (Kiboss, 2002). Many researchers have pointed out that students rarely build a complete physics knowledge because they underestimate the complexity and relationships

between prior knowledge and new knowledge without interactive animations of signaling functions (Feltovich, Coulson & Spiro, 2001). Some physics instruction of promising strategies have already been successfully explored, such as visual animations for communicated environment (Tao, 2004), in their advanced concepts of science history (Wang & March, 2002) to help students achieve more effective physics learning. The beginning of technology has created chances for the creation of learning environments with potential in groundbreaking instructions (Wolfe, 2001). The shift of pedagogy from manufacturing to underscoring knowledge and services has been of observed from the past years (Ilomaki, 2008). Multimedia innovations have given hope that the use of technology will result in the overall progress and well-being of developing countries, in particular with learning pedagogies. To a much lesser extent there is also a discussion on affordances of social network sites (SNSs) in such contexts (Marcelo, Adejumo, & Luna, 2011). Using the words of Traxler (2007), information is thrusted through the organization, often in "educationally naïve" means. Social media technologies comprise a vast array of web-related communication technologies such as blogs, wikis, online social networking and other social media forms (Friedman, 2010). Although there are many multimedia tools available for learning, Facebook has been known to be the most effective tool since students can quickly respond on the discussions and are comfortable and confident to share their opinions and ideas (Friedman, 2010). Through Facebook, the students can therefore

change from only receiving knowledge to both searching and sharing ideas and information (Krutkam et al., 2011). As the use of social networking sites, such as Facebook, most of the research has been undertaken in other countries. Hew (2011), in his review of current, published empirical research found that previous studies in relation to the use of Facebook in teaching and learning has, in the past, focused mainly on tertiary students with majority from USA and UK. For example, Hargittai (2007) surveyed a diverse group of young adults from Chicago in the United States and found that the use of social media is not randomly distributed. Facebook is a social networking site that has been used by millions of people around the world. The network started as a technologically infused meeting place for college students to communicate socially. Since the inception, the network has blossomed into a global sensation. Facebook has become the widely used social media application today (Junco, 2012). Sterling (2010) reported that Facebook has surpassed Google in terms of time spent online. According to Sterling (2010), Facebook took the top spot for the first time with 41.1 billion minutes in August 2010. With more than 700 million users, Facebook has become the number one social networking site around the world with 50% are active everyday (Sterling, 2010). There are 1.2 billion Facebook users around the world with 9.8 million users are between 13-17 years old, comprising 5.4% on user base percentage (Junco, 2012). In the Philippines, social media continues to be an integral part in the lives of Filipinos who have increased access to the internet via mobile devices, making us the

social media capital of the world (Castro, 2015). Facebook continues to be a popular social networking site with 30 million users as of 2013 with 15% are teenagers aged from 13-17. As of 2015, there are 42 million active social media users in the Philippines with 24% growth since 2014 (Castro, 2015). With this high number of users, Facebook can be a potential tool for learning and teaching that can be used to reach this group of students. Such growth has spurred many uses for the site including the opportunity to add to the learning experiences of the students. Facebook is a tool in a learning revolution that incorporates the ease of technology and communication efforts between students and between teachers and students (Munoz & Towner, 2009). With the use of Facebook, students can upload videos, pictures, post to information, and participate in communication via messenger. Munoz and Towner (2009) further suggest that Facebook is a network that connects students with other students, indirectly creating a learning community- a vital component of student education. Facebook provides instructors opportunities and structures by which students can help and support one another by building their courses atop the community already established by the students themselves. O’Reilly and Batelle (2009) pointed out that the better and faster adaptation of students to technology has gone too far to the extent that social media becomes the platform of easy access of information that corresponds to the interest and needs on collective intelligence. MacLoughlin and Lee (2007) also emphasized that social networking sites can be connected to demand-driven pedagogy where students are

the active participants and co-producers of content. Thus, Facebook can be utilized as an educational tool to encourage greater participation, interaction and collaboration in the teaching and learning process.

Learner Engagement As learner engagement is the anticipated outcome, it is important to firstly define the concept. Astin (2009) defined learner engagement as the “amount of physical and psychological energy that the student devotes to the academic experience.” (p. 1) Others believe that learner engagement is measured by their attendance and participation in activities both in the classroom and out of it (Kuh, 2009). Facebook can potentially provide a space where learners can actively participate and interact with other learners even when they are not in the classroom environment. It has been found that learners are able to use social media not only for navigating through their study, but to engage with peers in learning “by allowing them to enter new networks of collaborative learning, often based around interests and affinities not catered for in their immediate educational environment” (Selwyn, 2009 p. 158). This means learners can devote more time interacting with fellow learners outside of the normal class hours, therefore, engaging for longer periods of time. Peer interface that is allowed outside of the classroom hours through social media such as Facebook, permits learners to develop new characters and a sense of belonging. Selwyn (2007) investigated on online communication, that the “opportunities to engage with peers online challenged their students’ identities as

learners, and the importance of how a sense of belonging contributed to engagement clearly emerged” (p.39). Within this Facebook “community”, students are able to share knowledge and ideas and therefore, increase their understanding and become more of an ‘expert’ within their community (Mayer et al., 2005). Further to this, Mayer et. al (2005) highlighted that “we all have our own theories and ways of understanding the world, and our communities of practice are places where we develop, negotiate, and share them” (p.48). Through the use of a Facebook community, students could share resources, their thoughts and provide feedback to each other, which would potentially increase participation and engagement.

Facebook Functions and Features Facebook founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his college roommates in the USA in 2004 (Muñoz and Towner, 2009). It was originally designed only for Harvard college students but is now open worldwide to anyone 13 years or older who is connected to the internet. Facebook users can set up their own profile and upload comments, photos, videos, and other general information about themselves. Before Facebook users can become friends, a friend request must be sent and accepted. This request is sent to the email address set up on the user’s profile. The request must be accepted by the user to allow that “friend:” to see the profile and other information of the Facebook user. Each Facebook profile has a “wall”, where friends can post comments (Junco, 2012). The wall is generally viewable by every one of the user’s friends, which really makes any wall postings public. If a user wishes to have more private

conversation with a person, a private message can be sent which will show up in his or her private Inbox, much the same as an e-mail message. Facebook allows each user to determine their security and privacy settings (Sterling, 2010). The user can adjust these settings to determine which users within the network can contact them, email them and view part or all of their profile. They can hide certain parts of their profile from other viewers. A Facebook group can also be set up and can be opened, closed or secret group. Each group has different levels of security in relation to who is able to become member and who can view the members’ names and what they post. Usually one person or several people are set up as administrators of the group and they can change the settings and monitor the groups’ activities. If a secret group has been set up and the privacy settings are adjusted accordingly, only the people who are members of that group can see the comments made and people can only join the page if they are invited by a member of the group and approved by the administrator (Ryan & Xenos, 2011). This type of Facebook group offers the best form of security for those who would prefer not to have their comments made public and gives the administrator some control over the comments made and perhaps mitigate some of the risks associated with using a social media site such as Facebook. Determining who the users of social media are and in particular who the users of Facebook are, is crucial to understanding the needs of learners in Physics. It is important to identify if the learners in this educational sector are using Facebook and

for what purpose, in order to identify if it is plausible option for use in learner engagement.

Facebook users and uses Previous research around the users of the Internet had shown that men were identified as spending more time online than women (Hargittai, 2007). Hargittai (2007) surveyed a group of undergraduate university students regarding their use of the Internet and found that the previous traditional concerns over “digital divide” in relation to access to the Internet user is necessarily a social media user. However, Hargittai (2007) found that over 80% of respondents were currently social media users, with Facebook being the most popular platform of choice. A more recent study (Cheung et.al, 2011) found that of the 182 Facebook users surveyed, 68% were female and 32% were male, with the majority of 75% indicating that they were aged 19-23. Again these are the same characteristics of the largest group of learners at secondary school used in the study. While it is important to divulge to other educational strategy like using Facebook in teaching and learning, it is equally important to examine their purpose for using Facebook as “understanding why students use online social networking sites, especially Facebook, is crucially important for the academic community as this use has a great impact on student motivation to learn, affective learning and classroom climate” (Dogruer, 2011, p.2643). Determining the reasons behind students’

Facebook use will better equip the teachers to fully utilize this social media in engaging Physics teaching and learning.

Benefits of Using Facebook in Student Learning The three-dimensional meaning of learner engagement is accepted as: a learner is engaged when they have a deeper understanding of what they are doing (high cognition), when they are valuing what they are doing (high emotion) and when they are actively participating (high behavior) (Munns & Woodward, 2006). Junco (2012) found that “it is reasonable to believe that types of Facebook activities matter when examining student engagement” (p. 164). Facebook provides a space, if it is incorporated into their learning effectively, when the learner can participate in activities that can potentially activate all three levels of this model of engagement. Nykvist (2008) referred to the social nature of communities and discusses the theories of social cognition where the social interaction needs to occur first before knowledge and concepts can be internalized. Facebook shares characteristics of other social media that can be described as a set of tools, which enhance our ability to communicate and collaborate (Selwyn, 2009). Facebook provides an avenue for social interaction and collaboration to occur. Collaboration is essential to learning, as “forming relationships with members of one’s cohort is an important part of the learners’ experience, and one could argue that services like Facebook facilitate such interactions” (Hargittai, 2007, p. 291). Using Facebook with learners could enable them to collaborate and interact with their fellow classmates on Physics lessons and

possibly their teacher and thereby, gain a deeper understanding of what they are learning. Through legitimate peripheral participation in a Facebook community of practice, the students develop new skills and knowledge from other students and move from an “apprentice” to becoming more of an “expert” (Lave & Wenger, 1991). They can share their ideas, thoughts and resources with each other which all lead to further communication and discussion beyond that of the traditional classroom. Social media create a sense of connectedness and identification with particular interest groups or a community of interest (Barker, 2009). Students can negotiate their individual identities within...