Date of Award

8-2017

Rights

© 2017 Angela M. Wells

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Education

First Advisor

Brianna Parsons

Second Advisor

Michael Patrick

Third Advisor

Sue Hernandez Lawrence

Abstract

This qualitative collective case study sought to describe the perceptions and experiences of an 11th-grade English teacher and her students when incorporating social media into the classroom. The teacher introduced social media into four classrooms, wherein the students answered questions and interacted with each other on a discussion board. The teacher’s fifth classroom remained a traditionally taught class, wherein the teacher lectured about class material. After six weeks of instruction, the researcher interviewed the teacher and provided anonymous surveys to the students to determine their perceptions and experiences when incorporating social media into the classroom. The researcher analyzed and coded the data using qualitative coding software. The analyzed data produced five overarching themes: (1) Social Media as an Educational Tool, (2) Gaining Real-World Experience through Technology, (3) Learning through Discourse and Diverse Opinions, (4) Communication and Connection, and (5) Creating Interest. The researcher’s interpretation of the themes led to three findings: (1) Creating Student Engagement and Community, (2) Creating Conversation and Online Learning, and (3) Creating a Pathway to Higher Education/Job Demands. The study’s conclusions suggested that researchers study other high school classrooms to bolster the findings and to add to the body of literature. This study and future studies may assist educators decide if incorporating social media in their high school classrooms would be appropriate for their schools and school districts.

Comments

Ed.D. Dissertation

Angela’s presentation on this topic for the UNE CGPS Virtual Research Symposium 2019 can be found here: https://dune.une.edu/virtual2019/6/

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