Microblog use and student engagement in the large-classroom setting

Area of Science:

• Educational Technology
• Higher Education Pedagogy
• Social Media in Education

Background:

• Large classrooms present challenges to student engagement, including depersonalization and student reluctance to ask questions or participate.
• Social media offers potential solutions to these barriers, but its impact on student engagement requires formal evaluation.
• Microblogging platforms can potentially foster a more interactive learning environment.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of microblog use on student question-asking behaviors in a large-classroom setting.
• To evaluate microblogging as a tool to enhance student engagement in medical humanities courses.
• To determine if microblog incorporation increases the number of students participating through asking questions.

Main Methods:

• A formative evaluation identified microblog use as a potential engagement tool for a large-classroom medical humanities course.
• A microblog was integrated into the course curriculum.
• Student engagement was measured by analyzing question-asking behaviors before and after microblog implementation.

Main Results:

• A statistically significant increase in the total number of questions asked was observed after microblog incorporation.
• The number of individual students asking questions also significantly increased with the availability of the microblog.
• Paired t tests confirmed the significant impact of microblog use on question-asking behaviors.

Conclusions:

• Microblog use in large classrooms demonstrably enhances student question-asking behavior, indicating increased engagement.
• Educators can leverage emerging technologies like microblogs to improve student participation and learning outcomes.
• Further research is necessary to explore the specific barriers addressed by microblogs and their applicability to other academic disciplines.