Twitter, if used properly, may become a teaching tool so effective that students look forward to using it in class and continue to seek new information from it after the school day ends, researchers say.
The study shows the potential benefits of using Twitter as a pedagogical tool based on survey results, interviews, and classroom observations of eighth-grade students in science classes, according to researchers from University of Vermont in the U.S.
Students reported significant increases in four key areas that contributed to their learning — exposure to reputable science and leaders in real-time; a broadening of the audience for their work outside the classroom; more opportunities to connect science to their own lives; and new ways to communicate about science.
Researchers used middle school science classes to conduct the study. Ninety-five per cent students agreed or strongly agreed that Twitter enabled them to follow science news in real-time as it develops around the world.
Particularly motivating was the ability to interact via Twitter with leading organisations such as NASA, and science-related programmes, researchers said.
“NASA and scientists that I follow tweet a lot about cool science stuff,” said one student.
Researchers suggested to another student who was interested in black holes that she reach out via Twitter to well-known and popular astrophysicist Katie Mack.
Mack tweeted back to the student and included her in a conversation about black holes with other experts and students, researchers said.
Global audience
The study found that 93 per cent of students surveyed think Twitter enabled them to interact and share perspectives with a global audience outside the classroom.
“When I have something important to share about science that I like, as many as 52 people (Twitter followers) can see what I tweet instantly,” said one student.
Another student said they use Twitter for academic support by tweeting with other students about concepts, assignments and projects, researchers said.
As many as 91 per cent said Twitter helped them make connections between science and their own lives and interests, they said.
“Twitter has made me think about things that I like and had me think about the science related to them,” said one student.
Others said Twitter helped them learn about science in new ways that related to their everyday lives, researchers said.
Around 81 per cent of students agreed that Twitter helped them think creatively about new ways to communicate science, they said.
“Our work adds a critical lens to the role of open social networking tools such as Twitter in the context of adolescents’ learning and raises new questions about the potential for social media as a lever for increasing the personalisation of education,” explained Penny Bishop, professor and director of the Tarrant Institute for Innovative Education at University of Vermont.
Lead researcher Ryan Becker used his middle school science classes to conduct the research in conjunction with co-author Bishop.
Twitter is also an extremely powerful assessment tool, according to Becker, who recommends displaying tweets on an electronic “smart” board so students and teachers can assess and discuss them together.
Teachers can also ask students to tweet examples of specific scientific concepts like the students in Becker’s class who tweeted personal examples of Newton’s First Law.
Teachers can also have students respond to scientific poll questions and share instant results with their class.
The 140-character limit also forces students to distil down major concepts such as ‘what is chemistry’,” Becker noted in a paper forthcoming in the Middle School Journal. Agencies
Twitter is a microblogging site where users can post messages that are 140 characters or less. Each message is called a tweet.
