Facebook in the University Classroom - Critique #3

Steven M. Walters, M.Ed.

Kent State University

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Facebook in the University Classroom: Do Students Perceive that it Enhances

Community of Practice and Sense of Community?
Doris G. Duncan, PhD
College of Business and Economics, California State University
Casimir C. Barczyk, PhD
Department of Marketing, Human Resources, and Management, Purdue University Calumet
Background
In this study researchers looked at whether or not Facebook-enhanced university courses
fostered the development of Communities of Practice (CoP) and enhance students sense of
classroom community (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013). Past research shows that university students
are more likely to be engaged when they have strong feelings of community (Junco, 2012).
University students persist in their studies when they do not feel alone or alienated (Rovai,
2002b). The survey was conducted during the last week of all four classes with a 67% response
rate from a total population of 158 students. The volunteer participants in this study were 56
males and 49 females with the age range of 55 students between 18-25 and 51 students over 26
years old.
Duncan & Barczyk stated that a coveted outcome in higher education is to increase
retention that may come from higher engagement and learning brought on by students
perceptions of their CoP and sense of classroom community. By using Facebook in the
instructional design of a course it may impact those student perceptions and their sense of
community. Another implication of the research conducted by Duncan & Barczyk is that
Facebook allows students to interact and collaborate beyond their scheduled classroom meeting
times to further build and develop a CoP and connectedness of the class.
It is made very clear in this article that instructors should use guarded enthusiasm when
integrating social media into their courses and avoid adding supplemental classroom technologies

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that require additional time or possibly result in information overload (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
Faculty members play an important role in the integration of social media into their courses
(Crook, 2008). When students state that they had an increased sense of learning in their
Facebook-enhanced courses or had an effective CoP, it may be more related to the faculty
members attitude about teaching and learning than to the use of social networking technology
(Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
Methods
This study was conducted using 106 volunteer students at two universities in California
and Indiana who were enrolled in four different business courses in two academic terms. The
courses were accounting, business law, human resource management, and organizational
staffing (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013). All four courses used Blackboard as the official course
management system. Facebook was added as an instructional supplement.
Students worked in teams of four on a term project that was required, however, using
Facebook was optional. Students who chose to use Facebook held virtual meetings, added
YouTube links, shared research findings, and posted comments on their fellow teammates work.
Students who were not accustomed to using social media technology became comfortable using
the new medium over time. Students were reassured that their postings were private and that
they were not to invite anyone else to their Facebook groups to maintain their privacy.
In all four classes a paper-based questionnaire composed of 52 closed and open-ended
questions, which related to students use of technology, perceptions of their classrooms, sense
of community associated with the pedagogical use of Facebook in their courses, and
demographics was designed and used to assess course experiences (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
To assess sense of community, in this study, a series of items from Rovais (2002a) Classroom

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Community Scale (CCS) was adopted. Ten Likert Scale items that have been used in other
studies (Hung & Yuen, 2010; Black, Dawson, & Priem, 2008; Rovai, 2002a, 2003) were also
used to measure students feelings of learning-oriented behaviors and their feelings of
connectedness.
The questionnaire assessed students perception of their Facebook experience in terms of
the social medias ability to create a CoP and facilitate a sense of classroom community, which
would measure social learning and feelings of connectedness (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
Results
This study looked for the answer to four research questions.
1. What are students perceptions of the sense of classroom community that evolves in
Facebook-enhanced courses?
This study concluded that incorporating Facebook into a courses instructional design
fostered collaboration and interaction among students most likely due to the nature of
social networking and Web 2.0 technology (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013). This study was
consistent with the findings of a previous study that found that when Facebook is
properly integrated into a course, it enhances student engagement by cultivating a CoP
that stimulates intellectual discourse (Hurt, Moss, Bradley, et al, 2012).
2. What are students perceptions of the sense of classroom community that evolves in
Facebook-enhanced courses?
Researchers found that Facebook had more impact on students sense of learning than on
their sense of connectedness (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013). The study also found that
Facebook promoted a desire to learn as it allowed and encouraged students to ask
questions and to get help with concepts related to their class projects. This development

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of social learning findings are similar with the previous work that found Facebookconnected students were able to engage in social interactions that created a constructivist
learning atmosphere (Ractham, Kaewkitipong, and Firpo, 2012).
3. How do age, gender, and prior online experience affect the community of practice and
sense of classroom community that evolve in Facebook-enhanced courses?
Researchers discovered that neither gender nor prior online course experience had an
effect on perceptions of their CoP or sense of community (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
The age-related effect in Facebook-enhanced courses was in alignment with research by
Smith (2008) who found that non-traditional students, 26 years old or more, had a higher
sense of learning than traditional age students. Duncan & Barczyk found that gender and
prior online course experience did not agree with the available literature. In a 2001 case
study, Building classroom community at a distance in general, female adult learners
manifested a stronger sense of classroom community than male learners (Rovai, 2001).
Duncan & Barczyk considered that that the gender effect has changed with the
introduction of social media so that female and male students response rates are
negligible.
4. What are students overall perceptions of Facebook-enhanced courses?
The majority of students involved in this study were favorably impressed with the use of
social media in their courses (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
Students perceived that Facebook facilitated professional or personal growth, was
convenient to use, fostered student interaction, and enabled them to actively participate in
learning.
76% of students agreed or strongly agreed that Facebook enabled them to acquire

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personal or professional growth.

74% of students agreed or strongly agreed that Facebook enhanced their
experience of participation.
65% of students agreed or strongly agreed that Facebook was convenient for
classroom discussions.
54% of students agreed or strongly agreed that Facebook enabled them to feel
more connected to fellow students.
54% of students agreed or strongly agreed that Facebook resulted in a very
positive course experience.
(Duncan & Barczyk, 2013)
Students were less positive about Facebooks value in their courses that already used
Blackboard. Only 37% of the students agreed or strongly agreed that they preferred
using Facebook over Blackboard and 31% agreed that Facebook was more effective than
Blackboard (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
Evaluation
This article was very compelling to me as it answered questions that I had about the use
of social media as part of instructional design. The data was sufficient and presented in tables
that added to my understanding of what occurred in this research. The researched also provoked
my curiosity to know if Facebook sponsored this research. If a research study was sponsored by
Facebook I believe the number of participants would be greatly increased. This study also makes
me think of a question that has been discussed with my fellow Kent State University instructors
should teachers teach to what students know and are familiar with or challenge them to try new
things? To facilitate learning, according to the findings of Duncan & Barczyk, the answer is

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that it depends on the instructors attitude and motivation to utilize instructional design in
reaching students. I speculate, that based on information provided in this study, that every 4-5
years, new university students will need to be surveyed to determine how they are using social
media to effectively reach them and facilitate learning. What if Facebook is eventually replaced
or becomes a place students avoid? Is Blackboard on track to develop this new social gathering
zone. Are seasoned or new instructors capable of supplementing Facebook into a course without
overburdening students and themselves with too much work?
When Facebook was incorporated into the instructional design of a course, it facilitated
the perception that a CoP developed, which impacted learning (Duncan & Barczyk, 2013).
Researchers concluded that while Facebook appears to add value to students perceptions of
learning, it has less value in courses that use it as a supplement, as contrasted with courses that
use it exclusively.
For future research, Duncan & Barczyk believe to minimize the possibility of a common
method bias data should be collected through interviews or focus groups instead of just one
survey instruments. With a mixed methods research design, the studys results would be
strengthened and there would be less threat to validity which is occasionally found in
educational research (Donaldson & Grant-Vallone, 2002). I see the need for their research to be
conducted at least once a year to stay up-to-date on what first year students are bringing, in the
way of social media usage, to the university level. This research is vital in how training
instructors is necessary in the evolving nature of instructional design, teaching, and learning.

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