Emily Counsil
Social Media Pedagogy: Transfer of Knowledge through Practice over Mastery
Synthesis:
While many Americans are encapsulated by social media, there’s a common disconnect for how teachers and students utilize it in education. By this, researchers don’t mean the use of social media from students when they’re not supposed to rather, scholars and teachers are discussing how to use social media in the classroom as a pedagogic tool. While some argue that it could be a confusing crossover and strays from “traditional” academia, there are many benefits and arguments for the teaching of social media in First Year Composition settings.
One of the primary reasons scholars and teachers advocate for social media in the classroom is for accessibility. Stephanie Vie argues that using social media in the classroom allows students to practice their composition skills rather than mastering them. “Traditional” papers/essays can make students feel pressures when writing, but when framed in the context of social media it becomes less daunting. Additionally, she partners with Douglas Walls to explain that often, social media is seen as “unscholarly” or “unacademic,” but, by bringing digital literacies in the classroom, students are more apt to engage in the class or with their schoolwork. Following this argument, other scholars (like Elson Szeto) bring the idea of participatory pedagogy which allows students to interact with literacies they use in their everyday lives. From there, there’s also the case of public pedagogy inside (and outside) of the classroom. In their dissertation, Joannah Portman explains how social media is constantly changing the way humans interact and communicate – providing a sort of transactional rhetoric that allows students (and teachers) to function outside of the institutional boundaries. Overall, the common theme is teaching rhetoric through the lens of social media can aid in how students think about the broader rhetorical situation of everyday life. By using social media and pedagogical practice, instructors can help aid the gap of connecting personal lives to how they can become critical thinkers, and writers, for the real world.
Annotated Bibliography:
Buck, Elisabeth H. “Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: Oh My!” 19.3, Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 15 May 2015, https://kairos.technorhetoric.net/19.3/praxis/buck/index.html.
Bullinger, Cory, and Stephanie Vie. “Chapter 4. After a Decade of Social Media: Abstainers and Ex-Users.” Social Writing/Social Media: Publics, Presentations, and Pedagogies, edited by Douglas M. Walls and Stephanie Vie, The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado, 2017, pp. 69–88. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.2.04.
Management Association, Information Resources. “Social Media in Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice.” Https://Services.Igi-Global.Com/Resolvedoi/Resolve.Aspx?Doi=10.4018/978-1-5225-5652-7, IGI Global, 1AD. www.igi-global.com, https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/book/190551.
Portman Daley, Joannah. “(Re)Writing Civics in the Digital Age: The Role of Social Media in Student (Dis)Engagement.” ProQuest LLC, ProQuest LLC789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtmlTel.: 800-521-0600, 2012, p. 187. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/eric/docview/1347461600/BCCDE198A0F34D61PQ/17.
In their dissertation, Portman discusses how social media has been used in recent years and the impact it’s had on individuals, specifically social media users. Specifically, Portman uses qualitative methods that explore civic engagement (in Rhetoric and Composition) in social media-based writing. One example he discusses is how politics/political debates changed in the 2008 election. He states, “...the 140-character Twitter limit forced the candidates to be brief and speak in language that was efficient and easy to understand... It was giving the average, everyday citizen a voice” (18). After explaining how social media has been mobilized in recent years, they explain their qualitative research findings, then dive into their discussions of public pedagogy. They argue how social media public pedagogies are a critical example of such, as they function outside the institutional boundaries; it provides opportunities for a sort of transactional rhetoric with the function of social media. This piece is important for my research because it highlights how social media functions have informed his discussion of public pedagogy which can broader elaborate on how to use social media in (and out) of the classroom.
Szeto, Elson, et al. “Learning with Social Media: How Do Preservice Teachers Integrate YouTube and Social Media in Teaching?” Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 25, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 35–44. ProQuest, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0230-9.
In their article, Szeto discusses the use of social media in the classroom for pedagogical purposes, specifically YouTube. They argue that social media can bring many affordances to teaching and learning in education. Szeto facilitates a case study from a “Group of New Generation Chinese Preservice Teachers” where the group explains their common reasons for using social media to make teaching “’interesting and stimulating for students who are already familiar with social media for communication...’” (40). From this, Szeto identifies a form of participatory pedagogy that allows students to engage in educational practices through culture and social performances. Overall, their primary argument is that participatory pedagogy – interaction amongst students and teachers - is vital to digitally constructed teaching and learning. This article is important for my use of providing framework for how students who already use social media have concepts of the rhetorical situation, as well as explain how this participatory pedagogy is something students use in their everyday life, creating a seamless crossover to the classroom.
Vie, Stephanie. “Effective Social Media Use in Online Writing Classes through Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles.” Computers and Composition, vol. 49, Sept. 2018, pp. 61–70. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2018.05.005.
In this piece, Vie focuses on how social media can be used in online writing classes. She particularly addresses how social media can be accessible for students with disabilities, while taking part in a large conversation for making sure materials are always accessible for students. She further explains how many instructors are already bringing social media into the (writing) classroom because it provides them with a sense of rhetorical awareness and how to create an effective post. Further, she explains how it's important for students to use this to practice their composition skills, rather than master them. This article is important for this project because it discusses why it’s key for faculty to include social media in the classroom – I'm going to use this as a more current article to explain why it’s important, specifically for accessibility, to use social media in the classroom.
---. What’s Going On: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Media Use in the Writing Classroom. www.academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/13105873/What_s_Going_On_Challenges_and_Opportunities_for_Social_Media_Use_in_the_Writing_Classroom. Accessed 6 Oct. 2022.
Vie, Stephanie, and Brandy Dieterle. Digital First-Year Composition: Integrating Multimodality into a Writing about Writing Approach. www.academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/14767088/Digital_First_Year_Composition_Integrating_Multimodality_into_a_Writing_about_Writing_Approach. Accessed 6 Oct. 2022.
Walls, Douglas M., and Stephanie Vie. “Social Writing and Social Media: An Introduction.” Social Writing/Social Media: Publics, Presentations, and Pedagogies, edited by Douglas M. Walls and Stephanie Vie, The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado, 2017, pp. 3–13. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.1.3.
In this introduction, Walls and Vie focus on three main points: Publics and Audiences, Presentation of Self, Group and Data; and Pedagogy. They explain that while the entirety of their work had pedagogical elements, the last section pays particular focus to “…on the impact social media discourses and technologies have had on traditional literacy education in the classroom” (10). Essentially, the point to how social media has transformed the way people communicate/interact with each other. Additionally, Walls and Vie are building on the idea that digital discourses have a sincere impact to the writing classroom. They continue to explain that “…social media is a part of every writing classroom…” (10). Keeping this in mind, I think Walls and Vie provide context for how social media has impacted the writing classroom. They argue that too often social media is seen as “unscholarly” and/or “unacademic,” however by bringing digital literacies into the writing classroom students are more apt to engage with their schoolwork. With their beliefs in mind, I plan to use this piece to structure why it’s important to incorporate social media pedagogy in writing classrooms.
Synthesis:
While many Americans are encapsulated by social media, there’s a common disconnect for how teachers and students utilize it in education. By this, researchers don’t mean the use of social media from students when they’re not supposed to rather, scholars and teachers are discussing how to use social media in the classroom as a pedagogic tool. While some argue that it could be a confusing crossover and strays from “traditional” academia, there are many benefits and arguments for the teaching of social media in First Year Composition settings.
One of the primary reasons scholars and teachers advocate for social media in the classroom is for accessibility. Stephanie Vie argues that using social media in the classroom allows students to practice their composition skills rather than mastering them. “Traditional” papers/essays can make students feel pressures when writing, but when framed in the context of social media it becomes less daunting. Additionally, she partners with Douglas Walls to explain that often, social media is seen as “unscholarly” or “unacademic,” but, by bringing digital literacies in the classroom, students are more apt to engage in the class or with their schoolwork. Following this argument, other scholars (like Elson Szeto) bring the idea of participatory pedagogy which allows students to interact with literacies they use in their everyday lives. From there, there’s also the case of public pedagogy inside (and outside) of the classroom. In their dissertation, Joannah Portman explains how social media is constantly changing the way humans interact and communicate – providing a sort of transactional rhetoric that allows students (and teachers) to function outside of the institutional boundaries. Overall, the common theme is teaching rhetoric through the lens of social media can aid in how students think about the broader rhetorical situation of everyday life. By using social media and pedagogical practice, instructors can help aid the gap of connecting personal lives to how they can become critical thinkers, and writers, for the real world.
Annotated Bibliography:
Buck, Elisabeth H. “Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter: Oh My!” 19.3, Kairos: A Journal of Rhetoric, Technology, and Pedagogy, 15 May 2015, https://kairos.technorhetoric.net/19.3/praxis/buck/index.html.
Bullinger, Cory, and Stephanie Vie. “Chapter 4. After a Decade of Social Media: Abstainers and Ex-Users.” Social Writing/Social Media: Publics, Presentations, and Pedagogies, edited by Douglas M. Walls and Stephanie Vie, The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado, 2017, pp. 69–88. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.2.04.
Management Association, Information Resources. “Social Media in Education: Breakthroughs in Research and Practice.” Https://Services.Igi-Global.Com/Resolvedoi/Resolve.Aspx?Doi=10.4018/978-1-5225-5652-7, IGI Global, 1AD. www.igi-global.com, https://www.igi-global.com/gateway/book/190551.
Portman Daley, Joannah. “(Re)Writing Civics in the Digital Age: The Role of Social Media in Student (Dis)Engagement.” ProQuest LLC, ProQuest LLC789 East Eisenhower Parkway, P.O. Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI 48106http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtmlTel.: 800-521-0600, 2012, p. 187. ProQuest, https://www.proquest.com/eric/docview/1347461600/BCCDE198A0F34D61PQ/17.
In their dissertation, Portman discusses how social media has been used in recent years and the impact it’s had on individuals, specifically social media users. Specifically, Portman uses qualitative methods that explore civic engagement (in Rhetoric and Composition) in social media-based writing. One example he discusses is how politics/political debates changed in the 2008 election. He states, “...the 140-character Twitter limit forced the candidates to be brief and speak in language that was efficient and easy to understand... It was giving the average, everyday citizen a voice” (18). After explaining how social media has been mobilized in recent years, they explain their qualitative research findings, then dive into their discussions of public pedagogy. They argue how social media public pedagogies are a critical example of such, as they function outside the institutional boundaries; it provides opportunities for a sort of transactional rhetoric with the function of social media. This piece is important for my research because it highlights how social media functions have informed his discussion of public pedagogy which can broader elaborate on how to use social media in (and out) of the classroom.
Szeto, Elson, et al. “Learning with Social Media: How Do Preservice Teachers Integrate YouTube and Social Media in Teaching?” Asia-Pacific Education Researcher, vol. 25, no. 1, Feb. 2016, pp. 35–44. ProQuest, https://doi.org/10.1007/s40299-015-0230-9.
In their article, Szeto discusses the use of social media in the classroom for pedagogical purposes, specifically YouTube. They argue that social media can bring many affordances to teaching and learning in education. Szeto facilitates a case study from a “Group of New Generation Chinese Preservice Teachers” where the group explains their common reasons for using social media to make teaching “’interesting and stimulating for students who are already familiar with social media for communication...’” (40). From this, Szeto identifies a form of participatory pedagogy that allows students to engage in educational practices through culture and social performances. Overall, their primary argument is that participatory pedagogy – interaction amongst students and teachers - is vital to digitally constructed teaching and learning. This article is important for my use of providing framework for how students who already use social media have concepts of the rhetorical situation, as well as explain how this participatory pedagogy is something students use in their everyday life, creating a seamless crossover to the classroom.
Vie, Stephanie. “Effective Social Media Use in Online Writing Classes through Universal Design for Learning (UDL) Principles.” Computers and Composition, vol. 49, Sept. 2018, pp. 61–70. ScienceDirect, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compcom.2018.05.005.
In this piece, Vie focuses on how social media can be used in online writing classes. She particularly addresses how social media can be accessible for students with disabilities, while taking part in a large conversation for making sure materials are always accessible for students. She further explains how many instructors are already bringing social media into the (writing) classroom because it provides them with a sense of rhetorical awareness and how to create an effective post. Further, she explains how it's important for students to use this to practice their composition skills, rather than master them. This article is important for this project because it discusses why it’s key for faculty to include social media in the classroom – I'm going to use this as a more current article to explain why it’s important, specifically for accessibility, to use social media in the classroom.
---. What’s Going On: Challenges and Opportunities for Social Media Use in the Writing Classroom. www.academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/13105873/What_s_Going_On_Challenges_and_Opportunities_for_Social_Media_Use_in_the_Writing_Classroom. Accessed 6 Oct. 2022.
Vie, Stephanie, and Brandy Dieterle. Digital First-Year Composition: Integrating Multimodality into a Writing about Writing Approach. www.academia.edu, https://www.academia.edu/14767088/Digital_First_Year_Composition_Integrating_Multimodality_into_a_Writing_about_Writing_Approach. Accessed 6 Oct. 2022.
Walls, Douglas M., and Stephanie Vie. “Social Writing and Social Media: An Introduction.” Social Writing/Social Media: Publics, Presentations, and Pedagogies, edited by Douglas M. Walls and Stephanie Vie, The WAC Clearinghouse; University Press of Colorado, 2017, pp. 3–13. DOI.org (Crossref), https://doi.org/10.37514/PER-B.2017.0063.1.3.
In this introduction, Walls and Vie focus on three main points: Publics and Audiences, Presentation of Self, Group and Data; and Pedagogy. They explain that while the entirety of their work had pedagogical elements, the last section pays particular focus to “…on the impact social media discourses and technologies have had on traditional literacy education in the classroom” (10). Essentially, the point to how social media has transformed the way people communicate/interact with each other. Additionally, Walls and Vie are building on the idea that digital discourses have a sincere impact to the writing classroom. They continue to explain that “…social media is a part of every writing classroom…” (10). Keeping this in mind, I think Walls and Vie provide context for how social media has impacted the writing classroom. They argue that too often social media is seen as “unscholarly” and/or “unacademic,” however by bringing digital literacies into the writing classroom students are more apt to engage with their schoolwork. With their beliefs in mind, I plan to use this piece to structure why it’s important to incorporate social media pedagogy in writing classrooms.
Teaching Application (above):
The goal for this assignment is for students to begin a transfer of skills and knowledge from social media to academic writing. In addition to building this transfer of knowledge, it also eliminates the pressures of their writing having to be “perfect” or “polished”; it’s based off the concept of practice, rather than mastery.
This activity of “Digital Narratives” focuses on having students share their “testimony” on social media. Students naturally do this frequently when using social media. They post Instagram photos with captions that discuss their life/feelings, they Tweet their opinions, and they share other posts with their own commentary. By having students do this in class, they will be challenged to think about something that they’re passionate about (without social media exigencies). This will force them to critically think about what matters to them. The assignment includes some examples of social media movements (BLM, Me Too, March for Our Lives) that include the rhetorical function of “testimony” or sharing one’s – digital – personal narrative.
The activity students will be doing is to post on a discussion board about something that matters to them in the format of a Tweet (140 characters). The purpose of having it be in Twitter conventions is to, additionally, have student practice writing clear and concisely about one topic. This encourages students to critically think about what they want to say, while still not feeling pressured to create a polished piece of academic writing. The information does not have to be groundbreaking or world changing, rather just a topic that they have strong opinions on or are passionate about. Additionally, I’ve included that if students are familiar with the vernacular and style of Tweets, they can mimic or play around with that, but that it’s not necessary.
After students post their Tweets (they’ll have about 10 minutes to do so), the class will break into small group discussions and explain to their peers why and how they chose their topic. From there, class will break into a large group discussion to have each student read their Tweet aloud and explain their rationale.
The goal for this assignment is for students to begin a transfer of skills and knowledge from social media to academic writing. In addition to building this transfer of knowledge, it also eliminates the pressures of their writing having to be “perfect” or “polished”; it’s based off the concept of practice, rather than mastery.
This activity of “Digital Narratives” focuses on having students share their “testimony” on social media. Students naturally do this frequently when using social media. They post Instagram photos with captions that discuss their life/feelings, they Tweet their opinions, and they share other posts with their own commentary. By having students do this in class, they will be challenged to think about something that they’re passionate about (without social media exigencies). This will force them to critically think about what matters to them. The assignment includes some examples of social media movements (BLM, Me Too, March for Our Lives) that include the rhetorical function of “testimony” or sharing one’s – digital – personal narrative.
The activity students will be doing is to post on a discussion board about something that matters to them in the format of a Tweet (140 characters). The purpose of having it be in Twitter conventions is to, additionally, have student practice writing clear and concisely about one topic. This encourages students to critically think about what they want to say, while still not feeling pressured to create a polished piece of academic writing. The information does not have to be groundbreaking or world changing, rather just a topic that they have strong opinions on or are passionate about. Additionally, I’ve included that if students are familiar with the vernacular and style of Tweets, they can mimic or play around with that, but that it’s not necessary.
After students post their Tweets (they’ll have about 10 minutes to do so), the class will break into small group discussions and explain to their peers why and how they chose their topic. From there, class will break into a large group discussion to have each student read their Tweet aloud and explain their rationale.