The Impact of Social Media-Integrated Blended Learning on Motivation: A Comparison with Traditional Classrooms for CS50 Undergraduates at Asian University for Women

Abstract

The present pilot study investigates the influence of Facebook-integrated-blended learning on motivation within the "Introduction to Programming (CS50)" course, which is offered at the Asian University for Women (AUW.). Issues involving motivation are often common to introductory programming classes, and when the learner base is comprised of people of varying cultural and educational backgrounds, it becomes an even more real concern. As such, a six-weeks long Facebook-assisted motivation-boosting measure has been implemented to supplement standard teaching methods using recap posts, weekly challenges, and peer-related discussions. The convergent parallel mixed-methods design has been employed, while 18 MSLQ-related survey participants and 13 individual interviews were conducted. Results revealed a positive impact of integrated learning on motivation along five constructs, namely ease of learning, support for motivation, overall motivation, sense of peer connection, and distraction. Although the sample was small, failing to attain statistical significance on t-test, the effect sizes were medium to large, ranging between 0.50 and 0.78. These were supported by the thematic findings, which revealed increased confidence, peer motivation, active participation enabled by gamification, and mitigation of pressure inside the class. The students found Facebook to be an elastic and safe platform, which helped ease tough concepts and motivated others to take part. With integration, findings revealed strong convergence between the quantifiable data and the subjective experience. Cognitive reinforcements, autonomy, and relatedness offered by Facebook are associated with Self-Determination Theory and Expectancy-Value Theory. The result obtained at the end of the study suggests that Facebook-assisted blended learning can increase motivation during programming learning, especially when it is conducted in a multicultural and resource-limited institution such as AUW. Several practical implications emerge from the result, such as the importance of online assistance, posting of recap, and interaction among students. Being a pilot study, the result is tentative and promising, and future studies should take up more participants and comparison among platforms.