“Post It on the Wall!”: Using Facebook to Complement Student Learning in Gender and Women’s Studies Courses

Abstract

© 2014 by the board of trustees of the university of ill inois College professors, including those in women’s studies, are increasingly implementing pedagogical methods that include online social networking tools such as YouTube, Facebook, Friendster, Del.icio.us, blogs, etc., to enhance faceto-face discussions in the classroom.1 In Feminist Collections (2007), Janni Aragon writes, “As a media junkie, I constantly find interesting items to share with students. I often note these sources on the course syllabus or notify my students via WebCT (now Blackboard) or Facebook. These online sources grab the students’ attention, since the sites are convenient to access” (45). The sharing of up-tothe-minute information on a site that students are already using makes social networking sites attractive to teachers. Feminist teachers, however, have an additional consideration when employing social networking tools in the classroom—identifying how social networking tools might encourage feminist pedagogy by building upon the experiences of the students and, simultaneously, enhancing the democratic participation of everyone in the classroom. Feminist pedagogy, according to Carolyn Shrewsbury, is “engaged teaching/learningengaged with self in a continuing reflective process; engaged actively with the material being studied; engaged with others . . .” (166). Given new information or new tools of analysis, feminist pedagogy means considering participants’ experiences in a different way. While social networking tools hold potential for feminist pedagogy, there is little systematic academic research concerning the impact of social media on student learning in a women’s studies classroom or on feminist praxis. This study analyzes student response to the use of a closed Facebook group to expand the classroom conversations of students enrolled in traditional faceto-face (FTF) women’s studies courses beyond the designated class period. The findings suggest that Facebook is an effective tool for integrating current issues into the FTF classroom and encourages a feminist critical reflection and engagement that expands the classroom to a social networking site (SNS). In addition, Facebook facilitates goals of feminist pedagogy such as questioning the gendered rela“Post It on the Wall!”: Using Facebook to Complement Student Learning in Gender and Women’s Studies Courses