Impact of social media integration in teaching methods on exam outcomes

Abstract

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the impact of social media integration in teaching methods on exam outcomes. Methods: This study was conducted at Poonch Medical College, Azad Kashmir, Pakistan from November 2018 to January 2019. All 125 students of 4th year MBBS were included in the study. The mean age of all respondents was 22.96 ± 3.25 years. One unit of special pathology was taught using traditional teaching methods and a second unit was taught using traditional teaching methods supplemented by social media. One exam was taken before the integration of social media and a second exam after its integration. Written informed consent was secured from all the participants before starting the project. Results: The mean difference in examination score after social media integration was 8.97 ± 5.23 which was statistically significant (95% CI −7.954–9.988, p <0.001). However, classroom atten-dance was significantly higher before social media integration (95% CI 0.668–0.197, p <0.001). Social media integration provided better examination outcomes for the students and gave voice or space to those who never previously asked questions or participated in the class. Conclusion: Social media broke down the barriers and students communicated with con-fidence. Educationists may work together to create a guideline on how social media can be efficiently incorporated in the education system.