I see the significance of all the categories of change in educational psychology that Mishra, Koehler, and Greenhow outline (2015); however, if I were to pick two that most shaping my research in students’ literacy and identity development on social media (SM) I would choose: studying phenomena and developing theories.
SM space is a new context for literacy and identity work. The phenomena that happen online are only just being understood and fully separated from/compared to offline experiences. In particular, the informal vs. formal learning dichotomies are expanded into a spectrum on SM (p. 30). In earlier discussions we considered whether informal learning on SM has a place in formal education and what boundaries should or should not be crossed. This point of conflict is integral to the research questions I am designing and looking to answer.
Additionally, determining what theories of identity and literacy development transfer to SM and in what ways they apply are still being explored. Even though the authors suggest that the affordances of big data may diminish the relevancy of theory, I remain unconvinced (p. 37). Until we fully understand the new phenomena, I think there is a place for theory; sweeping trends from big data risk missing the richness of details and depth that’s uncovered in the development and refinement of theory.
Identifying literacy and identity on SM and placing them in meaningful frameworks are the first steps to grounding future research in this evolving field. I consider describing phenomena and refining/defining theory to be paramount to the work I hope to contribute.
I think you make an important point in connecting the phenomena and theory categories of change. I will admit that as a scholar, I still struggle with getting a handle on the role and importance of theory in research. One of my favorite metaphors for thinking about it, though, is Magic Eye pictures. Data, especially when there’s a lot of it, can look like a big jumble of nothing, much like a first glance at a Magic Eye picture. But a theory can serve as a strategy for looking through the data, like one looks through a Magic Eye picture, to see a coherent picture. I think new phenomena, and data about them, have particular tendency to look like jumbles, making theory development important.
I know exactly the image you’re referencing!
Yes, I think some of what I have most enjoyed learning in my first year in this program is about the range of theories available and how they can be used. Even when it comes to forming research questions, it is difficult to know what to ask unless you have some sense of context for how that phenomenon is understood. I struggled immensely to brainstorm what I could study that connected identity, literacy, and social media at first, but as soon as I cracked open some books on identity and literacy theory, I was immediately inspired.
Hi Sarah – You make an excellent point. Researchers need to understand the phenomena of social media before we can discount traditional theories and findings. I think we are currently doing this by empirically studying social media (hence your work). How can we ever understand what theory to generate if we don’t fully understand how students are engaging and learning from social media. During your time in EPET, are you hoping your work will help generate new theory, or even significantly expand existing theory? Similar to Katie, I often find myself more energized by practice then theory. Though I understand how theory can inform such work in it’s stages of infancy and beyond.
Hi, Sarah.
I think you made a smart choice here when you decided to talk about theory. That word is at the heart of learning to be a professional “scholar” who is qualified to do academic research. Of course many people produce all kinds of reports studying various phenomena. What makes academic research different is the way academics analyze data through different theoretical lenses. So, it’s great that you are focusing on theory as you develop your research interests.
You write of “the richness of details and depth that’s uncovered in the development and refinement of theory.” An example or two would strengthen this argument. A standard bit of advice for writers is: show, don’t tell. Basically, try not to make sweeping statements without providing some appropriate level of detail to back them up.
I know you’re a good writer, but this week it seems like you were writing your post in a rush. So, in case it’s useful, here’s a bit of feedback on the writing in your post:
“two that most shaping my research” – shape
“This point of conflict is integral to the research questions” — If you’re talking about a point, “pivotal” might be a better word than “integral.” A pivot happen on a point. If you want to use “integral,” then instead maybe you talk about the conflict being an integral ingredient in your research. Integral is about something that is baked in; it’s not a word that’s associated with “point.” It’s not a big deal, but in the good old days of copy editors, I knew people who cared a lot about that kind of word choice.
“determining what theories of identity and literacy development transfer to SM and in what ways they apply are still being explored” — Passive voice is the problem here. It can make sentences wordy and hard to follow. If you add a subject at the beginning of the sentence, that fixes it. Researchers are still determining..
“Identifying literacy and identity on SM” — Too much identity in one phrase.
Again, you’re a fine writer and we all run out of time making these posts. So, I hope you don’t feel like I’m picking on your writing. I’m just taking a small moment in remembrance great copy editors I have known. That whole profession basically has disappeared — thanks to the info technology and new literacies we are all studying.
Overall, nice job with this post. I look forward to reading your contributions to theoretical debates in the years ahead.
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