National survey reveals student trends in social media use, education

The National Survey of Student Engagement, released Nov. 15, revealed a variety of trends affecting students today.

The report, “Promoting Student Learning and Institutional Improvement: Lessons From NSSE at 13 — Annual Results 2012,” provides results from a 2012 survey of 285,000 first-year students and seniors attending 546 United States colleges and universities, according to a press release.

The survey showed as many as one in three students choose not to purchase academic materials, such as textbooks, because of cost.

The effect of social media was also highlighted in the study.

Nine of 10 students utilize social media to connect with family and friends, according to the press release.

Many of the students also use social media for purposes of education, according to the survey, and students who used social media in classes for purposes not related to education tend to receive lower grades.

Students involved in high-impact practices, such as service-learning and senior theses, showed higher levels of deep approaches to learning, or approaches that call upon “high-level thinking” instead of memorization, according to the press release.

“These findings offer compelling evidence that positive change is not only possible, it’s happening on many campuses,” Alexander C. McCormick, NSSE director and associate professor at IU, said in a press release.

The complete findings of the survey can be viewed at nsse.iub.edu.

— Matt Stefanski