class: left, bottom, title-slide # For the Longest Time ## Continuity and Change in One Teaching-Related Subreddit ### K. Bret Staudt Willet & Jeffrey P. Carpenter ### April 8, 2020 --- class: inverse, center, middle # View Slides [bretsw.github.io/site20-reddit](https://bretsw.github.io/site20-reddit) --- class: inverse, center, middle # Social Media in Education --- # Social Media in Education ### Teachers' professional learning <img src="img/teacher.jpg" width="720px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Social Media in Education ### The times they are a-changin' <img src="img/across-time-full.jpg" width="720px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Social Media in Education ### The rise and fall of Myspace <img src="img/myspace.png" width="600px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> [*Image source: Business Insider (2011)*](https://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-the-day-the-fall-of-myspace-2011-6) --- class: inverse, center, middle # Purpose --- # Purpose ### Reddit, over time To investigate *continuity and change* in how users contribute, interact, and converse over time in a teaching-related subreddit <img src="img/across-time-full.jpg" width="600px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- class: inverse, center, middle # Framework --- # Framework ### Affinity spaces within Reddit <img src="img/network.jpg" width="600x" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- class: inverse, center, middle # Reddit Background --- # Reddit Background <img src="img/reddit-logo.png" width="240px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- 1. \#6 website in the United States; \#18 in the world -- 1. Collection of discussion forums (i.e., **subreddits**) -- 1. Threaded discussions: **posts** and **responses** -- 1. Voting: **+1** or **-1** -- 1. Anonymity --- # Reddit Background <img src="img/reddit-example.jpg" width="720px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- # Reddit Background <img src="img/reddit-logo.png" width="240px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> ### Teaching-related subreddits -- Affinity spaces for teachers: -- * Education in general (e.g., r/education) -- * Education level (e.g., r/highereducation) -- * Subject area (e.g., r/historyteachers, r/matheducation, r/MusicEd) --- # r/Teachers ### High participation, teaching-related subreddit **https://www.reddit.com/r/Teachers/** <img src="img/teacher.jpg" width="720px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- class: inverse, center, middle # Research Questions --- # Research Questions <img src="img/question.jpg" width="360" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- ### How has the r/Teachers subreddit changed over time? We explored continuity and change across 3.5 years of activity in the r/Teachers subreddit in three dimensions: -- * individual contributions -- * content interactions -- * social interactions --- class: inverse, center, middle # Method --- # Method <img src="img/reddit-logo.png" width="240px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> ### Data collection -- * **r/Teachers** subreddit -- * 3.5 years (42 months), from January 1, 2016 and June 30, 2019 -- * 696,660 contributions from 55,148 contributors -- * Total of 54,933 posts and 641,727 responses --- # Method <img src="img/reddit-logo.png" width="240px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> ### Data analysis -- * Split data into 7 six-month partitions -- * Then performed quantitative analysis of: -- * individual contributions -- * content interactions -- * social interactions --- class: inverse, center, middle # Results --- #Results ### Individual contributions * slope of the **post** linear regression line: **0.03** (*p* < .001) * slope of the **response** linear regression line: **0.49** (*p* < .001) <img src="img/contributions-over-time.png" width="720px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- #Results ### Individual contributions * overall numbers of subscribers, contributors, posters, and responders all trended upward * recent growth in **observers** (i.e., lurkers) * increased contributions from **super-users** <img src="img/table1.png" width="840px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- #Results ### Content interactions * response rate, responses per thread, words per post, and words per response all appeared to be fairly consistent * mean voting scores for both posts and responses increased steadily <img src="img/table2.png" width="840px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- #Results ### Social interactions * the number of **nodes** (i.e., contributors) and **edges** (i.e., responses) grew * node **degree** remained consistent * **transitivity** decreased, meaning network connections became more evenly spread (i.e., less clustered) * **reciprocity** increased, meaning fewer hierarchical relationships <img src="img/table3.png" width="840px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> --- class: inverse, center, middle # Discussion --- # Discussion * r/Teachers has seen continuity, gradual change, and dramatic change by various measures -- * as r/Teachers has grown, social interactions have become less clustered and more mutual -- * teaching-related subreddits present various opportunities and challenges for novice teacher learning -- * anonymity is a double-edged sword -- * opportunities for new teachers to engage in forms of identity play as they try on their new professional identities -- * comfortable space to process and ask questions without professional scrutiny -- * unknown sources of help mean needing to develop critical dispositions --- class: inverse, center, middle # Conclusion --- # Conclusion <img src="img/across-time-full.jpg" width="480px" style="display: block; margin: auto;" /> -- * social media platforms continue to grow in popularity and potential utility for teachers’ professional practice -- * but, even with growth, there is evidence of both continuity and change over time, as measured by a variety of features -- * more related work is needed! --- class: inverse, left, top # Questions? * **Email:** [staudtwi@msu.edu](mailto:staudtwi@msu.edu) * **Twitter:** [@bretsw](https://twitter.com/bretsw) * **Web:** [bretsw.com](http://bretsw.com) * **Slides:** [bretsw.github.io/site20-reddit](https://bretsw.github.io/site20-reddit) * **R code:** [github.com/bretsw/r-teachers](https://github.com/bretsw/r-teachers)