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“Like, comment, and share”—professional development through social media in higher education: A systematic review

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Abstract

In recent years, professional learning networks (PLNs) and online learning communities of practices (CoPs) enabled by social media have emerged as a conduit and communal space for faculty members to engage in professional learning. This systematic review provides a current synthesis of research surrounding social media and professional development in higher education. Articles published in peer-reviewed journals between 2009 and 2019 were reviewed and 23 articles that met our selection criteria were included for further analysis and synthesis in this review. Findings suggest that research and practice on social media-supported professional learning is still in its infancy stage. Despite that social media-supported PLNs and CoPs show potential for contributing to faculty professional learning, challenges exist in sustaining faculty participation and engagement, as well as effectively navigating the social media space, especially for novice social media users. Practical implications and future research recommendations are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of STEM Education & Professional Studies, Darden College of Education, Old Dominion University, Norfolk, VA, 23529, USA

    Tian Luo & Candice Freeman

  2. Department of Career and Information Studies, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, 30602, USA

    Jill Stefaniak

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  1. Tian Luo
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Correspondence to Tian Luo.

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Appendix

Appendix

Author and Year

Title

Bombaci et al. (2016)

Using Twitter to Communicate Conservation Science from a Professional Conference

Brock et al. (2014)

A Nontraditional Faculty Development Initiative Using a Social Media Platform

Cahn et al. (2013)

Uncrunching'Time: Medical Schools' Use of Social Media for Faculty Development

Cain et al. (2013)

Social Media Use by Pharmacy Faculty: Student Friending, E-professionalism, and professional use

Donelan (2016)

Social Media for Professional Development and Networking Opportunities in Academia

Gao and Li (2017)

Examining a One-hour Synchronous Chat in a Microblogging-based Professional Development Community

Gao and Li (2019)

Predicting Educators' Use of Twitter for Professional Learning and Development

Greenhow, Li & Mai (2019a, b)

From Tweeting to Meeting: Expansive Professional Learning and the Academic Conference Backchannel

Gruzd et al. (2012)

Connected Scholars: Examining the Role of Social Media in Research Practices of Faculty Using the UTAUT Model

Jippes et al. (2013)

How DO Social Networks and Faculty Development Courses Affect Clinical Supervisors' Adoption of a Medical Education Innovation? An Exploratory Study

Klein et al. (2013)

Innovative Online Faculty Development Utilizing the Power of Social Media

Li and Greenhow (2015)

Scholars and Sovial Media: Tweeting in the Conference Backchannel for Professional Learning

Meisher-Tal and Pierterse (2017)

Why Do Academics Use Academic Social Networking Sites?

Ranieri et al. (2018a, b)

Building Cases for Faculty Development in e-learning: A Design-Based Approach

Schieffer (2016)

The Benefits and Barriers of Virtual Collaboration Among Online Adjuncts

Sullivan et al. (2018)

Faculty Development to Promote Effective Instructional Technology Integration: A Qualitative Examination of Reflections in an Online Community

Trust et al. (2017)

Moving Beyond Silos: Professional Learning Networks in Higher Education

Veletsianos (2012)

Higher Education Scholars’ Participation and Practices on Twitter

Veletsianos and Kimmons (2013)

Scholars and Faculty Members' Lived Experiences in Online Social Networks

Veletsianos and Kimmons (2016)

Scholars in an Increasingly Open and Digital World: How Do Education Professors and Students Use Twitter?

Velsamy and Karthikeyan (2016)

Social Media in the Professional Development of B-School Faculty

Xie and Luo (2019)

Examining User Participation and Network Structure via an Analysis of a Twitter-Supported Conference Backchannel

Xing and Gao (2018)

Exploring the Relationship Between Online Discourse and Commitment in Twitter Professional Learning Communities

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Luo, T., Freeman, C. & Stefaniak, J. “Like, comment, and share”—professional development through social media in higher education: A systematic review. Education Tech Research Dev 68, 1659–1683 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11423-020-09790-5

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