Co-operative Learning in the 3rd Space: Facebook as a mediated resource in the English classroom

Social media sites such as Facebook are increasingly seen as a useful pedagogical third space by blending the rapidly emerging and familiar social networking habits of net-literate students with more traditional teaching approaches. Educators can encourage the use of students’ digital communication proficiency in English by using out-of-class co-operative learning processes via synchronous communication technology to promote further learning in the second language classroom of a content-based, General Education course in a Hong Kong university. Instructors tracked the content and type of communication generated each week on a dedicated Facebook site, in addition to eliciting perception-based feedback from students taking this course in order to determine how this approach and activity actually enhanced the teaching experience and promoted enhanced learning outcomes using English. Given the strong element of structure and agency in this type of pedagogy, the instructor operates as facilitator, but with students having a large degree of control over their learning. On the other hand, significant challenges encountered such as privacy, under-engagement and over-engagement were encountered and managed. The need to apply inclusive pedagogies and cooperative working practices is critical as higher education institutions strive to prepare students for their future team-based and co-operative workplace experiences.