A Pedagogical Evaluation of Knowledge Acquisition by Social Media Users
Sadia Riaz1, Arif Mushtaq2

1Sadia Riaz, Assistant Professor and Head of Amity School of Foundation Studies at Amity University Dubai Campus. She holds a PhD in Information Technology from the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia.
2Arif Mushtaq, Assistant Professor in MIS department. PhD in Information Technology from the Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS, Malaysia it is technology driven platform that has completely.

Manuscript received on 02 June 2019 | Revised Manuscript received on 10 June 2019 | Manuscript published on 30 June 2019 | PP: 1156-1163 | Volume-8 Issue-8, June 2019 | Retrieval Number: H6602068819/19©BEIESP
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© The Authors. Blue Eyes Intelligence Engineering and Sciences Publication (BEIESP). This is an open access article under the CC-BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/)

Abstract: Learning is remarkably a complex process that is influenced by a variety of factors. Observational learning also referred to as modeling or social learning occurs by observing, retaining, and replicating behavior seen in others. This phenomena is also applicable in the virtual world as social media is massive, full of information and resources which makes it ideal for promoting meta-cognitive processes, active-learning, and connectivism. This primary research was driven by the fact that today’s learning environment has significantly expanded and individuals no longer have to simply adapt to what has been learnt but now have the ability to expand their learning terrain by pushing the knowledge acquisition boundaries of the traditional social learning environment. This study synthesizes the current literature on social learning theory and social media, proposes a conceptual framework to apply Albert Bandura’s social learning theory on social media environment and empirically validates through statistical intervention, effect of Bandura’s social learning theory on knowledge acquisition by social media users. Primary data was collected through questionnaire method and analyzed in Predictive Analytical Software. Factorial ANOVA and Mixed Factorial techniques were used to test hypotheses, while Sphericity was assessed through a Mauchly’s Test of Sphericity. Results were able to substantiate with reliable difference and significance that knowledge acquisition through social learning occurs on social media in the form of non-linear, symbolic and construct/deconstruct learning.
Keyword: Knowledge acquisition, Social learning, Symbolic learning, Non-linear learning.
Scope of the Article: Marketing and Social Sciences.