Higher Education Instructors’ Social Media and Fandom Participation: A Basic Qualitative Study

Abstract

The disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic created a shift in higher education to expand course delivery and pedagogical approaches to accommodate social media and digital storytelling tools. The problem was the absence of a social media and digital storytelling framework based on fandom to support collaborative learning in higher education or postsecondary classrooms. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore United States-based higher education instructors’ perceptions of the influence of the fandom associated with the South Korean music group BTS, social media, and digital storytelling platforms to support collaborative learning. Two research questions investigated instructors’ perceptions and insights gained from their participation in the global fandom associated with BTS. The instructors’ knowledge and skills represented the specific literature gap. Connectivism and transformative learning theories formed the study’s theoretical framework to promote the awareness of fandom as the catalyst for collaborative learning and technical skills development. From two academic forums and online groups associated with the BTS fandom, a sample size of 15 higher education instructors provided perceptions, perceived skills gained, and benefits related to being a part of the fandom. A 14-item online questionnaire and virtual, semi-structured interview protocol were conducted to capture the data. Thematic inductive data analysis confirmed the BTS ARMY fandom as a model for collaborative learning, exhibited by skills gained and instructors’ perceptions of collaboration and learning. The BTS ARMY model can be applied to inform a detailed framework for collaborative learning in higher education.