MATHEMATICS

SCHOOL BASED ASSESSMENT

Title: An investigation on the impact of Social Media on the academic performance of

students in Form 5 at a High School in Kingston, Jamaica.

Name:

Candidate’s Number

Name of Centre:

Centre Number:

Territory: Jamaica, West Indies

Year of Examination:

Teacher’s Name: M
roshawnn richard senior

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

The successful completion of this research would not have been possible without God, and

the assistance and cooperation of numerous persons. It was a pleasure to have my family on

board and classmates for their wonderful support and the valuable time spent in completing

the questionnaires given.

The members of my family had been encouraging me and giving great assistance on limiting

household duties to do while I was engaged in my studies.

A special thanks to my teacher who guided me every step of the way while doing this project.

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Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 1
PROJECT STATEMENT 3
Introduction 4
Method of Data Collection 5
Presentation of Data 6
Analysis OF Data 7
Conclusion 10
APPENDIX 11
RUBRIC 13

Table of Contents K

2
PROJECT STATEMENT

An investigation on how Social Media impacts learning among Form 5 students at a High

School in Jamaica.

3
Introduction

One of the modern communication sites and social platforms through the virtual medium of

the internet is Social Media. Technology has reduced face to face interaction across the

world, resulting in more individuals interacting through social media. Social Media has

become a fad among youth and especially now with Covid 19.

There are many researches which claim that students spend too much time on Social Media

and this distracts them from their studies and also affects their overall academic performance.

However, there are also many that state that Social Media does not negatively impact

students’ academic performance.

This investigation will seek to

- discover the preferred Social Media App of students at a High School in Kingston.

- determine the amount of time students spend on Social Media and

- identify the impact of Social Media App on students' academic performance.

Data for this project will be obtained through questionnaires.The researcher will prepare the

questionnaire using Google Form and email it to the students in the Fifth Form Year group.

The responses will then be tallied in respective tables. This information will be analysed and

reasonable conclusions drawn. The researcher hopes that this project will provide some

insight into students' thinking and preferences.

Objectives K

Description C

4
Method of Data Collection

In order to collect the data, the researcher conducted a survey,using questionnaires. The

questionnaires were issued through a virtual platform called Google Forms. The impact of the

Covid- 19 Pandemic resulted in the researcher having to use this platform. The questionnaire

as a tool for collecting data was chosen because the participants’ responses would be kept

private and it would be easier and quicker to collect the required information.

The researcher came up with questions for the questionnaire and got the assistance of the

teacher in vetting the questions and the options. Once the questions were approved the

researcher typed them up in Google Form and then emailed them to the Fifth Form students.

Method C

5
Presentation of Data

Table 1 Gender respondents

Gender Frequency

Female 11

Male 24

Table 2 Age of respondents

Age (years) Frequency (f) Midpoints (x) f (x)

14 - 16 16 15 240

17 - 19 19 18 342

∑f = 35 ∑f(x) = 582

Mean Age = 600/35 =17.14

Table 3. Age of respondents by Gender

Gender

Age (years) Males Females

14 - 16 10 6

17 - 19 14 5

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Table showing 2 Shows the range of the social media platforms being used
RANGE Of THE NUMBER OF SOCIAL Frequency
MEDIA

1-2 5

3-4 20

5-6 10

7
Table 3 showing The most frequently used social media platformsTable showing 2 Shows the
range of the social media platforms being used.

Social Media Platforms Frequency

Whatsapp 31

Twitter 4

Instagram 17

Facebook 7

TikTok 16

Youtube 18

Figure 2 shows the most frequently used social media platforms

Table 4 shows The overall average of participants in school

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 Average Frequency

61-70 23

71-80 16

81-90 2

41

Figure 1 shows the overall averages of form five students.

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Table 5 shows the reasons for using Social Media.

Use of Social Media Frequency

Calling/Texting 29

Note-Taking 7

Videos 17

Music 17

Research 21

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Table 6 showing The most preferred Social Media platforms

Social Media Platforms Frequency

Whatsapp 31

Twitter 4

Instagram 17

Facebook 7

TikTok 16

Youtube 18

Figure 2 shows the most Frequently used Social media platforms among form 5 students.

Table 7 shows the Use of Social Media for school work

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 Use of social Media for School Work Frequency

Yes 24

No 11

Table 8 shows the time spent on social media.

Time spent on social media Frequency

1 hours 9

2 hours 2

over 3 hours 24

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Analysis of Data

The survey revealed that 32.4% of the respondents were female while 67.6% were male. Out

of the total number of participants which is 34 people, whatsapp is the most used social

media platform among them with a total of 91.2%. Majority of the participants were active on

3-4 social media platforms .The data that was collected also shows the average of

participants, 23 participants average ranged from 60-70%, 15 participants average ranged

from 80- 90% and 2 participants average was over 95%. The research indicates that 70.6

Respondents used social media for school work.

The survey that 85.3% of the participants used social media platforms to call or text. It was

proven that 70.6% of participants stay over 3 hours on social media.

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Discussion of Findings

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From the information that was collected it was clearly shown that not every student can not

balance social media with school work. Also if they spend more hours on their school work

than social media platforms it will reflect with their grades. Its Excellent to see seventy point

six percent of participants using social media for school work

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Conclusion
In conclusion the investigator would say that social media have affected their school work but

not entirely. It's up to the students to be responsible and set aside the distractions.

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17
APPENDIX
Copy of questionnaire
Dear Students,
Good evening everyone, .My name is Shemeka Harris, a student at the Kingsway High

School. This study is being conducted for my Mathematics School Based Assessment. Please

answer the questions honestly.

Thank you
Yours respectfully,
S. HARRIS

The questions are to be answered with a tick 🗹 in the appropriate box.

2. Which age group are you in?

18
 Less than 1 year
1 - 2 years
3 - 4 years
More than 4 years
4. How many Social Media platforms are you active on?
1-2
3-4
4-5

5.Which Social Media Platform do you prefer to use?(Select ONE)

6. Which of the following do you mainly use Social Media for?

7. How much time do you spend on Social Media?

19
 Yes
No
Unsure
9. How often do you use Social Media each day for Academic work?
Less than 1 hour
1 - 3 hours
4 - 6 hours
Never
10. Do you think the use of Social Media reduces the time you have for your studies and have
a negative impact?
Yes
No
Unsure

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