Political Science Educator: volume 29, issue 2
Reflections
By Elizabeth I. Dorssom (DorssomE@lincolnu.edu)
College students rely heavily on social media for news, and substantial research shows that these platforms shape young people’s political knowledge and engagement (Boulianne 2009; Sweet-Cushman 2019; Tierney 2024). In previous work, I described how integrating social media into introductory political science courses can encourage media literacy and help students connect course concepts with real-time political developments (Dorssom 2025). This essay expands on that earlier work (originally centered on synchronous, in-person American Government courses) by applying the approach to online, asynchronous American Government courses, where social media serves as a bridge between self-paced course content and the constantly shifting political environment students encounter every day.
Asynchronous instruction presents unique advantages for using platforms such as X, Bluesky, or Threads. Students can explore curated current events at their own pace, revisit explanations of political stories as needed, and practice evaluating sources outside class while still receiving structured guidance. This creates a learning environment that mirrors their daily media behavior yet anchors it in the analytical frameworks of political science.
Meeting students where they already are
My teaching philosophy begins with a simple premise: Students learn more effectively when instructors build on the tools and habits that they already use in daily life (David and Weinstein 2024). For asynchronous students—who often balance coursework with work, caregiving, or nontraditional schedules—this matters even more. Social media provides an opportunity to anchor course material within students’ existing digital routines while helping them develop the analytical skills necessary for navigating a noisy, fragmented information ecosystem.
But that same ubiquity of social media also exposes students to a flood of mis‑ and dis-information, which can distort their understanding of civic and political issues. Empirical work shows that digital media literacy—including critical thinking and the ability to evaluate news credibility—significantly improves students’ capacity to detect fake news on social media and resist misleading content (Orhan 2023). Teaching students to scrutinize sources, cross‑check facts, and question visually or emotionally manipulative posts can therefore be an essential defense against disinformation (Frontiers 2024; Surjatmodjo et al. 2024).
Integrating current events into asynchronous instruction
A core component of the course is consistent exposure to current political events. In a face-to-face course, I do this through a “Politician of the Day” segment at the beginning of class. For asynchronous students, I replicate the experience through a structured weekly module. Each week’s content includes:
- A curated set of current events drawn from reputable sources e.g., Reuters, BBC, NPR, The Washington Post, Pew Research Center, local news stations)
• A brief written explanation of 1–3 political stories
• A prompt encouraging students to connect the story to a concept from the week’s lecture or readings
This routine helps students recognize how public officials’ decisions shape everyday life and reinforces the idea that politics is not abstract but lived and immediate. I offer students 5 points extra credit if they respond with a thoughtful response. Below is an example “Politician of the Week” post.
Below is the Politician of the Week post for the week ending in 9/5. For 5 extra credit points, reply with a thoughtful response to this week’s news!
This week, U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. faced a tense Senate hearing over his handling of COVID-19 vaccine policies. Kennedy defended his decision to scale back vaccine recommendations and overhaul federal health agencies, including firing thousands of employees and replacing scientific advisors with vaccine skeptics. His actions have drawn criticism from both Democratic and Republican senators, as well as major medical organizations, who argue his moves could undermine public health and disregard scientific evidence.
Kennedy has maintained that his approach is based on “gold standard science” and believes immediate action is necessary, even before studies are complete. The controversy highlights the ongoing debate over public health leadership, scientific integrity, and the role of politics in health policy.
Former President Donald Trump recently announced that the U.S. Space Command will be headquartered in Alabama, reversing a previous decision made under President Biden. This move highlights how incoming or former presidents can influence federal agency locations, which can impact local economies, military strategy, and political priorities. Critics argue such decisions can be politically motivated, while supporters emphasize national security and strategic planning benefits.
In August 2025, Andrew “Mac” Warner, a top official in President Donald Trump’s Justice Department, requested access to Dominion Voting Systems equipment used in the 2020 election in Jasper and McDonald counties, Missouri. Both county clerks declined, citing legal restrictions and the absence of the equipment. Warner, formerly West Virginia’s secretary of state, has previously promoted unfounded claims of election fraud. This request raises concerns about federal overreach and the integrity of election processes
Using social media as a teaching tool
To bridge course content with students’ online media habits, I use X (formerly Twitter) as the primary platform for sharing current events and modeling responsible news consumption. Although X continues to be the most convenient tool for this purpose, alternatives such as Bluesky or Threads can be used in similar ways depending on institutional preferences or student access. Before engaging with these platforms for course activities, I provide students with guidance on platform policies, community guidelines, and typical user constituencies. This helps them understand the broader social and technical landscape, including issues like moderation, algorithmic curation, and the diversity of viewpoints they are likely to encounter. To support critical thinking, I also carefully curate content from reputable sources and provide prompts that encourage students to evaluate credibility, identify bias, and connect stories to course concepts.
The key to keeping the experience organized is using a course-specific hashtag. For American National Government, I use #PSC203. Whenever I come across a relevant political development, I post the news story on X with the course hashtag. Students can access these posts without needing to scroll through unrelated content or follow every account I follow.
In asynchronous settings, this structure offers several advantages:
- Flexible engagement: Students interact with current events at times that fit their schedules, allowing them to balance coursework with work, caregiving, or other responsibilities without missing critical learning opportunities.
- Review and reinforcement: They can revisit posts multiple times when completing assignments or preparing for exams, which supports retention, reflection, and deeper understanding of complex political topics.
- Real-time observation: They observe political news unfolding in real time rather than relying solely on static course materials, helping them understand how political processes and decisions evolve and why timing matters in policymaking.
- Exposure to credible sources: They gain exposure to vetted, reputable sources, which helps counter the misinformation common on social media and encourages the development of critical media literacy skills, including evaluating bias, credibility, and context.
This approach helps students connect theoretical concepts—such as federalism, separation of powers, and the role of institutions—with tangible examples drawn from real-world political developments.
Several students have noted that this exposure as well as the Politician of the Week post has helped them:
- “The weekly politician post keeps me informed about what’s going on in the U.S.”
- “The current event posts made me want to be involved in politics.”
- “Seeing news sources through the class made me realize which ones I had never questioned before.”
Why asynchronous integration works
Asynchronous students benefit from flexibility but often struggle to maintain consistent engagement with political news. Integrating social media provides a rhythm to the course: even without real-time lectures, students have ongoing touchpoints with contemporary politics.
This approach performs a lot of important functions in the class:
- Encourages regular interaction with current events. Students are prompted to check in frequently, which helps them develop the habit of staying informed and noticing patterns in political behavior over time rather than encountering news only sporadically.
- Helps students connect course concepts to real political developments. By pairing weekly stories with themes from the lectures and readings, students see abstract ideas—such as veto points, public opinion, or institutional power—manifesting in ongoing events, which strengthens comprehension and retention.
- Builds digital literacy alongside political knowledge. The structured exposure to vetted sources and platform norms helps students practice evaluating credibility, identifying bias, and understanding how information circulates in online environments—all essential skills for navigating today’s media ecosystem.
- Reduces barriers to credible information. Many students either do not know where to look for reliable reporting or feel overwhelmed by the volume of content online. Curated material lowers that threshold by giving them a stable starting point from which they can explore further with confidence.
- Fosters civic engagement by showing students how politics affects them directly. When students encounter news tied to policy decisions, community issues, or public institutions they interact with, they begin to see politics as something that shapes daily life, not as a distant or abstract enterprise.
A 2024 survey found that 75 percent of college students use social media as their primary news source (Tierney 2024). Meeting students within that environment not only improves comprehension but also prepares them to navigate a complex, often polarized media ecosystem.
Conclusion
Updating social media pedagogy for asynchronous political science courses acknowledges the realities of students’ digital lives. By using these platforms they already engage with daily, instructors can enhance media literacy, strengthen civic awareness, and connect course content with the fast-moving world of contemporary politics. Social media integration—when structured, transparent, and tied clearly to learning outcomes—offers a powerful way to bridge academic learning with real-world engagement for today’s asynchronous learners.
References
Aprin, Farbod, Pascal Peters, and H. Ulrich Hoppe. 2024. “The Effectiveness of a Virtual Learning Companion for Supporting the Critical Judgment of Social Media Content.” Education and Information Technologies 29: 12797–12830. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10639-023-12275-6?
Boulianne, Shelley. 2009. “Does Internet Use Affect Engagement? A MetaAnalysis of Research.” Political Communication 26 (2): 193–211. https://doi.org/10.1080/10584600902854363
David, Luis, and Netta Weinstein. 2024. “Using Technology to Make Learning Fun: Technology Use Is Best Made Fun and Challenging to Optimize Intrinsic Motivation and Engagement.” European Journal of Psychology of Education 39: 1441–1463. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10212-023-00734-0
Dorssom, Elizabeth. 2025. ”Using Social Media in American Government Classes to Encourage Political Engagement and Media Literacy.” Political Science Educator. 28(2) Orhan, Ali. 2023. “Fake News Detection on Social Media: The Predictive Role of University Students’ Critical Thinking Dispositions and New Media Literacy.” Smart Learning Environments 10: 29. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40561-023-00248-8?
Sonni, Alem Febri. 2024. “Disinformation and Digital Media Literacy: Strategies for Enhancing Critical Thinking on Social Media.” Social Sciences 13(8): 418. https://doi.org/10.3390/socsci13080418
Sweet-Cushman, Jennie. 2019. “Social Media Learning as a Pedagogical Tool: Twitter and Engagement in Civic Dialogue and Public Policy.” PS: A Political Science Journal 52 (4): 763-770.
Tierney, Laura. 2024. “FOSI | Large-Scale Survey Reveals How Students Are Using Social Media in 2024.” Www.fosi.org, January 29. http://www.fosi.org/good-digital-parenting/large-scale-survey-reveals-how-students-are-using-social-media-in-2024.
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Elizabeth Dorssom is an Assistant Professor of Political Science at Lincoln University of Missouri, where she regularly teaches American National Government, State and Local Government, and Political Methodology. She has received multiple teaching awards in recognition of her innovative and technology-driven pedagogy.
Published since 2005, The Political Science Educator is the newsletter of the Political Science Education Section of the American Political Science Association. As part of APSA’s mission to support political science education across the discipline, APSA Educate has republished The Political Science Educator since 2021. Please visit APSA Educate’s Political Science Educator digital collection.
Editor: Matt Evans (Northwest Arkansas Community College)
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