Loading

Frequently Asked Questions About Instructional Videos

What are the benefits of instructional videos?

In online classes, instructor-made videos (i.e., instructor-made lecture videos and/or tutorials) serve as a form of direct instruction, and they are key to increasing instructor presence. In flipped/hybrid classes, instructor-made videos also serve as a form of direct instruction, providing the foundation for the active learning activities that take place in the face to face meetings. Regardless of whether a course is online, flipped or hybrid, instructor-made videos expand student experience beyond the classroom, make content accessible 24/7, create opportunities for self-study, and allow students to learn at their own pace.

Do instructional videos improve student outcomes?

There is research evidence suggesting that instructional videos are a factor in students' success:

  • Hegeman (2015) compared student performance in two College Algebra courses: One that relied heavily on publisher-generated resources as the content provider; and the other that used instructor-generated videos as the primary sources of course content and instruction. Students enrolled in the latter course performed significantly better on all exams and assignments than those enrolled in the former course.
  • Aragon and Wickramasinghe (2016) investigated student success in an online introductory statistics course. One of their key findings was that success in the course was largely influenced by the number of instructional videos watched by students.

What kinds of instructional videos do students engage with the most?

According to Guo, Kim, and Rubin's (2014) large-scale study:

  • 6 minutes is the optimal period of engagement. "Students make it less than halfway through videos longer than 9 minutes" (p. 44).
  • Students engage more with videos where the presentation repeatedly switches between the instructor's talking head and the slides/text, most likely because "a human face provide[s] a more "intimate and personal" feel and broke up the monotony of PowerPoint slides" (p. 44).
  • Khan-style videos which include step-by-step problem solving walkthroughs are more engaging than PowerPoint presentation videos.
  • Students engage with videos more when instructors speak fast and display energy and enthusiasm.

What are students' preferences for video formats?

There is no there is no one-size-fits-all presentation style. Two large-scale field studies conducted by Kizilcec, Bailenson, and Gomez's (2015) investigated students' reactions to two video formats: one showing instructor's face strategically; and the other presenting the instructor's face constantly. The findings were that some students preferred videos with the instructor's face, while others, albeit a smaller proportion, found such videos distracting. This study found no differences in students' learning outcomes across the two presentation styles.

How can I extend the shelf-life of my instructional videos?

An article in Faculty Focus provides helpful insights into this question.

References

Aragon, R., & Wickramasinghe, I. (2016). What has an impact on grades? Instructor-made videos, communication, and timing in an online statistics course. Journal of Humanistic Mathematics, 6(2), 84-95.

Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (March, 2014). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning @ scale conference, 41-50.

Hegeman, J. S. (2015). Using instructor-generated video lectures in online mathematics courses improves student learning. Online Learning, 19(3), 70-87.

Kizilcec, R. F., Bailenson, J. N., & Gomez, C. J. (2015). The instructor's face in video instruction: Evidence from two large-scale field studies. Journal of Educational Psychology, 107(3), 724-739.

Report Abuse

If you feel that this video content violates the Adobe Terms of Use, you may report this content by filling out this quick form.

To report a Copyright Violation, please follow Section 17 in the Terms of Use.