Thanks to research by scholars such as Mayer (2001; 2008) and Shrader (2022), most educators understand the limitations of videos in courses.
However, one myth about instructional videos that persists is the "six minute rule." A 2013 study of EdX videos (Guo, 2013) is often cited as a reason educational video should be shorter than six minutes. However, careful readers of the study understand that it did not examine the impact of videos on student learning and that the context for EdX videos, Massive Open and Online Courses (MOOCs), is quite different from for-credit postsecondary courses (Lagerstrom, 2015).
So what does the research say about educational video?
Here are three findings/principles to keep mind when deciding to develop instructional video content for a course:
1. The most effective course videos introduce topics, make connections to students' lives, dispel myths/misinformation, and show demonstrations.
2. Cognitive load, student engagement, and active learning are key elements for the development and use of video (Brame, 2016).
3. There is no connection between video production quality and student learning. What students value is a conversational delivery style and simple production elements. Dart (2020) specifically highlights narration, content scaffolding, and assessment alignment.
To learn more, check out the literature below.
Jaggars, S. S., Edgecombe, N., & Stacey, G. W. (2013). Creating an Effective Online Instructor Presence. Community College Research Center, Columbia University. [LINK]
Basic Principles of Multimedia Learning. (2021). In R. Mayer & L. Fiorella (Eds.), The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (Cambridge Handbooks in Psychology, pp. 143-182). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. [LINK]
Borup, J. (2021). Putting your best self forward: 6 keys for filming quality videos. EDUCAUSE Review. [LINK]
Carmichael, M., Reid, A., & Karpicke, J. D. (2018). Assessing the impact of educational video on student engagement, critical thinking and learning. A SAGE white paper. [LINK]
Castillo, S., Calvitti, K., Shoup, J., Rice, M., Lubbock, H., & Oliver, K. H. (2021). Production Processes for Creating Educational Videos. CBE- Life Sciences Education, 20(2), es7. [LINK]
Fiorella, L. and Mayer, R. E. (2022). The Generative Activity Principle in Multimedia Learning. In The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (pp. 339–350). Essay, Cambridge University Press. [LINK]
Guo, P. J., Kim, J., & Rubin, R. (2014, March). How video production affects student engagement: An empirical study of MOOC videos. In Proceedings of the first ACM conference on Learning@ scale conference (pp. 41-50). [LINK]
Metiri Group. (2008). Multimodal Learning Through Media: What the Research Says [White paper]. Cisco. [LINK]
Rehak, K. (2022). How and Why to Use Asynchronous Videos in Your Online Courses. Faculty Focus | Higher Ed Teaching & Learning. [LINK]
References
Brame, C. J. (2016). Effective Educational Videos: Principles and Guidelines for Maximizing Student Learning from Video Content. CBE- Life Sciences Education, 15(4), es6.
Dart, S. (2020, December 17). It’s not production quality that counts in educational videos – here’s what students value most. The Conversation.
Guo, P. (2013, November 13). Optimal video length for student engagement. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
Lagerstrom, L. (2015). The myth of the six minute rule: student engagement with online videos. Proceedings of the American Society for Engineering Education, 14-17.
Mayer, R. E. (2001). Multimedia Learning. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Mayer, R. E. (2008). Applying the science of learning: evidence-based principles for the design of multimedia instruction. American psychologist, 63(8), 760.
Shrader, C., Kalyuga, S., & Plass, J.L. (2022). Motivation and Affect in Multimedia Learning. In The Cambridge Handbook of Multimedia Learning (pp. 121-131). Essay, Cambridge University Press.
Comments