- Title: Five ways to increase the effectiveness of instructional video
- Authors: Richard E. Mayer, Logan Fiorella & Andrew Stull
- Access the original paper here
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Paper summary
This research paper examines how to improve instructional videos’ effectiveness. The authors identify six principles: dynamic drawing, gaze guidance, generative activity, perspective, subtitles (for second-language learners), and avoiding seductive details (unnecessary visuals). These principles are supported by empirical evidence from various studies conducted by the authors. The paper also provides a historical overview of instructional video use, highlighting past successes and failures. Finally, the authors suggest that further research is needed to confirm the generalizability and mechanisms behind these principles.
What are the key implications for teachers in the classroom?
The sources offer several implications for teachers in the classroom:
- Dynamic Drawing Principle: Rather than presenting pre-drawn graphics, teachers should draw graphics on the board as they lecture. This is especially important for low-knowledge learners, as it helps them focus on the important information in the lesson. It may be particularly important for learners to see the hand that is doing the writing or drawing.
- Gaze Guidance Principle: Teachers should look at the audience while talking and shift their gaze to the board to signal where students should look.
- Generative Activity Principle: Teachers should encourage students to engage in generative learning activities while viewing video lectures or demonstrations. These could include:
- Taking summary notes during a video lecture
- Writing explanations during breaks in the video lecture
- Imitating the actions of the instructor during a video demonstration These activities may be particularly helpful for low-knowledge learners.
- Seductive Details Principle: Teachers should avoid adding interesting but extraneous videos to their lessons. These can distract learners and prevent them from engaging in deeper cognitive processing during learning.
- Subtitles: When students are viewing an instructional video in their second language, teachers should add subtitles and make sure the pace is slow enough not to overload working memory.
The sources note that these principles are tentative guidelines that are subject to additional research.
Quote
This brief review of our research on learning with instructional video shows that progress is being made in developing evidence-based principles for how to design effective instructional video
