Using Educational Videos

How to manage cognitive load, student engagement and promote active learning.

Cognitive Load

• Sensory memory is transient. It may be selected for temporary storage and processing in working memory which has a very limited capacity. 

• Processing from working memory is a prerequisite for encoding into long term memory which is virtually limitless.

• Because working memory is limited, a learner must be selective about what information from sensory memory to pay attention to during the learning process.

Cognitive load theory suggest that any learning experience has 3 components.

1. Intrinsic load: inherent to the studied subject and is determined in part by the degrees of connectivity within the subject. (e.g. blue = azul, low intrinsic load, grammar = higher intrinsic load) 

2. Germane load: the level of cognitive activity necessary to reach the desired learning outcome. (make comparisons, do analysis, elucidate steps). The goal of the learner is to incorporate these ideas into a schema of richly connected ideas.

3. Extraneous load: cognitive effort that does not help the learner towards the desired learning outcome. Can arise from a poorly designed lesson, or due to stereotype threat or imposter syndrome.

Working memory has two channels: audio/verbal-processing and a visual/pictorial channel. Use of both can facilitate learning by maximizing working memory, so long as it is not overwhelming cognitive load.

Signaling:

- Also known as cueing, signaling uses key words to segment information (chunking). Highlight key information and direct learner's attention.

Segmenting:

- Allows learner to engage with pieces of new information and control the flow. Can be accomplished by making shorter videos or a "click-forward" aspect.

Weeding:

-Elimination of interesting but extraneous information that does not contribute to the learning goal. However, extraneous information can be more helpful to an expert learner.

Matching Modality

-Match the modality to the content, fit particular content to match the appropriate channel. Using complementary channels increases retention. 

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Student Engagement

*Most importantly: keep the video short!*

Videos with less than 6 minutes duration tend to have 100% engagement. However, this number drops as the video gets longer: videos between 9-12 minutes receive 50%, and 12-40 minute videos receive 20%.

How to keep students engaged?

Use the conversational style. The use of conversational rather than formal language during multimedia instruction has been shown to have a large effect on students’ learning, perhaps because a conversational style encourages students to develop a sense of social partnership with the narrator that leads to greater engagement and effort. Faster speaking rates and higher enthusiasm can also increase engagement.

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Active Learning

Elements that promote cognitive activity during video viewing can enhance student learning from this medium.

Identify online learning as a type of self-regulated learning. Self-regulation of learning requires students to monitor their own learning, to identify learning difficulties, and to respond to these judgments; in other words, it requires students to actively build and interrogate mental models, practicing metacognition about the learning process. Incorporating prompts can help promote active learning by engaging in cognitive activity necessary to process information. The following strategies have demonstrated success.

1. Package video with interactive questions. Interpolated questions increases student performance as well as makes the video interactive.

2. Use interactive features that give students control. Being able to review / rewind increases better learning outcomes.

3. Use Guiding Questions. Guiding questions may serve as an implicit means to share learning objectives with students, thus increasing the germane load of the learning task and reducing the extraneous load by focusing student attention on important elements.

4. Make video part of a larger homework assignment. Teaching as research has a greater effect. Videos need to be highly relevant in order to be effective. Videos used in conjunction with a relevant problem (such as an assignment) are valued more and improve understanding than when they are not used for homework.

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Summary

• Videos must be short and specific to learning goals.

• Make sure video elements are complementary rather than redundant (audio v. visual).

• Use signaling to highlight important ideas or concepts.

• Use enthusiastic and conversational style to enhance engagement.

• Guiding questions, associated homework assignments, and interactive elements can place education videos in a context of active learning.
  

*These are my notes from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5132380/#!po=4.05405*