How Effective are Videos for Teaching Science? Here’s What the Research Says

Supriya Kamath
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For years, many educators have been using instructional videos in innovative ways to support science courses and laboratory classes. The shift to remote learning last spring has led even more science instructors to utilize video resources, and many now see video as a valuable resource for face-to-face science instruction as well. 

This has raised the question: how effective is the use of video in science education? 

To begin answering this question, we’ve brought together peer-reviewed research and case studies that examine the impact of science videos on student learning outcomes. 

Download JoVE Advantage: Video Effectiveness in Education.

This short report covers the details of each study, describing the impact of JoVE science videos on concept comprehension, engagement, test scores, student confidence in the laboratory and other metrics.

Here are a few highlights from the report: 

– In a peer-reviewed study conducted in a biology course at DeSales University and Clemson University, students who watched a JoVE video relevant to their biology lab performed up to 100% better on pre-lab and post-lab assessments compared to students who only read the lab handouts.

– In a peer-reviewed study conducted in a general chemistry course at the University of California Los Angeles, average test scores increased from 29% to 89% after students watched JoVE videos on key chemistry topics such as enthalpy, entropy and rate laws.

– In a survey conducted in a biology course at St. John’s University in New York, 84.9% of students surveyed found JoVE Core videos to be a useful supplement to their course material. 

“JoVE videos stand out for their brevity,” says Dr. Lara Goudsouzian, Associate Professor of Biology at DeSales University. “The students’ attention is short, and lab time is precious … the JoVE videos covered the most important parts and left out the needless detail. It kept the students’ attention, and it shows in their results.”

Download and read the full report now.