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The use of recorded lectures in education and the impact on lecture attendance and exam performance

Wiley
British Journal of Educational Technology
Authors:
Nynke Bos at Inholland University of Applied Sciences
Nynke Bos
Caspar Groeneveld
Caspar Groeneveld
Jan van Bruggen
Jan van Bruggen
Jan van Bruggen
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Saskia Brand-Gruwel
Saskia Brand-Gruwel
Saskia Brand-Gruwel
  • This person is not on ResearchGate, or hasn't claimed this research yet.
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Abstract

Universities increasingly record lectures and make them available online for students. Though the technology to record these lectures is now solidly implemented and embedded in many institutions, the impact of the usage of recorded lectures on exam performance is not clear. The purpose of the current study is to address the use of recorded lectures in an authentic setting by focusing on the actual time spent on the usage of recorded lectures and the impact on lecture attendance and exam performance.
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The use of recorded lectures in education and the impact on
lecture attendance and exam performance
Nynke Bos*, Caspar Groeneveld, Jan van Bruggen and Saskia Brand-Gruwel
Abstract
Universities increasingly record lectures and make them available online for students. Though
the technology to record these lectures is now solidly implemented and embedded in many
institutions, the impact of the usage of recorded lectures on exam performance is not clear.
The purpose of the current study is to address the use of recorded lectures in an authentic
setting by focusing on the actual time spent on the usage of recorded lectures and the impact
on lecture attendance and exam performance. The participants were 396 first-year university
psychology students attending a mandatory course on biological psychology. During the
course, student attendance to face-to-face lectures was registered and the viewing of the
recordings monitored. Results revealed that a large amount of students used the recorded
lectures as a substitute for lecture attendance. The group who uses recorded lectures as a
supplement when developing a knowledge base score significantly higher on the assessment.
When assessing higher order thinking skills, no significant differences were found between
using recording lectures and attending lectures. This can be partly explained by relatively low
predictive value either form of lectures have on exam performance.
DOI: 10.1111/bjet.12300

Supplementary resource (1)

The use of recorded lectures in education and the impact on lecture attendance and exam performance
Data
October 2015
Nynke Bos · Caspar Groeneveld · Jan van Bruggen · Saskia Brand-Gruwel
... Some researchers have found no difference in short-or long-term retention of material between those that had a live lecture compared to a recorded one. [2][3][4] Other studies demonstrated a weak performance advantage when the assessment focuses on knowledge, but this advantage is lost when the assessment includes higher order skills such as application and integration. 3 Attendance at live lectures has been found to be a key variable in learning, regardless of whether recorded lectures were accessed. ...
... [2][3][4] Other studies demonstrated a weak performance advantage when the assessment focuses on knowledge, but this advantage is lost when the assessment includes higher order skills such as application and integration. 3 Attendance at live lectures has been found to be a key variable in learning, regardless of whether recorded lectures were accessed. 5,6 Positive aspects of lecture recording include flexibility when learning occurs, the ability to fill in content missed or misunderstood in lecture, and a potential weak improvement in academic performance in limited situations. ...
... 4,8,13 In a study by Bos et al., viewing recordings seemed helpful for knowledgebased questions, but no benefit for higher order or application type questions. 3 This has implications for health profession programs where application is germane to the professional practice. 3 As noted in the present study, approximately 50% of the questions on any given assessment included higher order thinking skills such as applying knowledge, analyzing data, or evaluating information and making decisions. ...
Educational Lessons from a Pandemic: Lecture Recording and Learning Outcomes
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Purpose: The use of lecture capture (LC) in higher education classrooms has increased, especially since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic; however, its effectiveness as a learning strategy is largely untested in graduate students. In undergraduate students, the use of LC has mixed findings related to academic performance. Some studies show no improvement in assessment or course grades while others show small gains. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of LC on academic performance in graduate doctor of physical therapy students (DPT). Methods: In module 1, students received two virtual synchronous lectures which were recorded and uploaded to the learning management system (LMS). A sample of convenience of second year DPT students enrolled in a cardiovascular and pulmonary course. Scores on quizzes and exams and viewing data were extracted from the LMS, and students completed a survey about their experience with LC. A Mann-Whitney U was performed to compare grades amongst students who watched recordings versus those who didn’t. A linear regression was performed to determine if a duration of video viewing was associated with better performance. A similarity test was used to compare the quiz and exam scores for module 1 and module 2 for those students who watched one video or two videos. Results: Fifty-eight students met inclusion criteria (58/67). No duration of video viewing was associated with better performance on the quiz (p= 0.423) or unit exam (p=0.754). There were no significant differences between students who watched the recorded lectures and those who did not on either quiz (p=0.732; Table 3) or exam performance (p=0.773; Table 3). Lastly, the similarity scores for those who watched both videos were a 0.98 for the quizzes and 0.92 for the exams, again showing similar performance whether or not students viewed the videos. Conclusions and Recommendations: No performance advantage was found for viewing recordings despite students' positive perception of their utility. Professors should recommend the best-fit learning modality for each student, as LC may not be of benefit.
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... For instance, Al-Qahtani and Higgins (2013) found that blended learning significantly boosts student achievement. Bos et al (2016) observed that the model enhances student initiative and creative thinking, while Rovai and Jordan (2004) concluded that blended learning fosters increased social interaction and a stronger sense of community among students. These findings collectively suggest that blended learning positively impacts student learning outcomes. ...
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... VLC allows students to acquire knowledge at their own pace outside the classroom (Bos et al., 2016). Flexibility brings students into spatial, epistemological, and professional contexts within which knowledge is transmitted and reproduced. ...
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Purpose The present study aims to analyse the presumed relationship between VLC use and students’ grades. Design/methodology/approach The research strategy unfolds as a case study (Yin, 1994), framed by how undergraduate students of pharmaceutical sciences used video lecture capture (VLC) and the impact of VLC on pedagogic differentiation. Looking at the course of Mechanistic Toxicology (MecTox), the objective is to describe this case of pharmaceutical sciences in depth. Findings The findings reveal that over 90% of students engaged with VLC videos, with the average viewing time exceeding the total available video minutes, indicating strong student engagement. The study particularly highlights VLC’s positive impact on students with lower academic performance (grades D and E), suggesting that VLC can help reduce the performance gap and support a more inclusive educational environment. Research limitations/implications The findings may have limited generalisability beyond the specific context and sample used. However, this study allows the research findings to be compared with previous research (Remião et al ., 2022), contributing to the debate on how pedagogic research can promote evidence-based decisions regarding innovative strategies. The meaning of educational inclusion processes and diversity is, thus, contingent on the institutionalisation of research as a practice of teaching and learning. Practical implications The results of this study thus provide interesting insights for the design of strategic action, considering the diversity of students as seen in parents’ academic qualifications and students’ conditions (e.g. student-workers, living away from home, holding a grant of economic and social support). Social implications The implications of research findings for society bring the issue of equity in education to the fore. By addressing the diverse needs of students, HEIs can contribute to greater educational equity. Originality/value Using VLC as a differentiated pedagogic device might give diversity “real” content insofar as institutional and national policies can mitigate the possible negative effects of parents’ low academic qualifications and the students’ conditions of living away from their residence area and holding a grant of economic and social support.
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... A szervezeti elkötelezettség az egyik leggyakrabban mért változó a szervezetfejlesztésben, és szorosan összefügg az elégedettséggel és a munkahely megtartásával. Fontos, hogy a tanárok esetében a szervezeti elkötelezettség pozitívan korrelál az elégedettséggel, illetve negatívan a munkahelyről történő kilépési szándékkal (Conley-You 2009;Zeinabadi 2010;Bos et al. 2016). ...
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... With the rise of audiovisual media and telecommunications from the 1920s to the 1960s, learners were no longer bound to a physical location or to direct real-time interaction with educators, by being able to access educational content remotely and/or in a pre-recorded format [1]. Later, the semicondutor industry enabled greater efficiency in classroom tasks that would otherwise be resource intensive, freeing time that learners and educators could use to pursue more nuclear and complex educational objectives [2]. ...
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... These include cultivating a positive and cheerful disposition among teachers to foster both mental and physical well-being, checking on students regularly, and adopting an approach that refrains from undue emphasis on perfection. Additionally, teachers have found practical strategies such as utilising recording methods to be practical (Bos et al. 2016). ...
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