Qualitative and Quantitative Evaluation of Three Types of Student Generated Videos as Instructional Support in Organic Chemistry Laboratories

This study was designed to evaluate the effectiveness of student-generated videos as a supplement to teaching assistant (TA) instruction in an undergraduate organic chemistry laboratory. Three videos covering different aspects of lab instruction (experimental technique, use of instrumentation, and calculations) were produced using student-generated scripts. A laboratory classroom was outfitted with video cameras and sound recording equipment that allowed the research team to monitor all TA student and student student interactions. Six course sections, led by three randomly assigned TAs were selected. Two sections from each TA were observed (control and treatment), each at the same time of day, 1 week apart. Students in the control group had their TA conduct the lab briefing and supervise the lab, but were given no access to the instructional videos. The treatment group had videos available to supplement the TA's lab briefing but was otherwise identical to the control group. Both groups were given a questionnaire that contained two comprehension questions per category to be completed during the lab before performing the experiment. Statistical analysis of the responses to this pre-experimental questionnaire showed that students who watched the videos had a better understanding of the methods than the students in sections that only received the TA lab briefing. Effect size calculations using Cohen's d indicate that the Instrumentation video had a large positive effect on the number of correct responses in the treatment groups, while small effects were found for the Technique and Calculation videos. Content analysis of the lab transcripts supports these findings. In addition to these effects, treatment groups invariably completed the lab in less time than the control groups. Results from a follow-up survey e-mailed to students the week after their lab session show that most students found the videos to be valuable when completing the lab, with the Technique video being generally ranked as most helpful.