28 Apr, 2009
Study finds podcasts lead to higher test scores
Students in an introductory psychology course were divided into two groups: some watched a recorded video podcast of a lecture, available on iTunes U, while others saw the same lecture in a live setting. Students who watched the video lecture scored 9 points higher on average than those who attended the live lecture.
Dani McKinney, the study’s lead researcher, said test scores were most dramatically affected by note taking. Students who watched the video lecture and took notes, McKinney said, scored an average of 15 points higher than their peers in the lecture hall.
The ability to pause and rewind the video lecture played an important role, according to researchers.
“People stop the podcast as they go along,” she said, adding that professors often go too quickly through lecture slides, giving students little time to jot down notes. “When I lecture, I don’t stop unless you ask a question. … A lot of professors act like it’s a race to get through those slides instead of a learning experience.”
So, it’s not the medium (digital video) that’s the difference, it’s what the medium enables – better note taking – that makes the difference.
Source: Podcast trumps lecture in one college study (eSchool News)
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