Matthew Kling

EDIT – 677
Action Research Project

EDIT 677-Final Action Research Project

Introduction:

The question that was proposed originally for the Action Research Project

for this course was “Does learner engagement and reception of content increase

with teacher made videos / products rather than videos or other technology

created by someone else?” This question relates directly to all teachers who are

implementing instructional videos in to their lessons. Teachers in our county are

required to use technology everyday either for instruction or reinforcement of

content. Students view material for their subjects on a daily basis using Youtube

and other multimedia productions. Are the more likely to learn a concept better

from their own teacher’s product or a video or module created by someone else?

Our students would be directly impacted by this question. Student output is

measured on a daily basis with what the students produce. Digital content takes a

good amount of time to create. Some teachers are more talented than others

when it comes to creating video or multimedia projects. For this study, I chose to

keep it as basic as possible. The videos I created in this study were lower level

skill videos. This means that a teacher with limited production skills could create
something like my videos in a rather short period of time. There are many fancy

products that students would react well with, but I was more intrigued to see what

their reactions would be on just basic grammar and vocabulary videos.

Review of Literature:

For this project, I read several online articles about this topic. The first

article I read, called “Using Video to Improve Teaching and Support Teachers”

indicates that most school districts have a limited budget when it comes to

technology, and that more and more teachers are creating their own videos and

multimedia. The author of this article explains well that teacher made products do

enhance engagement with high school students. The means of creating the videos

in the schools in the article were small and inexpensive. The teachers were able to

produce videos in a short amount of time and effectively engage their classes.

Another source that I used for my research was a TED talk video by Sal

Khan. The video was entitled “Let’s Use Video to Reinvent Education” A big point

that the speaker makes during his video, is that the content he is creating never

gets old. The videos that he produced can help students now and then later on.

Teachers have found instructional videos to be an extremely valuable resource in

their teaching repertoire. The information can be viewed over and over for
reinforcement. Another point that he made that is very relevant to my proposal is

that his students were more engaged when they were familiar with the presenter.

That statement was very crucial to my proposal. Is it worth all the time to create

my own videos and modules for my students? Would the outcomes and students’

performance be better because they had watched a teacher produced video rather

than one from someone else? Those questions would be answered based off of my

study.

Methodology:

For my study, I found a relevant topic that I would use with my Spanish II

classes. The topic that was chosen for this study was the preterit tense. This is a

past tense in the Spanish language that most Spanish II students see across the

country. There are hundreds of videos and websites that can teach as well as

provide practice for this topic. The preterit tense can be one of the hardest

tenses or grammar ideas for English speakers to comprehend.

In the process, I found several videos that were created either by other

teachers or universities. Several hours were spent watching the resources and

narrowing them down to what I thought would be the most appropriate for high

school students in 11th grade. The video that was chosen was created by the
Spanish Dude. He is a popular Spanish teacher and language enthusiast on Youtube.

He has created videos and explanations for all levels of grammar, vocabulary and

cultures. His videos are usually just talking head videos with some basic verb

charts included. A teacher looking to mimic this style could very easily create a

similar video with Screencast-o-Matic or Jing. These two programs are very easy

to use and could be taught to colleagues in a short amount of time. Usually his

videos are raw and have very little editing, similar to something that a teacher

could create very easily and quickly.

After viewing the video several times, I created a similar one. The same

topics were presented and taught using a talking head video. I produced the video

in my classroom during my planning period and did it in one take. There was very

little editing and the video was uploaded to Youtube. Students were able to access

the video during class time via Google Classroom.

I teach two Spanish II classes. As a teacher, I would attest that the skill

level in language learning is relatively the same in both classes. This was a variable

that I thought about, but since both classes are on the same level, the experiment

and observations would be valid.

 The first class (3rd block) was shown the video that I produced. Students

throughout the class were engaged in the lesson and viewed the material several

times. They were required to write notes down while watching the production. The

video lasted 6 minutes and afterwards students took a basic online quiz at

Studyspanish.com. The website is fantastic and provides free quizzes and

grammar help to Spanish language learners.

The quiz was 20 questions and the results were measured. Out of 23

students, 18 scored 16 or better. The other 5 made slightly lower, but the results

in the opinion of the teacher were satisfactory.

I asked students afterwards what they thought of the video. They were

asked directly if they would be more likely to watch a video I made rather than one

from someone else. All 23 students stated that they would be more like to watch a

video that their teacher made rather than one from someone else. Even though

the video was thrown together relatively quickly, the students were engaged and

produced solid results.

For the other class (4th block), they were shown the video produced by the

Spanish Dude. His video was about 10 minutes long and the students again took

notes about what they had viewed. Afterwards the students took the same quiz.
There are 26 students in my last block. Out of the 26, 19 produced a score of 16

or higher. The other 7 students scored lower.

I asked the student their opinions about the video. Most replied that it was

helpful, while several others said that they lost interest and that the video was too

long.

Analysis of Data:

As mentioned above, two studies were completed with Spanish II students

at Socastee High School. Students were given instructional material through

online videos on the preterit tense and then a 20 question quiz based off of what

they viewed. The variables in this study were the videos. One was produced by

their teacher; another was created by a Spanish language enthusiast. The tables

below contain the data, which are the scores from a 20 question basic quiz:

3rd Block ~ Teacher Video

16 or higher
12 or higher
10 or higher
below 10
 4th Block ~ Non Teacher Video

16 or higher
12 or higher
10 or higher
below 10

From this study, the students who made 80% or higher with the teacher

made video was 18/23 or 78%

For the non-teacher produced video the students who made 80% was 19/26

or 73%. The results were in favor of the teacher produced video, but not

overwhelmingly.

Findings:

The results of this study were surprising to me. I thought for sure that the

students’ outcomes would be more in favor of the teacher produced video. The

students seemed more engaged and focused with the teacher produced video

rather than the video created by the Spanish Dude. For the first time seeing the
topic, both classes picked up on the material relatively quickly. This was

impressive, I think that it has to do with them being able to see and view the video

over several times. In a traditional stand in deliver, students would see it once and

then be told to apply it to a worksheet and then wait for feedback. With the video

and online assessment, they received feedback immediately. This is one of the

major walkaways from this study that both types of instructional videos either

teacher created or other appropriate videos are valuable to students. The results

of the study showed that even though they were presented with different

teachers, the material could be learned and that one did not overly outperform the

other.

While student enjoyment was a factor, the results did not overly represent that. I

believe that if a students in enjoying the class than they are learning more.

Finding and using appropriate videos and materials is a challenge but has shown to

be beneficial to learners. Some will work better than others and some will be more

engaging. There are many factors that will vary from year to year such as

students’ personalities and cognitive abilities. These videos may not work as well as

they did next year. This study will need to be repeated over the years to make a

better judgement in regards to the original proposal. As of now the results are not

inconclusive enough for me. I believe that my students will learn from whomever as
long as the video teaches in a method that is appealing to them. I will continue to

create videos for my learners as it is something that I enjoy doing for them.

Matthew Kling

Word Count: 1622

Bibliography:

1. Let's Use Video to Enhance Education. (2018). [video] Directed by S. Khan. Ted
Talk: 2011: TedTalks,.

2. Trucano, M. (2018). Using video to improve teaching -- and support teachers.

[online] Edutech. Available at: http://blogs.worldbank.org/edutech/using-video-
improve-teaching-and-support-teachers [Accessed 15 Apr. 2018].

2.