46 | JADE
| 47
KATHERINE HAXTON
EVALUATION OF THE USE OF LECTURE RECORDINGS IN CHEMISTRY MODULES
Students were asked several questions relating to their study
practice and where lecture recordings fitted within that (figure
3). Recommended textbooks were the least used resource by all
years, and least useful to third years. Lecture notes are the key study
resource for students, followed closely by doing problems (taken
to mean exam style questions) and then using lecture recordings if
they are available. Under half (45%) of students agreed that lecture
notes contained all that was needed for revision purposes for exams
(statement 2, figure 2). Other internet sources also provided a
significant resource for students.
Discussion
Figure 2: Student perceptions of the value of lecture recordings
within courses and modules (All years, N = 99)
Missing a lecture was not the sole reason for using a lecture recording
with 47% of students noting that recordings were an essential part
of their revision. Short screencasts focussed on single topics were
felt to be better or no different to lecture recordings (statement 1,
figure 2). A quarter of students believed that lectures did not cover
all materials required for examination. Lecture recordings are far
more than catching up with missed classes (statement 4, figure 2)
but it is unclear whether students have time to engage with all the
recordings in full (statement 5, figure 2).
2. Study Practice
The questionnaire was completed by 99 students across three
years of the chemistry course. The paper-based questionnaire was
distributed to first and second year students during the final week
of the second semester which may lead to some bias in responses.
This may be particularly evident in questions regarding attendance
and recordings where a decision not to attend the lecture where this
evaluation was carried out (knowing that it would be recorded) may
already have been made. Reasons for not attending lectures that
were recorded were not sought and so specific attendance data
are not presented. Registers were taken in all sessions and indicate
lower than average attendance for the sessions in which evaluation
took place but within the typical range expected for classes at the
end of the semester. In those responding, the fact that the lecture
would be recorded did not have a significant influence on their
decision to attend the lecture. A small number of students indicated
they made personal lecture recordings and this would encourage
them to attend. This may include those students with permission to
record lectures as part of a statement of needs.
Students were very much in favour of lecture recordings and for as
many lectures as possible to be recorded. In the second year class,
several students very quickly started discussing the need to capture
things written on the whiteboard and also gestures made by the
lecturer such as indicating an area of the screen or using models. It is
for this reason that many second year students indicated that video
would be preferable, acting under the assumption that it would
capture the entire of the front of the lecture theatre. Otherwise, the
projected content and audio were satisfactory for students in all
years. Audio-only was not a popular option.
Figure 3: Student use of different study resources, broken down by
year group.
In order to encourage attendance at the lecture, various methods
have been tried including short multiple-choice quizzes to gain
access to the recording (first year), or attendance requirements. The