The Use of Screencasting in Higher Education: A Case Study

By Jetmir Abdija, Tunku Badariah Tunku Ahmad and Mohamad Sahari Nordin

Screencasting is a powerful instructional tool for learning, yet few in higher education take advantage of its utility. This book showcases the benefits of screencasting and how it can facilitate students’ acquisition of complex content, like statistics. It is a condensed version of a case study that examined the effects of screencasts on postgraduate students’ learning of advanced statistics. Every chapter guides the reader through the intricate process of conducting the research and gives a complete picture of the design, materials, and instrumentation. If you are a novice researcher and are interested in technology, this book is for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Partridge Publishing Singapore
• Release date: Sep 15, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543747331

Jetmir Abdija

JETMIR ABDIJA was a postgraduate student at the Kulliyyah of Education, International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM), Kuala Lumpur. He currently works as a Learning and Development Consultant at Quintiq, KL. TUNKU BADARIAH TUNKU AHMAD is an associate professor at the Kulliyyah of Education, IIUM with 25 years of teaching experience. She teaches a variety of courses ranging from Instructional Technology to Research Methods and Pedagogy. MOHAMAD SAHARI NORDIN is a senior professor at the Kulliyyah of Education, IIUM. He is a prolific writer and researcher with extensive teaching experience in Educational Psychology, Research Methodology, Advanced Statistics and Assessment.

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Copyright © 2018 by Jetmir Abdija, Tunku Badariah Tunku Ahmad & Mohamad Sahari Nordin.

Library of Congress Control Number:      2018955322

ISBN:                        Softcover                        978-1-5437-4732-4

                                 eBook                               978-1-5437-4733-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, taping or by any information storage retrieval system without the written permission of the author except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

Because of the dynamic nature of the Internet, any web addresses or links contained in this book may have changed since publication and may no longer be valid. The views expressed in this work are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the publisher, and the publisher hereby disclaims any responsibility for them.

www.partridgepublishing.com/singapore

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface

Acknowledgments

CHAPTER ONE BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Web 2.0 And Screencasting In Higher Education

Educational Benefits Of Screencasting

Design Of Educational Screencasts

Statement Of The Problem

Objectives Of The Case Study

Case Study Questions

Significance Of The Case Study

Theoretical Frameworks

Conceptual Framework

Delimitations

Operational Definitions of Terms

Screencasts

Learning of Advanced Statistics

Content Recall

Content Understanding

Construct Validation

Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA)

Perceived Effectiveness of Screencasts

Instructional Design Features

Gaining Attention

Informing Learning Objectives

Recalling Prior Knowledge

Presenting the Content

Providing Learning Guidance

Eliciting Performance

Providing Feedback

Enhancing Retention and Transfer

Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA)

Chapter Summary

CHAPTER TWO LITERATURE REVIEW

Introduction

Uses of Screencasts in Higher Education

Benefits of Screencasting in Higher Education

Screencasting and the Learning of statistics in Higher Education

Effects of Screencasts on Student Learning

Relationship Between CGPA, Learning and Test Performance

Theoretical Frameworks

Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction

Mayer’s Multimedia Learning Principles

Conceptual Framework

Summary of Review

CHAPTER THREE METHODS

Introduction

Research Design

Setting

Participants

Experimental and Survey Participants

Focus Group Participants

Materials

Screencasts

Student Worksheets

Sample Data

Instruments

Achievement Test

Scoring Rubric

Screencast Evaluation Questionnaire

Screencast Evaluation Form

Semi-structured FGD Protocol

Validity of the Instruments

Validity of the Achievement Test and Scoring Rubric

Validity of the Screencast Evaluation Items

Validity of the FGD Protocol

Reliability of the Instruments

Intra-Coder Reliability

Inter-Rater Reliability

Reliability of the Questionnaire Data

Pilot Study

Data Collection Procedures

Data Analysis

Paired Samples t-Test

Pearson Product Moment Correlation

Descriptive Statistics

Thematic Content Analysis

Chapter Summary

CHAPTER FOUR RESULTS

Introduction

Data Screening and Examination

Patterns of Screencast use among the Participants

Effect of Screencasts on Postgraduate Students’ Learning of Advanced Statistics

Examination of Box Plots

Paired Samples t-Test Results Showing Learning Gains

Relationship Between Postgraduate Students’ Learning Of Advanced Statistics And Cgpa

How Screencasts Facilitate Postgraduate Students’ Learning Of Advanced Statistics

Theme 1: The Step-by-Step Demonstrations Provide a Visual Scaffolding for the Acquisition of Skills and Understanding

Theme 2: The Screencasts Empowered a Flexible and Autonomous Learning Style

Theme 3: The Screencasts Promoted Note-Taking that Helped the Learning Process

Theme 4: The Screencasts Used Relevant and Helpful Examples

Theme 5: The Explanation Structure Helped Students to Ease from One Content to the Next

Theme 6: The Screencasts Incorporated Advance Organizers that Guided Learning

Theme 7: The Length of the Screencasts Was Effective in Focusing and Sustaining Attention

Theme 8: The Screencasts Removed Students’ Fear of Learning Advanced Statistics

Theme 9: The Screencasts Increased Students’ Motivation to Learn More about Construct Validation and CFA

Theme 10: The Screencasts Supplemented the Lectures

Postgraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Screencasts

Gaining Attention

Informing Learning Objectives

Recalling Prior Knowledge

Presenting the Content

Providing Learning Guidance

Eliciting Performance

Providing Feedback

Enhancing Retention and Transfer

Summary of Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Design Features

Postgraduate Students’ Views of the Strengths of the Screencasts

Strength 1: Well-Structured, Clear and Concise Content Presentation

Strength 2: Personalization

Strength 3: Good Pace

Strength 4: Clear Voice

Postgraduate Students’ Views of the Weaknesses of the Screencasts

Weakness 1: Insufficient Examples

Weakness 2: Confusing Information

Postgraduate Students’ Suggestions for Improvement

Improvement 1: Include More Examples

Improvement 2: Include Further Clarifying Explanation

Improvement 3: Add Summaries

Improvement 4: Add Visuals

Summary of key Findings

CHAPTER FIVE DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

Introduction

Discussion of key Findings

Research Question One: What Is the Effect of Screencasts on Postgraduate Students’ Learning of Advanced Statistics?

Research Question Two: Is There a Statistically Significant Relationship between Postgraduate Students’ Academic Achievement (CGPA) and Their Learning of Advanced Statistics from the Screencasts?

Research Question Three: How Do Screencasts Facilitate Postgraduate Students’ Learning of Advanced Statistics?

Research Question Four: What Are Postgraduate Students’ Perceptions of the Effectiveness of the Screencasts in terms of Their Instructional Design?

Research Question Five: What Are Postgraduate Students’ Views of the Strengths and

Weaknesses of the Screencasts?

Limitations of the Study

Suggestions for Future Research on Screencasting

Suggestions for the Design of Screencasts as a Teaching and Learning Tool

Conclusion

REFERENCES

APPENDIX A: Student Worksheet

APPENDIX B: Achievement Test

APPENDIX C: Scoring Rubic

APPENDIX D: Screencast Evaluation Questionnaire

APPENDIX E: Screencast Evaluation Form

LIST OF TABLES

Table 2.1 Review of Experimental Studies on the Learning Effects of Screencasts

Table 2.2 Description of Gagne’s Nine Events of Instruction

Table 2.3 Overview of Mayer’s Principles of Multimedia Design

Table 3.1 Summary of the Participants’ Specialization (N = 33)

Table 3.2 Demographic Profile of the FGD Participants

Table 3.3 Summary of the Screencasts Developed for the Case Study

Table 3.4 Summary of Student Worksheets

Table 3.5 Summary of the Achievement Test

Table 3.6 Sample Questionnaire Items Following Gagne’s Instructional Events

Table 3.7 Focus Group Discussion Protocol

Table 3.8 Operationalized Definitions of Gagne’s Events of Instruction

Table 3.9 Item Content Validity Index (I-CVI) of the Questionnaire

Table 3.10 Intra-Coder Reliability Calculation

Table 3.11 Inter-Rater Reliability Calculation

Table 3.12 Cronbach’s Alphas for the Eight Instructional Design Features (N = 33)

Table 3.13 Data Analysis Procedures

Table 4.1 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Gain Attention

Table 4.2 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Inform the Learning Objectives

Table 4.3 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Recall Prior Knowledge

Table 4.4 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Learning Content Presentation

Table 4.5 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Provide Learning Guidance

Table 4.6 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Elicit Performance

Table 4.7 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Provide Feedback

Table 4.8 Postgraduate Students’ Assessment of the Screencasts’ Ability to Enhance Retention and Transfer

Table 4.9 Summary of Postgraduate Students’ Rating of the Screencasts

LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1 Conceptual Framework

Figure 2.1 The Study’s Conceptual Framework

Figure 3.1 The Study’s Sequential Explanatory Research Design

Figure 3.2 Clear Descriptive Title with an Attention-Catching Animation

Figure 3.3 Concise List of Learning Objectives Presented at the Beginning of the Screencasts

Figure 3.4 Step-by-Step Demonstration with Pop-Up Notes

Figure 3.5 Step-by-Step Demonstration with Annotations

Figure 3.6 Screen-Zoom Focusing on Specific Content on the Screen

Figure 3.7 Thought-Provoking Questions Followed by the Answer

Figure 3.8 Screencast Development Phases

Figure 3.9 Student Worksheets

Figure 3.10 Scoring Rubric

Figure 3.11 Screencast Evaluation Questionnaire

Figure 3.12 Screencast Evaluation Form

Figure 3.13 Data Collection Process

Figure 3.14 Interpretation of Cohen’s d Effect Sizess

Figure 4.1 Pretest and Posttest Achievement Scores (N=32)

PREFACE

This book is a condensed version of a postgraduate thesis exploring the use of screencasts to learn advanced statistics by students in a tertiary-level research methods course. The initial research idea on screencasting was sparked by our interest in the Web 2.0 technology as an independent learning tool, and the curiosity to find out whether it could make the learning of complex content, such as advanced statistics, comprehensible and less daunting to students. Using a combination of quantitative and qualitative research methods, we first worked collectively to produce a series of nine screencasts explaining selected topics in advanced statistics, and then tested their effectiveness in a class of thirty-three postgraduate students. For instructional design, we used Gagne’s nine events of instruction and Mayer’s multimedia learning principles to guide the development of the screencasts.

The results we obtained were exciting, not to mention promising. A major finding was that the screencasts significantly improved students’ learning of advanced statistics with an average learning gain of 56.24 marks (over a total of 80) at a very large effect size of Cohen’s d = 5.96. Moreover, we discovered that the participants loved the screencasts and supported the idea of studying with this technology tool, mentioning at least two benefits. Cognitively, they agreed that the screencasts had scaffolded and facilitated their understanding of advanced statistics, a subject matter they considered to be abstract and difficult. Psychologically, their fear of statistics was reduced as students knew they could rely on the screencasts for a personalized instruction anytime, anywhere.

What we found constituted good empirical support for the utilisation of screencasts in higher education courses. Furthermore, our research established the importance of having sound instructional design in developing screencasts for learning at any level. Friends and colleagues were excited about the research—its findings, design, materials development, instrumentation and analysis. It was indeed a rigorous process, so we thought it a shame to just keep the thesis stacked in our library shelves. Hence, this book.

We do hope that you will take away something from it—perhaps something about research, or instructional design, or screencasting, or simply about how you can report research findings or other parts of your thesis. Happy reading.

Sincerely,

Jetmir Abdija

Tunku