Writing Good(?) Questions Around Videos
Including questions with videos is recommended in order to shift videos
away from a passive and toward an active learning experience (Brame
2016). Questions associated with the homework assignments were focused
primarily around the process of science and linking concepts discussed
in the video with other course topics. Common question styles included
interpretation of a data figure shown in the video (or found in related
publications), evaluation of a hypothesis proposed in the researcher’s
study, explanation of an outcome reported in the study, and
consideration of which related course topics were illustrated or
applicable to the video content (though not explicitly stated in the
video). Homework 3 received 5-15 times more negative comments about the
homework questions than any other assignment (Fig 5 ). This
homework assignment was the only one that required calculations and also
went the furthest beyond just the content presented in the video, asking
students to extrapolate the concepts in the video to a fictitious
scenario without a worked example. Interestingly, this assignment
received a similar number of positive comments about the homework
questions as other assignments.
In an introductory course of over 300 students, preparedness and
background knowledge on course concepts varies considerably between
students. Homework 3 contained 7 questions which varied in difficulty
and included two challenging questions to prepare students for possible
exam questions. Just two challenging questions led to extreme student
frustration with the assignment, which in retrospect, could have been
alleviated by either explicitly framing the difficulty for the students
before hand (see Importance of Framing section) and/or providing a small
hint within the assignment to put students on the correct logical
‘path.’