Instructional Videos: Chunking Content

I'm thinking today about how we can better convey content to our students in instructional videos we might create. I'm hoping that this brief post can summarize a few helpful ideas.

First off, we have to help our students out. We know the content--we're the experts in this stuff, and sometimes we forget that the material is almost always new for our students. I think this is especially true for concepts that we've taught many times; it's old hat for us...so we think students must already have a working familiarity with the ideas as well, yeah? (Or maybe that's just me? I do catch myself regularly so I don't fall into this trap!)

Here's the key idea I hope to convey: if you're going to create instructional videos, right-size your video-based instruction for what students need and help manage the cognitive load while also maintaining attention.

What I mean by that is, we have to be sure we aren't over-taxing students' working memory. The analogy I sometimes use is that working memory is like a glass, and new information to be learned is like water being poured in. The glass can only hold so much water, right? So you can keep pouring it in all you want, but the water will just start spilling over the sides of the glass. Only so much can fit in the glass at a time...and then we have to stop pouring to let students take a drink. :-)

Image by Wallace Chuck via Pexels.com

In the same way, we have to "measure" our instruction to not over-tax students' working memory. There is only so much they can handle at a time. So breaking up instruction into logical chunks is a promising practice to help students engage the new concepts, work with them to understanding, and actually learn the material being taught.

I have four principles I'd like to share that I think will help you to chunk content in useful ways for creating better instructional videos. These are my synthesis of some of the research I've read on creating "better" instructional videos, but the terminology is mine. I'll briefly explain each one here, and I'd love to hear your feedback on these in response.

Principle #1: The Alignment Principle

• The key question: What is your learning target?
• Take aim! Focus your video on ensuring students will understand the concept you are teaching...so they will be able to hit that target!

Principle #2: The Pragmatic Principle

• This sounds sassy, I know...but do you want your students to watch that video you create or not? Seriously, if you're going to take the time to create instructional media...we want to ensure that students will actually benefit by watching that video!
• Tight, focused videos are the rule. I encourage you to put a hard time limit of not more than six minutes. The longer the video, the less likely students are to actually watch it! Six minutes or less, they are likely to watch the whole thing.
• Six minutes might not sound like enough time, and it truly might not be enough time for you. Never fear! It's okay to make several videos! Just break up the longer instructional segment into logical chunks--find those logical breaking points in the flow--and record several shorter videos instead. String them together with some interstitial activities (e.g., reflection, answering a key question, etc.) to give students the opportunity to work with the ideas in your presentation.

Principle #3: The Attention Principle

• The human brain thrives on novelty. Consider ways you can work in something novel that will draw students in and capture their attention.
• Humor, surprise, and dramatic tension can all help keep students' attention focused.
• Stories are a great way to grab not just their heads, but also their hearts--think about ways to infuse a storyline into your lesson.

Principle #4: The Human Principle

• This might sound funny at first, but hear me out: I strongly encourage you to be a real person with your students in the videos you create. What I mean is it's often tempting to record and re-record videos over and over again. I understand this drive very well! I want to come off polished and professional too, and all those "umms" and "aaahhs" drive me batty.
• My encouragement: fight that instinct! Unless you go completely off the rails as you are recording your video, try to do it in just one take. (Okay, maybe two...because practice does help...) But think of it this way: when you present in a live setting, you only get one go at it, right? I understand the desire to have the recorded version come off more polished, because of the re-watchability. (Trust me, I get this!) But I think being a real person wins out overall.
• I encourage you to aim for authentic professionalism, not perfection. Isn't this the truth in all of the courses you teach? You want to be an authentic, real person to your students...and you want to convey yourself professionally. We aren't perfect. (Okay, at least I am not perfect.) :-) We should't pretend otherwise.

So that's my advice. I hope that you might find this valuable--and that your students will find this valuable as well!

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(This post is part of a series offering tips on distance teaching. You can read more about this project here: Distance Teaching Tips. You can also read all of the posts in this series here: Distance Teaching Tips Series.)