STUDENTS CREATE YOUTUBE VIDEOS: EVIDENCE OF MEANINGFUL LEARNING - ALANDRA WELLER-CLARKE, PHD MISTOP

Students Create YouTube
     Videos: Evidence of
    Meaningful Learning
       Alandra Weller-Clarke, PhD
       MISTOP
       February 21, 2014

Background
®   In its report, the National Council for Accreditation of
     Teacher Education (NCATE, 2001, p.7) highlights the
     challenge:
     To what degree are higher education institutions meeting
     their responsibility for preparing tomorrow’s classroom
     teachers? Bluntly, a majority of teacher preparation
     programs are falling short of what needs to be done…colleges
     and universities are making the same mistake that was made
     by K-12 schools; they treat “technology” as a special addition
     to the teacher education curriculum- requiring specially
     prepared faculty and specially equipped classrooms- not a
     topic that needs to be incorporated across the entire teacher
     education program…[Teachers] rarely are required to apply
     technology in their courses and are denied role models of
     faculty technology in their own work.

Call To Action
   ®   Teacher educators need to prepare teachers ‘who can utilize
        technology as an essential tool to developing a deep
        understanding’ (Drier, 2001, p. 173) of not only theories but
        pedagogy.
   ®   We need to prepare preservice teachers and educators to use
        technology by not only integrating it into our classrooms, but
        provide them with the tools on how to effectively utilize it in
        their future classrooms as well.
   ®   This training should not be a discreet component of learning
        as a particular method for a particular subject matter, rather
        integrated as a means to an end, like another more creative
        outcome in the arena of assessment.
   ®   We need to infuse technology into all aspects of teacher
        education (Willis, 2001; Li, 2003a) and emphasize learning
        with technology, not from technology (Jonassen et al., 2003).

Purpose
 v This paper examines the issues of integrating technology into
 an undergraduate educational psychology course.

 v It presents an approach to provide information that can be
 useful in implementing rational changes to teaching educational
 psychology or learning theories.

Main Objectives for Students
    q Demonstrate an understanding of psychological, cognitive, and
    social psychological theories essential for teaching, counseling, and
    working with K-12 students

    q Apply different psychological theories to specific teaching or
    social service situations

    q Recognize and analyze age-level and developmental
    characteristics with special emphasis on the behavioral, emotional,
    physical, social and cognitive components

    q Demonstrate skill in use of relevant multimedia technology and
    educational internet resources

Theoretical Framework
§ The course was theoretically grounded in cognitive research (Bruer, 1993)
   and constructivist learning theory (Vygostsky, 1978; Young, 1997).

§ Simulations, hands-on homework assignments, group work problem-
   solving, and elaborate creative projects were the norm for this course.
   The goal of the instructor for this course aligns with the thinking: “The
   important point is that…the educational goal for social constructivists is to
   create social environments that encourage students to construct their own
   understanding’ (Lin et al., 1999, p.47).

§ Based on this belief, the course was designed to integrate technology with
   students’ real-life experiences in order to allow the preservice teachers to
   develop skills and advance their understanding of basic learning theories.

Data & Data Collection
  Data
  ®   Thirty seven students enrolled in an undergraduate
       education psychology course participated. Students
       enrolled in this required course were typically in their
       early twenties. This is the only required course that
       focuses on child and adolescent development and
       educational learning theories.
  Data Collection
  ®   In this study, several data collection techniques were
       used to ensure triangulation. The primary sources of
       data included the end of course survey, the instructor ’s
       journal, and the video artifacts. In the following, each
       data source is described as well as the information each
       source was expected to provide.

Instructor ’s Journal
®   Throughout the semester, a journal was kept to record
     reflections on activities, student concerns, rubric decisions,
     administrative issues, human and electronic resource
     availability, and the overall experience in general. This bi
     weekly journal documented both positive and negative
     experiences, a well as pedagogy notes for future classes.

Threaded discussion
®   At each of the four due dates, students were asked to view each
     others’ videos on D2L, discuss their findings and then vote on
     those they viewed best of class. They needed to reflect, critique
     and evaluate their personal interpretations regarding others’
     explications established in the videos. The purpose of the
     threaded discussion was twofold: one, to promote knowledge
     construction, and two, to eliminate popularity or other bias.

Uploaded videos
®   Four videos were created for the following theories:
     1. Personal, Social & Emotional Development;

     2. Individual Differences;
     3. Behaviorism;
     4. Social Cognitive Theory.

     o   Videos allowed students to create what each theory meant to them as
         future educators and psychologists.

     o   Students not only imagined themselves utilizing these concepts, but
         applied them to practical everyday teaching situations, thus constructing
         meaningful learning for their next lives as teachers, psychologists,
         educators, social workers, etc.

Data Analysis: the surveys
ü Surveys were first examined quantitatively for frequency counts.

ü Likert-scale options for the responses delivered feedback for the Techniques of instruction
   according to “not helpful, somewhat helpful, and very helpful.”

ü As for the Methods of Assessment, student chose between “none, somewhat, and very well.”

ü This Course Compared to Most was broken down into less, same, more, and much more.

ü Student Characteristics, Influences (feel better about skill), and YouTube Comments were
   simply true or false choices.

Data Analysis Continued
ü The three open-ended questions were aggregated, summarized and coded relating to
   particular themes. These emergent themes were identified and a coding scheme was
   developed.

ü Close examination of the instructor journal, the threaded discussion, the videos, and
   the survey were placed into the scheme.

ü To ensure reliability, the emergent themes were triangulated across datasets.

ü Finally, concept maps from the narrative portions were constructed to organize
   particular categories and the frequency counts were charted to make
   interconnections explicit.

Results
The analysis of the data revealed that the following two themes are
particularly prominent:

1) preservice teachers’ attitudes about using technology in classrooms
   improved; and

2) as the videos represented learning theories, students improved their
   understanding of educational psychology as applied to teaching. Their
   learning was clearly MORE MEANINGFUL to them.

Ed Psych Survey on Learning
Techniques of Instruction: What techniques did you find helpful in learning the content for this
course? (please check one box per technique)
                                                          Not Helpful   Somewhat Helpful      Very Helpful

 Reading the textbook	
                                   3%	
            62%	
            49%	
  
 Taking notes/ highlighting during lectures	
             0	
             27	
             73	
  
 Personal stories told by the professor as examples	
   0	
               5	
              94	
  
  In-class group work (brainteasers, etc.)	
              0	
             13	
             86	
  
 Simulations (disability day, reinforcement/              0	
             5	
              94	
  
 punishment exercise)	
  
 Constructive approaches (multiple intelligence           5	
             40	
             54	
  
 group lessons; YouTube videos)	
  
 Movies to reinforce ideas and offer different            3	
             13	
             84	
  
 viewpoints on topics	
  
 In-class debates (holiday party & 4 day week             5	
             38	
             57	
  
 topic)	
  
 Open discussion with classmates	
                        5	
             35	
             61	
  
 Homework portfolio projects	
                            0	
             32	
             68	
  

ü Do you believe there is a correlation between the techniques you believe as helpful also are more fun and
more motivating?
           100% Yes         0% No

ü Do you believe these techniques are useful to college students as well as k-12 students
           100% Yes        0% No

Methods of Assessment:
How did each method of assessment help you learn the material best?
                                                           None             Somewhat         Very well
         Vocabulary/ textbook quizzes	
                          0%	
        57%	
            43%	
  

         Multiple intelligence in class day	
                    3	
         13	
             84	
  
         Review of movie Children in America’s Schools on        0	
         16	
             84	
  
         midterm	
  
         Obituary for Erikson or Kohlberg	
                      0	
         24	
             76	
  
         Describing stages with examples of Piaget or Vygotsky   0	
         27	
             73	
  
         theory	
  
         The YouTube video projects	
                            8	
         51	
             40	
  

This Course Compared To Most:

How would you rate this course to other courses in the amount of:

                                                    Less       Same       More     Much More
   The textbook                                      11%	
     73%	
     13%	
     3%	
  
   Taking notes/ highlighting during lectures	
      5	
       70	
      22	
      3	
  
   Personal stories told by the professor as         0	
       5	
       49	
      46	
  
   examples	
  
    In-class group work (brainteasers, etc.)	
        0	
      24	
      65	
      11	
  
   Simulations (disability day, reinforcement/       0	
       8	
       43	
      49	
  
   punishment exercise)	
  
   Constructive approaches (multiple intelligence    0	
       16	
      51	
      32	
  
   group lessons & YouTube Project)	
  
   Movies to reinforce ideas and offer different     0	
       8	
       65	
      27	
  
   viewpoints on topics	
  
   In-class debates (holiday party & 4 day school    8	
       19	
      49	
      24	
  
   week topic)	
  
   Open discussion with classmates	
                 5	
       62	
      24	
      8	
  
   Homework portfolio projects	
                     3	
       24	
      57	
      16	
  

Qualitative Questions:
Ø Do you feel more likely to use these techniques in your future classroom/
   profession as a result of your personal experience learning with them?
                            100% Yes      0% No

Ø What technique(s) would you add to this course/ project?

Ø Any other suggestions for teaching this course would include:

YouTube Comments:

                                                                         True:     False:
I feel making the videos helped me relate to the theories in a more meaningful way    78%   22%

I feel the videos let me express my learning as an individual (or small group)      81      19

I feel the videos are a great tool for expressing my own interpretation             84      16

I feel the videos should be continued in this class                                 73      27

I feel the videos are too much work                                                 49      51

I feel the videos could be spaced apart for better quality                          86      14

I feel the videos carry the appropriate grade weight for the course                 76      24

I feel more confident about the theories having constructed them myself             84      16

Student Showcase & Reflections:
              Yusra:
* Makes me feel more passionate about the material
* Helps me learn and understand child development better
* Gave me a new appreciation for multicultural teaching

* Result: I now make videos on my own time
* Yo u r o w n v i d e o à 1 0 0 % a t t e n t i o n
* S o m e o n e e l s e ’ s v i d e o à ? ? ? % a t t e n t i o n ; y o u m a s t e r w h a t y o u
  m a k e / t e a c h 	
  

                             Example:Developing A Sense of Self

Mike & Alicia:
* We had a lot of fun making these videos- great assessment!
* We will remember this content far longer than our other classes.
* We really had to get at the social meanings and interpretations in
  order to add examples we wanted to get across.
* We enjoyed showcasing our learning OUR way!

                 Example: Gender Differences Across Domains

Jocelyn:
 • Active Proccess! I was able to create something using my
   ideas, experiences, and talent- drawing.

 • I played a direct role in what I chose to learn and focus
   on. The freedom of expression allowed for more creativity.

 • Thinking critically became necessary as I started to piece
   everything together.

 • Makes the assessment continuous and student contributes to
   assessment using self evaluation.

 • Erickson’s Eight Stages:

                                         Jocelyn's Erickson

Student Presenter:
Mary Donner
Sophomore, Benedictine University

                      The Time Lapse

Thank you for
your attention

     Feel free to contact me via email at:

     aclarke@ben.edu
     & check out student videos on my YouTube Channel:

     DocClarkeVideos