PROJECT

TLDR: My thesis explored the effects of speeded video lectures on comprehension, attention, and learner experience. The knowledge gained from this study would offer actionable insights to both instructional designers and to learners.

Recorded lectures represent a popular means of delivering educational content. However, the length of lectures poses challenges for learner engagement. One solution to this challenge is to increase playback speed. This preserves the content while decreasing the duration of the video. While existing research has largely focused on a limited number of speeds, in two experiments (N = 320), we examined the influence of speeding video lectures across a range of speeds (1.0x, 1.25x, 1.5x, 1.75x, 2x, 2.5x, and 3x) on memory for the lecture material, mind wandering, and the learner’s subjective experience of the lecture. For speeds up until 2x, findings revealed no significant differences in memory for the lecture material, mind wandering, and learner’s subjective experience of the lecture, with the exception that “enjoyment of speed” decreased as speed increased. Beyond a speed of 2x, however, significant impairments in memory for the lecture material and decreases in liking towards both the video lecture and the speed were observed. In addition, the increase in mind wandering with time on task often observed in recorded lectures was not modulated by lecture speed. These results reinforce extant results in the literature on the effects of increasing playback speed on memory for lecture material and add new insights in terms of this instructional strategy’s influence on mind wandering and learner’s subjective experience of the lecture.

*Note: Due to the nature of the project and NDA, I cannot share more details than what is written on this page. If you want to know more, feel free to reach out to me.

INFO

Contributions

Primary Author

Timeline

January 2020-August 2021

Team

Evan Risko, Professor

Laura Bianchi, PhD Student