Investigating the Impact of Video Instruction in a High School Chemistry Class

Abstract

High school chemistry students struggle with the unit on moles due to their lack of algebraic skills and understanding of dimensional analysis. Moles is typically taught using the traditional lecture model, however, change was needed to teach the current generation of students. Therefore, the purpose of this action research project was to investigate the impact of integrating video instruction to increase learning and engagement for high school chemistry students studying a unit on moles. Through constructivist ideals, an intervention was designed where students watched a short video at the beginning of each class and collaborated on practice problems, allowing students to be actively engaged and take ownership of their learning. At the end of each class, students completed an exit ticket to check for understanding to determine the effectiveness of the video instruction. Upon completion of the unit, students took a summative assessment and completed a post-survey to assess learning and engagement. This project was important to show how video instruction can affect learning, engagement, and retention with students. Based on feedback from students, my next steps are to convert my traditional lectures into video instruction in my biology and chemistry classes. In order to increase engagement, learning, and retention, I need to continue to adjust my teaching in order to support the current generation of learners.