We examined the potential for peer review in student-created videos to facilitate collaborative engagement and active learning in large/online courses, while simultaneously improving student media literacy. This session will describe the study and the process for guiding students through the assignment without the need for any prerequisite training.
Collaborative group work has been identified as highly effective in promoting positive learning outcomes among students (Ertmer et al 2007). However, in large class sizes, opportunities for meaningful interactions between instructors and students are scarce, thereby limiting possibilities for the integration of active learning in course curriculum (Cuseo, 2007). Such impediments are especially salient in online learning environments and may possibly explain prevalent concerns regarding the effectiveness of online instruction (Gaskell and Mills 2014). Although several tools for facilitating collaboration in online learning environments exist, the best approaches to using these tools are understudied.
The use of video-based assignments for active learning is particularly promising in the education context. However, such assignments are still very rare in comparison to written assignments. Such video-based projects can enable students to participate in their own learning processes, as they are better able to take charge of what they learn and thereby construct their own knowledge in a more suitable manner (de Sousa, Richter, & Carisma, 2017). For instance, Hafner & Miller (2011) found that through a video production project, students developed autonomous learning behaviors, engaging in critical reflections, and independent decision making and action taking. Through this means, students are likely to become more engaged and build the capacity to express themselves in ways they normally would not in a typical learning environment. However, while most students are familiar with traditional written-essay assignments, video production assignments are still rare.
Furthermore, peer feedback is an important aspect of collaborative and active learning as it allows students to participate in a collaborative learning process where they co-construct knowledge as a result of socially interacting with each other during the feedback giving and receiving process (Gunawardena, Lowe, & Anderson, 1997). And given the pressure associated with face-to-face forms of feedback, online peer feedback has become a more appreciated form, as people are more comfortable airing their opinions about other people’s work without having to face them directly. Such online peer review pushes students to write balanced comments with an awareness of the audience’s needs and with a level of anonymity that allows peers to make critical comments on each others’ writings (Guardado & Shi, 2007). The value of online peer reviews have been identified in media-rich contexts such as digital photography and crowdsourced design techniques (Yuan et al (2016; Xu & Bailey, 2013), For instance, Yuan et al (2016) found that, with guidance, inexperienced student designers provided a level of feedback that is considered almost as valuable as that by experts, and that such guidance also increased the likelihood of more positive, specific and helpful peer feedback. And Xu & Bailey (2013) found that, participating in an online critique community of others digital works enhanced participants’ perceptions of creative work. However, the majority of online peer review research focuses on text-based content. Online video-based peer review in particular, considering its potential as a pedagogical tool for active learning, has received minimal research attention. Our research contributes to this area.
We describe a study that we performed at a large research one university where a class of approximately 300 students were given an assignment designed to guide them through the process of creating a video assignment. Students in the class were able to complete the production of a video assignment regardless of previous video making experience (approximately 60% of the class had never produced any video utilizing more than one video clip or performed any type of video editing). As well, little to no additional time investment was required of the instructors as the students provided feedback to one another.
The approach we describe is the utilization of peer review to facilitate active online learning through collaboration. Peer review (or peer assessment)—the process of producing and receiving feedback with fellow students (Nicol, Thomson, & Breslin, 2013)—has gained popularity as a valuable approach to increasing personal motivation, content understanding, and ultimately student learning (Ballantyne, Hughes, Mylonas, 2002; Vickerman, 2009). The cognitive process of providing comparative and constructive feedback to peers—as well as parsing the feedback received from peers—is more involved than that required for completing their work in isolation, and thus helps students improve the quality of their own work, especially when given the opportunity for revision (Ertmer et al. 2007; Liu, Lin, Chiu, & Yuan, 2001).
Video-based peer review has the potential to harness the advantages of this type of assignment while facilitating online interactions that address some of the challenges posed by online classes. Our research addresses the specific question of how to guide a student-created video assignment in online course contexts to help students advance their own video-creation skills—and their self-efficacy related to those skills, as well as their general self-efficacy in performing a novel behavior—as a means of enhancing their active learning in the course through engagement with their peers. We also examined students’ perceptions of the feedback to understand the value students place on such a feedback process, in order to determine how to better design such process for more desirable outcomes. Our findings indicated gains in students’ confidence in their video creation skills as well as their general self-efficacy. We also found that students generally considered the process as being positive and helpful and such perceptions typically contributed to their gains in confidence in their video creation skills. The mixed-method study presented here is based on a collaboration between university and industry researchers, using a novel video feedback platform. Findings are applicable across a wide range of education and training contexts and provide insights relevant to educators, researchers, education technology developers, and practitioners.
Participant Interaction:
Participants will be given a chance to simulate the use of the software we used in the study with sample content relevant to the presentation. We will address questions regarding the use of the software as well as concerns about peer review, generally. We will focus on resistance to submitting unpolished work as well as insecurities about providing feedback regarding domains where one lacks expertise.
Session Goals:
The primary goal of the presentation is to demonstrate how attendees can easily add video essays to their existing courses. We will show how, using video-based peer review—designed to efficiently facilitate online peer feedback—instructors can feel confident incorporating video essays into their curricula. Participants in the session will be able to replicate this project in their own classes. Administrators and technologists will be able to share these assignments with faculty in their institutions. Implementation of the assignments can be accomplished without the need for previous knowledge of video creation, editing, or peer review.