Generating an instructional video as homework activity is both effective and enjoyable

Abstract

Research with adolescent and university students has shown that after studying a text, teaching its content to a fictitious peer on camera fosters learning compared to restudying. We investigated the effects of generating a teaching video during homework in a sample of primary school students (N = 131) in comparison to restudying and summarizing. Students were provided with a text and a homework assignment over the weekend. The Restudy Condition was instructed to study the text as often as necessary. The Summarizing and Video Condition were instructed to study the text as often as necessary and to then generate a summary or teaching video about the text, respectively. Teaching on video was perceived as more enjoyable than restudying or summarizing, and improved test performance compared to restudying. Teaching on video was not more effective than summarizing; however, summarizing did not improve test performance compared to restudying, as teaching did.