Student Perceptions and Engagement in Video-based Learning for Microbiology Education

Online learning increases the physical distance between instructors and students and depending on the mode of delivery, it can be challenging to close this gap. To ameliorate this potential for student isolation, instructors need to communicate to students in a variety of ways, blending original online resources with synchronous interactive learning activities. During 2020, 34 lecture videos were created for a large undergraduate microbiology and immunology course offered at The University of Queensland. The teaching team applied a subset of Mayer’s multimedia learning design principles – embodiment, mixed perspectives, segmenting, signalling – to create videos featuring instructor presence, multiple presentation styles, and dynamic pacing. When compared to voice-over presentations created by automated lecture capture software, the outcomes of this design process increased student engagement in video-based learning across the 2020 and 2021 course offerings. Analysis of student perception data collected by online questionnaires and interviews revealed broad agreement with the design principles used for video-based learning. However, their value of on-screen instructor visibility, graphics, and text was variable as a result of individual preferences. Together these findings present a case study in which instructional videos were developed iteratively through the selective application of multimedia design principles and strategic adaptation of existing learning resources.