In 2015, I began making chemistry videos to reduce the amount of in-class lecturing during exam review. Some students needed a detailed reteach of specific content, others only needed a refresher, and still others grew frustrated when I retaught concepts they already understood well. Creating videos provided the flexibility to meet all of these needs. As I became more comfortable with both the approach and the technology, I quickly realized that the flipped classroom was a professional lifesaver. This approach works because of the supports in place at my school. My district has been 1:1 with iPads since 2011, and technology use is fully integrated into our culture. Every student has reliable access to a device, and the district helps families who lack home wifi so that students can complete assignments outside of school.
What does assigning a video as homework mean in my class? In my on-level class, chemistry videos typically range from 10–12 minutes, although some are as short as four minutes or as long as twenty minutes. Each video is paired with a paper copy of the notes for the unit, which students are required to annotate as they watch the video. This may include underlining, adding examples, or summarizing sections. This decision to provide printed notes comes from my own student experience. I often struggled to both listen and take notes simultaneously. I usually chose writing over listening, but felt I was missing important explanations in the process. By providing pre-printed notes, my students can focus on listening and processing while adding their own annotations.
The most common question I get asked by other educators is: How do I get my students to watch my videos. I will start by saying that there will always be students who refuse to watch the videos. Every year without fail I will have a handful of students that refuse. A rare few can read through the notes and, with the support of the hands-on activities and labs done in class, do relatively well. The others are the same students who would have chosen not to write on the notes if I had actively lectured in class or refused to engage overall.
One of the most common questions I get from other teachers is: How do you get students to actually watch the videos? The reality is, there will always be a small handful who refuse. Some of those students manage to do relatively well by relying on labs and class activities, but most are the same students who would have ultimately disengaged during traditional lecture. For the majority, extrinsic motivation works. Video completion counts toward their participation grade (5% of the overall average) and each video is entered in the gradebook as a formative assessment. Depending on the unit, students may complete anywhere from five to twelve videos, with the number determined by the complexity of the content.
My on-level and advanced placement chemistry videos are housed in Edpuzzle where I embed 3–4 formative assessment questions per video. The final question always asks if they have any questions that I should address in class. This turns video-watching into an active process that holds students accountable rather than a passive task.
At the beginning of the year, I make expectations for video grades clear. Since these videos are typically watched prior to engaging in the content in class, I understand that these are formative assessments. Students have the ability to improve their video grades before a unit exam if they chose to do so. Video grades are assessed on completion (the student watched the video to the end), timeliness (the video was watched before the due date and time), and accuracy.
- Video completed on time with a grade ≥50% = 100%
- Video completed on-time with a grade <50% = 50% (video is reset to allow the student a single opportunity to retry for 100% if completed prior to the unit exam).
- Video completed late with a grade ≥50% = 75%
- Video completed late with a grade <50% = 0% (video is reset to allow the student a single opportunity to retry if completed prior to the unit exam but no higher than a 75%).
- No attempt = 0%.
With the video grades being a part of a 5% participation grade, one might think that students would choose not to complete them. The other extrinsic motivator is that watching the videos is the only way to earn extra credit on an exam. No other extra credit opportunities are given. If a unit has 5 videos, a maximum of 5 points of extra credit could be added to their unit exam grade. A unit with 10 videos has a maximum of 10 points of extra credit. For units that have more than 10 videos (such as our former organic unit), extra credit still maxes out at 10 points. Students quickly learn that watching the videos, annotating the notes, and working hard to answer the embedded questions to the best of their ability pays off in the end.
The final aspect is to make clear that watching the videos and answering the questions without annotating the notes will not earn extra credit. On the day of the exam (or the day before), students must show me their annotated notes. This is one of many reasons why notes are still written on paper, rather than being digital. In pen, I draw a unique symbol in the upper corner on the first and last page of their notes in PEN. That way, they cannot share the notes with a classmate from a different class. I do not accept digital notes, as it is too easy to share annotated notes from one classmate to another. Establishing clear and consistent grading guidelines and reinforcing that extra credit is earned exclusively through watching the videos and annotating their notes has resulted in the majority of my students completing the video assignments.
I do not expect my students to come to class absolutely understanding everything from one of my videos. What I do expect is exposure to the content so the concepts can be actively reinforced in class through lab investigations, group activities, and small and whole group discussions. Having clear grading expectations for video assignments tied to extra credit is one method that results in more efficient use of instructional time and greater accountability for student learning.