A recent article in the Chronicle for Higher Education explains the value of creating short micro-lectures for your students. By distilling a regular-length course lecture down to its key concepts, you can help your students digest and retain the information after they have listened to the full lecture. This is especially helpful when they are preparing for a test or otherwise studying the material.

The point is not to give them a handout of PowerPoint slides, but to record a very short podcast or video, three minutes or less. Students will need to take notes on what you are saying–as opposed to glancing at a printed handout and stuffing it away in a folder. This repetition, in combination with what they’ve heard in the full-length lecture, will help solidify the information into memory.

Read the Chronicle article for instructions on creating your own micro-lecture.

If you’re looking for more evidence that podcasts and video recordings help students learn, you might want to read this study by Dani McKinney that compares the effects of podcast lectures with PowerPoint handouts in facilitating learning retention. Abstract:

“iTunes University, a website with downloadable educational podcasts, can provide students the opportunity to obtain professors’ lectures when students are unable to attend class. To determine the effectiveness of audio lectures in higher education, undergraduate general psychology students participated in one of two conditions. In the lecture condition, participants listened to a 25-min lecture given in person by a professor using PowerPoint slides. Copies of the slides were given to aid note-taking. In the podcast condition, participants received a podcast of the same lecture along with the PowerPoint handouts. Participants in both conditions were instructed to keep a running log of study time and activities used in preparing for an exam. One week from the initial session students returned to take an exam on lecture content. Results indicated that students in the podcast condition who took notes while listening to the podcast scored significantly higher than the lecture condition. The impact of mobile learning on classroom performance is discussed.”

Read the full article via Science Direct –>

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