Khan Academy’s science videos are a valuable resource but may not promote meaningful learning on their own. Students often think they already know the material so do not pay full attention. When asked what they saw, they remember their own ideas instead of what was presented. Simply presenting correct information is not enough; students’ misconceptions must be addressed to increase mental effort and learning. The most effective video showed an actor illustrating common misconceptions, which students then had to reconsider. This led to higher post-test scores and more reported mental effort, showing that confronting misconceptions can improve science learning from videos.
Khan Academy videos created by Sal Khan have over 2200 videos covering a wide range of subjects including math, history and science.
The author is skeptical that Khan Academy science videos promote meaningful learning for viewers.
The author conducted a study where students watched science explanation videos but showed little improvement in test scores, indicating they did not learn much.
Students often think they already know the material in science videos so they do not pay full attention and falsely remember their own ideas as what was presented.
Simply presenting correct scientific information is not effective as students do not recognize how it differs from their existing ideas.
Addressing common misconceptions in the videos helped increase students’ mental effort and resulted in more learning.
Starting with misconceptions and then explaining the scientific ideas may be a more effective approach for science videos.
Khan Academy videos are a valuable resource but may not be that effective for those just starting to learn science as they do not challenge existing misconceptions.
Increased mental effort while watching the videos translated to more learning for the students.
The author tries to start Veritasium videos by addressing common misconceptions to tackle them effectively.
Khan Academy’s science videos are a valuable resource but may not promote meaningful learning on their own. Students often think they already know the material so do not pay full attention. When asked what they saw, they remember their own ideas instead of what was presented. Simply presenting correct information is not enough; students’ misconceptions must be addressed to increase mental effort and learning. The most effective video showed an actor illustrating common misconceptions, which students then had to reconsider. This led to higher post-test scores and more reported mental effort, showing that confronting misconceptions can improve science learning from videos.
Khan Academy videos created by Sal Khan have over 2200 videos covering a wide range of subjects including math, history and science.
The author is skeptical that Khan Academy science videos promote meaningful learning for viewers.
The author conducted a study where students watched science explanation videos but showed little improvement in test scores, indicating they did not learn much.
Students often think they already know the material in science videos so they do not pay full attention and falsely remember their own ideas as what was presented.
Simply presenting correct scientific information is not effective as students do not recognize how it differs from their existing ideas.
Addressing common misconceptions in the videos helped increase students’ mental effort and resulted in more learning.
Starting with misconceptions and then explaining the scientific ideas may be a more effective approach for science videos.
Khan Academy videos are a valuable resource but may not be that effective for those just starting to learn science as they do not challenge existing misconceptions.
Increased mental effort while watching the videos translated to more learning for the students.
The author tries to start Veritasium videos by addressing common misconceptions to tackle them effectively.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVtCO84MDj8
Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos
Veritasium 2011