Why you should let video do some of the heavy lifting in your lessons
I’m old enough to have started teaching just before the introduction of the overhead projector in classrooms, when showing a video to a class meant wheeling in the TV and manoeuvring your pupils into positions where everyone could see. It felt more like refereeing than teaching, and you had to hope that the video cassette you wanted was still in the prep room. I didn’t use video very often!
Now, I have a 50-inch television with access to all that YouTube can provide. It’s so easy to embed into your lesson and it would be a shame not to use it to enrich teaching.
Liberate your time
There’s a place for video in the chemistry lab, particularly as an alternative to bringing the hard to see, unreliable, fiddly or unsafe into class. It also allows you to speed up or slow down time, to pause or rewind, and to rewatch content. When looking at a video, your pupils can stay in their seats; there’s no need for time-consuming set up of equipment and you can even circulate and add additional narration while students watch.
Show students alkali metals
For me, the classic example of video enhancing what you do in the classroom is when teaching the alkali metals. I am not prepared to demonstrate rubidium or caesium reactivity in the school laboratory, yet I don’t believe the demonstration to show the pattern is complete without them. An Open University video allows a clearer demonstration of their reaction with air and water than from behind a safety screen and dramatically demonstrates the pattern. Show students the video after demonstrating lithium, sodium and potassium.
For me, the classic example of video enhancing what you do in the classroom is when teaching the alkali metals. I am not prepared to demonstrate rubidium or caesium reactivity in the school laboratory, yet I don’t believe the demonstration to show the pattern is complete without them. An Open University video (bit.ly/3SOEwX9) allows a clearer demonstration of their reaction with air and water than from behind a safety screen and dramatically demonstrates the pattern. Show students the video after demonstrating lithium, sodium and potassium.
I wouldn’t be without it in my teaching
Demonstrate Le Chatelier’s principle
I am not keen to set up the demonstration of the effect of pressure and temperature on nitrous oxide when I can access a quick two-minute video. A good live demonstration is made doubly difficult by the fact that the experiment must be carried out in a fume cupboard, with its limited visibility, and that ours is against a back wall so I am standing in the way. And so, video is my preferred method of demonstrating this – it’s quick, simple and shows what you would expect it to.
Give instructions
Video is also an incredibly useful way of giving practical work instructions. Use it to support students doing post-16 core practical work. I’ve found this invaluable as a non-specialist teaching post-16 students. You could mute the videos and add your own narration, but I show my students the video and then discuss possible pitfalls and key takeaways. We might also discuss differences between the video and the practical worksheet specific to the exam board.
Video is also an incredibly useful way of giving practical work instructions. Use it to support students doing post-16 core practical work (rsc.li/48kYuyx). I’ve found this invaluable as a non-specialist teaching post-16 students. You could mute the videos and add your own narration, but I show my students the video and then discuss possible pitfalls and key takeaways. We might also discuss differences between the video and the practical worksheet specific to the exam board.
Join the revolution
What revolutionised my approach to giving practical instructions was creating my own hands-on activity videos for my 11–14 and 14–16 learners. I’ve found that pupils respond better to a homemade video, irrespective of quality, and follow instructions more closely than if delivered by any other method. This increases the success of the practicals too.
There are now a number of YouTube channels with explanations of the topics in A-level and GCSE sciences, plus there are the online teaching resources of Oak National Academy with its video-based lessons. Leaving these as cover work is increasingly common and a decent alternative to a textbook option. I also give pupils links to curated video resources to help with homework and revision. Some of the explanations are excellent, carefully scripted to ensure that they flow and covers all points that may be necessary in answering exam questions. These are excellent to learn from.
There are now a number of YouTube channels with explanations of the topics in A-level and GCSE sciences, plus there are the online teaching resources of Oak National Academy (bit.ly/3SMRo03) with its video-based lessons. Leaving these as cover work is increasingly common and a decent alternative to a textbook option. I also give pupils links to curated video resources to help with homework and revision. Some of the explanations are excellent, carefully scripted to ensure that they flow and covers all points that may be necessary in answering exam questions. These are excellent to learn from.
Introduce song
Perhaps controversially, but the final reason I use video in my lessons is song. The ‘mole is a number’ ditty has a great impact on the learning and memory of my pupils. They recognise that the mole is a number too big to comprehend, which goes some way to complement my explanation of why it is a necessary concept in chemistry. I usually find the periodic table song unnecessary, but it can be a fun aside for engaging certain pupils and classes.
To make this approach effective, be discerning when selecting which to use; make it part of the lesson planning, rather than a shortcut. But video is incredibly useful in introducing small details that are hard to see and fiddly to get right, and helps you pass on information in a clear and well planned way. I wouldn’t be without it in my teaching.
Disagree?
Find out why Adam Boxer says you’ll always be better than any video.
1 Reader's comment