Chemistry courses are often referred to as “weed out classes” due to the complexity of the subject. While chemistry can be daunting to comprehend, there are ways to aid students in reaching comprehension. Through multimedia such as YouTube, students are able to take in words and visuals simultaneously to enhance learning. Mayer’s research for multimedia use in education breaks down the principles of multimedia that affect learning outcomes. The goal of this research is to better understand the effectiveness of YouTube educational content in chemistry by creating codes from the principles Mayer has outlined in his work. This in turn will help content creators design videos and educators better employ multimedia all in an effort to enhance learning outcomes. Over the fall semester, a new scheme for data analysis was designed based on both Mayer’s Multimedia Principles published in 2021 and an original scheme created from an earlier edition published in 2009. The new edition included increased research on previous principles which aided in identification and specification. Through this process, an old code book of seven codes using a high (principle present) and low (principle absent) rating system was transformed into a code book with twenty codes, some using high/low rating while others employed a number of instances rating to provide a more robust analysis of the YouTube content. Numerous students seek out YouTube as an aid in their learning, and understanding the quality and learning outcomes of these videos will help students better learn and comprehend chemistry.
Author(s): Melinda Barman, Chemistry and Science Education Major
Michelle Mancini, Biochemistry Major
Advisor(s): Ellen Yezierski, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
KatieMarie Magnone, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
Jennifer Ebert, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry
You must be logged in to post a comment.