Khan Academy and the Effectiveness of Science Videos

My PhD: http://www.physics.usyd.edu.au/super/...
It is a common view that "if only someone could break this down and explain it clearly enough, more students would understand." Khan Academy is a great example of this approach with its clear, concise videos on science. However it is debatable whether they really work. Research has shown that these types of videos may be positively received by students. They feel like they are learning and become more confident in their answers, but tests reveal they haven't learned anything. The apparent reason for the discrepancy is misconceptions. Students have existing ideas about scientific phenomena before viewing a video. If the video presents scientific concepts in a clear, well illustrated way, students believe they are learning but they do not engage with the media on a deep enough level to realize that what was is presented differs from their prior knowledge. There is hope, however. Presenting students' common misconceptions in a video alongside the scientific concepts has been shown to increase learning by increasing the amount of mental effort students expend while watching it.

• Category

  Education

[lastexileruen]

@1veritasium if the sun spontaneously turned into a blackhole, would it pull us in.

[1veritasium]

If it were the same mass as our sun, no. To us the gravitational effect should be the same as it is now so we would orbit like normal. Of course our sun will never become a black hole, only a red giant in 5 billion years, and thereafter a white dwarf...

[Oakley2256]

Fancy using scientific research to analyze science education, what a concept. Well done veritasium.

[Grant Murrell]

I would love to get you (or your videos) out to present to my children's school....

[Kevin Peng]

A lot of schools do that, first they give a preliminary test before they teach them anything, then they decide how hard the course should be based on the results.

[HamHamHampster]

So people pay more attention because they don't want to sound as retarded as the interviewees.  I guess that makes sense.

[to33x]

I personally find that stuff like Khan / OCW are lifesavers especially when you are stuck in a course with a lousy prof assuming that you learn and retain any shit thrown at you. Perhaps where Khan really shines is in the field of higher education where bad profs would more likely be the bottleneck.

[Arceushero]

I know this is what statistics say, but personally i don't learn like this at all. Just my two cents, if a subject is known to be against people's prior misconceptions, why not just give a warning that the video is going to blow their mind? That increases both interest and lets them know that their preconceived notions are wrong.

[Shippolover115]

So you think that you could teach people even the most basic ideas about how the human body works, physics, chemistry, trig, algebra, history, ideologies, culture, and advanced language in a WEEK and have anyone pass a test? Let me ask you something, did you take math beyond what was required for where you live? Actually, first let me ask how old you are and how much schooling you've had so we have perspective. I'm 18 and finishing grade 12 right now.

[Moltak111]

No I mean, give everyone basic school but give them like 1 week of advanced stuff like science, algebra, etc. then at the end of that week give them a test and if they fail it they just don't get to learn those topics.

[Shippolover115]

So when a kid is in Kindergarten and doesn't know the alphabet if they don't know the alphabet, you shouldn't teach it to them?

[Moltak111]

For me education is wasted on the stupid and should only be used to give more knowledge to the people who are already smart.

[Arbmosal]

One of the best videos I ever watched. As a math tutor I will try to apply this in my next course