Using Educational Video in the Classroom Theory, Research and Practice

 
How does video promote learning? 
There is a pervasive belief, increasingly being challenged by research, that 
television and video viewing is a passive activity in which viewers are only superficially 
reactive to what they are watching, and one that will, over time, hamper or displace 
academic achievement. However, recent studies support the theory that viewing is instead 
an active process, one which can be “an ongoing and highly interconnected process of 
monitoring and comprehending” and “a complex, cognitive activity that develops and 
matures with the child’s development to promote learning” (Marshall, 2002, p. 7).
Mayer (2001) explains that viewing, while it may appear to be passive, can 
involve the high cognitive activity necessary for active learning: “well-designed 
multimedia instructional messages can promote active cognitive processing in students, 
even when learners seem to be behaviorally inactive” (p. 19). The content and context of 
the viewing are both crucial elements for engaging students as active learners. Content 
should be age- and skill-appropriate, as “the content one watches may be a truer 
determinant of future academic success than the amount of time one spends watching 
television” (Stanovitch & Cunningham, as cited in CPB, 2004, p. 8). Other aspects of 
video that have been demonstrated to engage students in active learning are its address to 

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multiple forms of intelligence, its use of multiple modes for content delivery and its 
emotional appeal to viewers.
Multiple Intelligences 
According to Gardner’s multiple intelligences theory, an individual possesses, in 
varying strengths and preferences, at least eight discrete intelligences: linguistic, logical-
mathematical, spatial, musical, bodily-kinesthetic, interpersonal, intrapersonal and 
naturalistic (Gardner, 2006). “The relative strengths and weaknesses among and between 
these intelligences dictate the ways in which individuals take in information, perceive the 
world, and learn” (Marshall, 2002, p. 8). This represents a great departure from the 
traditional view of intelligence, which recognizes only verbal and computational ability 
(Brualdi, 1996).
Gardner’s theory suggests that the manner in which subject matter is conveyed 
will influence that individual’s ability to learn, and that teachers need to take all of these 
intelligences into account when planning instruction (Brualdi, 1996). While traditional 
textbooks often take a primarily linguistic approach to learning, video’s multiple modes 
can take a variety of approaches, such as aesthetic, logical or narrational, in addition to 
linguistic, thus addressing the needs of a broader range of learners: “These ‘multiple 
entry points’ into the content are especially valuable in a formal educational setting, as 
they offer greater accommodation to the multiple intelligences of a diverse group of 
students” (CPB, 2004, p. 7).