Using Educational Video in the Classroom Theory, Research and Practice

Motivation and Affective Learning
One of the greatest strengths of television and video is the ability to communicate 
with viewers on an emotional, as well as a cognitive, level. Because of this ability to 
reach viewers’ emotions, video can have a strong positive effect on both motivation and 
affective learning. Not only are these important learning components on their own, but 
they can also play an important role in creating the conditions through which greater 
cognitive learning can take place.

---

7
Marshall (2002) details three theories that explain how learning may occur via 
well-selected video “based on the ability of the entertaining media to engage the learner, 
activate emotional states, initiate interest in a topic, and allow for absorption and 
processing of information” (p. 7). Arousal Theory deals with how communication 
messages evoke varying degrees of generalized emotional arousal and how concomitant 
behavior can be affected while a person is in this state. Short-Term Gratification Theory 
deals with affective and motivational components such as enthusiasm, perseverance and 
concentration. Finally, Interest Stimulation Theory posits that entertainment promotes 
learning and creativity by sparking a student's interest in and imagination about a topic.
The visual messages of multimedia are processed in a different part of the brain 
than that which processes textual and linguistic learning, and the limbic system responds 
to these pictures by triggering instinct, emotion and impulse (Bergsma, 2002, as cited in 
CPB, 2004). Memory is, in turn, strongly influenced by emotion, with the result that 
educational video has a powerful ability to relay experience and influence cognitive 
learning (Noble, 1983, as cited in CPB, 2004).
 
How does research support the use of video in the classroom? 
In the era of No Child Left Behind, any educational initiative must result in 
increased student achievement as measured by systematic, empirical research. Television 
has been evaluated for over 50 years for its educational value, and an ever-increasing 
body of research indicates that television and video are effective teaching tools, with 
positive outcomes in both academic and affective learning. A survey of this research 
conducted in 2004 by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting concluded that “children’s 

---

8
viewing of educational television has been shown to support significant and lasting 
learning gains” and that “a positive relationship has been found between childhood 
viewing of educational television and cognitive performance at both preschooler and 
college levels” (p. 2).