Improving Learning Outcomes and Metacognitive Monitoring: Replacing Traditional Textbook Readings with Question-Embedded Videos

When students effectively engage with textbooks or videos prior to class, more active and collaborative learning activities can be incorporated into subsequent face-to-face learning. Such pre-lecture assignments are particularly important in flipped classrooms, where a portion of the content is delivered primarily before face-to-face instruction. While a large amount of research has addressed the need to improve active learning during lectures, little work has examined the need to improve out-of-class preparation. Most often, out-of-class preparation consists of videos or assigned textbook readings, but question-embedded videos have also been shown to be effective. When using question-embedded videos, students must pause the video and solve problems as they watch the video, transforming their passive video watching into an active learning experience. Here, we present the results of a randomized control trial study that compares learning behaviors and outcomes between students using content-equivalent resources: organic chemistry textbook readings or question-embedded videos. We found that students who used question-embedded videos for their preparation had significantly higher learning gains and metacognitive monitoring proficiencies than students who used textbook readings. These results indicate that question-embedded videos enforce more productive feedback-driven problem-solving behaviors than textbook readings, which leads to substantial gains in performance and metacognitive monitoring, better preparing students for in-class instruction.