Introduction
This component 3 assessment is separated into five major parts: the first part will give an analysis of the research findings. The second section will review the literature in component two and how it relates to the analysis of my research findings. The third part will be a critical assessment of the theory and will look at students’ evaluation in relation to my preferred area. The last part will look at my findings and come to a conclusion.
Background
My main research questions in this study are: What does traditional pedagogic practice in the teaching of Biology tell us about the pedagogy of the subject? How might the use of videos/ digital technology extend and advance the teaching of Biology? Might the use of videos support more interactive and dialogic learning? Is video technology important?
This study complies with the ethical guidelines set by the British Educational Research Association (BERA) for using students as subjects. Fourteen students from College x studying ‘Access to Higher Education: Human Biology’ were used in this study. It is apparent that this study represented a small portion of the student population which is a limitation of this study.
Analysis of Research Findings
The students were asked to answer the six questions about the lesson on the feedback forms (shown in the Appendix). The response from students for each question were as follows:
Seventy-eight per cent indicated that the lesson was easy to understand because of the use of the video as a teaching and learning tool. Seven per cent pointed out that the lesson was not easy to understand because of the use of the video. Fifteen per cent were neutral.
Seventy-one per cent indicated that the use of the video held their attention while learning. Eight per cent indicated that the use of the video did not hold their attention and twenty-one percent were neutral.
Seventy-nine per cent preferred a video to a teacher talking; fourteen per cent preferred the teacher giving the lesson and eight per cent were neutral.
Fifty per cent pointed out that the lesson was interesting because of the use of the video as a teaching and learning tool; twenty-one per cent indicated that the video did not make the lesson interesting and twenty-nine percent were neutral.
Sixty-four per cent indicated that they currently used technology for research and experiments, the blackboard for assignments and course documents, and the Motorola xoom for note taking and internet access. Thirty-six percent of students did not answer this question.
The last question was an open question (what did you like about the use of the video in the class and what did you not like?) to which there was a mixed response. The responses included: there was better understanding because of the visual feedback; they could understand what diseases could do to you when you are ill; it was a good lesson; the video was fine but they did not understand the first part of it; it gave them more knowledge of the disease and how it is treated; it reinforced the learning in the classroom; it explained better; it made it easier to learn; the good, brief information on the video allowed better absorption of information and made things clearer.
Literature review
In this part of assignment, findings of my research are compared with the literature review in component two assessments.
Traditional methods used to teach Biology include the teacher talking and writing on the white board. This might not meet the needs of different learners. The emergence of new Information and Learning Technology (ILT) like videos in teaching Biology has revolutionised the way Biology is presented (Huang, 1991; Leonard, 1992; Attwell and Hughes, 2010; Beetham et al., 2009; JISC, 2009). This has made the subject interesting and easy to understand with subsequent improved achievement (Huang, 1991; Erwin and Rieppi, 1999; Attwell and Hughes, 2010; Wilson and Jennings, 2000; McCormack and Ross, 2010; BECTA, 2009). The findings in my research are supported by the findings reported in this literature review. Seventy-eight per cent of the subjects indicated that the lesson was easy to understand because of the use of the video as a teaching and learning tool and fifty per cent indicated that the lesson was interesting because of the use of the video (see the analysis of the research findings given above).
It is clear that the use of ILT such as videos as a teaching and learning tool offers many benefits to students and teachers (Fill and Otterwill, 2006; Schacter & Fagnano, 1999; Underwood et al., 2008, 2009a; U.S. Department of Education, 2009). The use of videos in teaching Biology has made the subject real or relevant to everyday life which is stimulating to students,
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