Can interactions recorded on video (for educational research purposes, at least) ever truly be considered “natural” when prerequisites such as informed consent are in place? What effect does the physical presence or simple knowledge of camera presence have on human behavior? In the case of interventions where measurable outcomes are desired, controlled videos may be most desirable. Begolli and Richland (2018) provided fifth-grade students with a videotaped mathematics lesson and presented them with a task to identify a misconception and two correct strategies. The lesson was filmed and then edited, resulting in three different versions with a single systematic difference—the manipulation of interest. In this case, videotaping the lesson assures consistency of the content, while editing allows for planned manipulations to achieve the desired outcome. Since the other variable factors of instruction presented were controlled in each of the videos, the results of the intervention can be attributed to the manipulation of interest.

In an effort to provide pre-service teachers with effective and standardized training in maintaining social order in the classroom, researchers in Berlin, Germany produced staged videos exhibiting a variety of classroom disruptions and how teachers can manage them (Thiel et al., 2020). They found that staged videos depicting both functional and dysfunctional scenarios led to increased development of desirable skills and only a few video watching sessions were needed to improve these skills. It is important to note that although the videos were staged, they were based on actual classroom events that were recorded in a previous study (Thiel et al., 2012). Careful observations of “real” and “natural” phenomena that commonly occur may serve as useful models when crafting controlled video scripts.

References

Begolli, K. N., & Richland, L. E. (2018). Bridging cognitive science and real classrooms: A video methodology for experimental research. The Journal of Experimental Education, 86(4), 671-689. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00220973.2017.1347775  

Heath, C., Hindmarsh, J. & Luff, P. (2010). Video, analysis and the social sciences. In Video in qualitative research (pp. 1-13). SAGE Publications, Inc., https://dx.doi.org/10.4135/9781526435385

Thiel, F., Böhnke, A., Barth, V. L., & Ophardt, D. (2020). How to prepare preservice teachers to deal with disruptions in the classroom? Differential effects of learning with functional and dysfunctional video scenarios. Professional Development in Education, 1-15. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/19415257.2020.1763433

Thiel, F., Richter, S. G., and Ophardt, D. (2012). Steuerung von Übergängen im Unterricht. Eine Experten-Novizenstudiezum Klassen management, 4, 727-752.