Table Of ContentThe Effect of Seeing an Instructor’s Face within an Instructional Video on
Connectedness, Attention, and Satisfaction
Dissertation Manuscript
Submitted to Northcentral University
School of Education
in Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree of
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY
by
APRIL PIERSON
San Diego, California
May, 2017
Approval Page
The Effect of Seeing an Instructor’s Face within an Instructional Video on
Connectedness, Attention, and Satisfaction
By
April Pierson
Approved by:
6/28/2017
Chair: Dr. Rebecca Miro, Ph.D. Date
Certified by:
Dr. John Neal 6/28/2017
Dean: Dr. John Neal, Ed.D. Date
ii
Abstract
Retention of online students is lower than that of students in face-to-face learning
environments. With the growth in online learning, instructional video is becoming more
common. This quantitative, experimental study examined the effect of seeing an
instructor’s face within an instructional video through a webcam recording. A
convenience sample of 128 participants at a medium-sized university in the Midwestern
United States watched a video with the same content and audio narration but the
experimental group also saw the instructor’s webcam video in a corner of the screen.
Participants’ responses on in-video quiz questions and a post-survey were compared to
identify significant differences in connectedness, attention, and satisfaction – variables
that can positively impact student retention and learning outcomes. Participants who saw
video of the instructor’s face reported significantly higher levels of satisfaction and
connectedness, but there was no significant difference in attention. This study contributes
to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and Social Agency Theory by updating
and extending the image principle to include information about connectedness,
satisfaction, and attention. Recommendations for future study include replication or
similar studies with different content, instructors, and student populations; different
methods to assess attention; an assessment of learning; and a similar study in a live class.
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Acknowledgements
First, I would like to express gratitude to my chair, Dr. Rebecca Miro, whose
timely and helpful responses made this process much less painful than I anticipated. Your
empathy as I went through a tough time was very much appreciated. Additional thanks to
Dr. David Hildebrandt for helpful and kindly-written feedback on the subject matter.
Huge thanks to my husband who entertained himself while I worked on school
weekend after weekend, kept the house quiet so I could concentrate, and occasionally
patted me on the back and said things are going to be ok. Thank you, Andy, for accepting
both the time and money I have spent on school. I look forward to doing more fun things
with you in my free time.
I have to include a big thanks to my coworkers, particularly Avonlea and Tiffany,
who provided feedback on my ideas, pilot tested the study, and listened to my
complaints! Also, thanks to all the instructors I work with who asked me how it was
going and provided encouragement.
I am not sure if I would have started my PhD without the encouragement of my
former supervisor, Rick Mickelson, and financial support of my department, Learning
and Technology Services. Thanks Rick; I wasn’t sure the whole time, but now that I am
done, I think this was a good idea.
Lastly, I have to thank my mom and dad for encouraging me to pursue my
education and making me feel like I was smart enough to do whatever I wanted to do.
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Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction ....................................................................................................... 1
Background .................................................................................................................. 2
Statement of the Problem ............................................................................................. 4
Purpose of the Study .................................................................................................... 5
Theoretical Framework ................................................................................................ 6
Research Questions ...................................................................................................... 8
Hypotheses ................................................................................................................... 9
Nature of the Study ...................................................................................................... 9
Significance of the Study ........................................................................................... 10
Definition of Key Terms ............................................................................................ 11
Summary .................................................................................................................... 12
Chapter 2: Literature Review ............................................................................................ 13
Documentation ........................................................................................................... 13
Distance Education and Online Education ................................................................ 14
Instructional Videos ................................................................................................... 17
Types of Instructional Videos .................................................................................... 19
Designing Effective Instructional Videos .................................................................. 23
Student Departure and Retention in Higher Education ............................................. 26
Social Aspects of Learning ........................................................................................ 31
Student Preferences and Satisfaction ......................................................................... 40
Attention .................................................................................................................... 43
Seeing an Instructor’s Face in an Instructional Video ............................................... 49
Summary .................................................................................................................... 55
Chapter 3: Research Method ............................................................................................. 57
Research Methods and Design ................................................................................... 60
Population .................................................................................................................. 61
Sample ....................................................................................................................... 62
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Materials/Instruments ................................................................................................ 62
Operational Definition of Variables .......................................................................... 63
Data Collection, Processing, and Analysis ................................................................ 64
Assumptions .............................................................................................................. 68
Limitations ................................................................................................................. 68
Delimitations .............................................................................................................. 69
Ethical Assurances ..................................................................................................... 69
Summary .................................................................................................................... 70
Chapter 4: Findings ........................................................................................................... 71
Trustworthiness of Data ............................................................................................. 71
Results ........................................................................................................................ 72
Research Question 1: ................................................................................................. 75
Research Question 2: ................................................................................................. 78
Research Question 3: ................................................................................................. 78
Evaluation of Findings ............................................................................................... 82
Summary .................................................................................................................... 84
Chapter 5: Implications, Recommendations, and Conclusions ........................................ 85
Implications ............................................................................................................... 85
Recommendations for Application ............................................................................ 89
Recommendations for Future Research .................................................................... 89
Conclusions ................................................................................................................ 93
References. ........................................................................................................................ 94
Appendix A: Survey Questions ...................................................................................... 105
Appendix B: Histograms ................................................................................................. 107
Appendix C: Frequency Tables for Connectedness and Satisfaction Items ................... 111
Appendix D: Screenshots of PowerPoint Slides from the Videos .................................. 118
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List of Tables
Table 1: Participants’ Majors ........................................................................................ 74
Table 2: Mean and Standard Deviation by Group for Connectedness Items ................ 76
Table 3: Mann-Whitney U Test Results for Connectedness Items ............................... 77
Table 4: In-Video Questions ......................................................................................... 79
Table 5: Estimated Time Paying Attention ................................................................... 80
Table 6: Times Participants Multitasked ....................................................................... 81
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Chapter 1: Introduction
With the growth in online learning and Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs),
instructional video is becoming more common (Chen & Wu, 2015). Examples of
instructional videos that instructors can create on their own computers or tablets include
screencasts demonstrating computer processes, Khan Academy style recordings of
written calculations with narration, webcam recordings of an instructor, or narrated
PowerPoints or Prezis. Many software programs allow an instructor’s webcam video to
be included within instructional video content in a picture-in-picture style so the student
sees both the instructor’s face and the content, similar to a face-to-face presentation.
Several studies have included comparisons of videos including instructor webcam video
to those showing content without the instructor (Dey, Burn, & Gerdes, 2009; Frisby,
Limperos, Record, Downs, & Kercsmar, 2013; Homer, Plass, & Blake, 2008; Kizilcec,
Bailenson, & Gomez, 2015; Lyons, Reysen, & Pierce, 2012; Moreno, Mayer, Spires, &
Lester, 2001). However, researchers often define or examine dependent variables such as
social presence differently, making accurate comparisons difficult.
In several studies, seeing an instructor’s face in a video did not impact learning on
a posttest (Homer et al., 2008; Moreno et al., 2001), but it may have a social and
motivational impact that builds rapport with the instructor and increases generative
learning (Mayer, 2014a; Moreno et al., 2001). Social aspects of learning such as student-
professor rapport are associated with increased learning (Creasey, Jarvis, & Knapcik,
2009; Micari & Pazos, 2012), but social relationships can be more difficult to build in
online courses (Lammers & Gillaspy, 2013; Murphy & Rodriguez-Manzanares, 2012).
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Student preferences and satisfaction are important to consider as they can have an
impact on attrition (Koper, 2015), a problematic aspect of online learning (Atchley,
Wingenbach, & Akers, 2013; McLaren, 2004; Rovai, 2002). Although information about
preferences is important to develop online programs that meet students’ needs (Koper,
2015), this information is scarce (Paechter & Maier, 2010). Students often rate content in
video higher than content in text, particularly when it is created by their instructors, even
though videos do not necessarily correlate with higher grades (Draus, Curran, &
Trempus, 2014; Miller & Redman, 2010). While incorporating video into an online
course may not be enough to increase retention on its own, it can impact social aspects of
learning (Koumi, 2006) which contribute to retention (Tinto, 2012). Researchers have
explored seeing an instructor’s face within an instructional video minimally, with
conflicting results (Drouin, Hile, Vartanian, & Webb, 2013; Homer et al., 2008; Kizilcec
et al., 2015).
Seeing the instructor’s face in an instructional video may be a strategy to improve
attention – a valuable area of study, as mind wandering correlates with reduced learning
outcomes (Risko, Anderson, Sarwal, Engelhardt, & Kingstone, 2012). In general, people
attend well to faces (Cerf, Frady, & Koch, 2009). Korving, Hernandez, and DeGroot
(2016) indicated that it might be more helpful to see a larger video of the instructor when
watching long videos, but found no difference after watching a short video or in
comparison to seeing the content without the instructor.
Background
Distance education began with correspondence courses in shorthand sent through
mail in 1728 (Danver, 2016). The expansion of railways in the 1880’s made distance
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education more prevalent and it transitioned into radio and television later, then
teleconferencing, and, currently, online courses are a large sector of distance education
(Aggarwal, 2007; Moore & Kearsley, 2005). In 2013, 7.1 million college students
enrolled in at least one online course (Allen & Seaman, 2014). With the large number of
students learning online, retaining online students is particularly important. New online
students may have difficulty adapting to the environment, partly due to lacking support
and feedback (Klingsieck, Fries, Horz, & Hofer, 2012). Both social and academic
integration are important to retain students in all modalities of education (Tinto, 2012).
Online educators often rely on video as the primary content modality, or at least
minimally to supplement instruction (Kim & Thayne, 2015). Video adds value to
education by facilitating learning and development of skills, affording vicarious
experiences, and nurturing social and internal aspects of learning (Koumi, 2006).
Students often rate videos positively and report enjoying them (Draus et al., 2014; Miller
& Redman, 2010). Videos created by the instructor of the class are particularly well-
received by students (McGovern & Baruca, 2013; Miller & Redman, 2010).
Students’ attention spans have become a topic of interest with the plethora of
technological distractions available in and outside of the classroom. Researchers found
that students’ minds wandered when watching an instructional video between 43%
(Hollis & Was, 2016; Risko et al., 2012) and 32% of the time (Loh, Tan, & Lim, 2016).
Seeing a person’s face may be a strategy to increase attention because it adds more
information to understand the material being provided (Korving et al., 2016). Seeing an
instructor’s face in an instructional video may be a strategy that can improve attention,
social aspects of learning, and student satisfaction.
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