Evaluation of videotapes as a supplement in a college zoology course

This study evaluated information sources provided for students attending a nonmajors\u27 human anatomy and physiology course at Iowa State University. Videotapes, text, study guide and lectures were available for an individualized system of instruction called the Phase Achievement System;Two questionnaires were used to investigate students\u27 opinions about the television lectures and the reasons that motivated students to use them. The results indicated that the adjunct videocassette lectures were helpful for all students, helping low ability students achieve a mean score at least equal to the mean score achieved by high ability students who did not use the videotapes. In four of the six units of the course, the television lectures compensated for the weak science backgrounds of the students resulting in higher mean scores on unit tests;High ability students successfully used their lecture notes and the television lectures to answer the study guide questions, and this strategy led to higher scores. The only information source that was useful for the low ability students was the television lecture collection. The time they invested in using the study guide, the textbook, or the lecture notes was not very helpful in terms of achieving test scores;Students with a good science background also combined using the television lectures with the study guide, and this technique proved to be successful. However, students with a weak science background benefitted only from the video-cassettes which were used without the study guide. The other information sources were not beneficial. Both low ability and weak science background groups of students used the study guide with the textbook and not with the television lectures. The strategy of using the videotapes with the study guide was investigated and found to be beneficial for all students. Those who used them together achieved the highest mean scores compared to the other groups;A significant interaction between use of the study guide and students\u27 abilities and backgrounds showed that the high ability and well-prepared students were able to differentially benefit from having the objectives of the course. Use of the study guide which contained the course objectives was the primary predictor of the score for those two groups. TV viewing was the best predictor of the score obtained by the low ability and weak science background students;Despite the fact that the television lectures were especially beneficial for low ability and weak science background students, it was found that the high ability and well-prepared students used the tapes more often;Results obtained in this study should be a part of the efforts made by other investigators who try to determine the basis on which to provide suitable learning situations for students who have different aptitudes