Student perception of topic difficulty: Lecture capture in higher education

Abstract

<p>Perception of topic difficulty is a likely predictor of lecture capture video use, as student perception of difficulty has been shown to affect a variety of outcomes in academic settings. This study measured the relationship between perceived difficulty and the use of lecture capture technology in a second year biochemistry course while additionally taking into account student learning approaches, comfort with technology, gender and performance outcomes. In several analyses, it was found that a higher perceived level of difficulty was associated with an increased number of video accessions, although this relationship was not consistent across all topics. As well, it was found that surface learning approach score and gender were significantly associated with the number of accessions of lecture capture videos, while deep approach score, course grade, and level of comfort with technology were not. This study confirms that student use of lecture capture is related to their perception of topic difficulty, and demonstrates that student characteristics also influence lecture capture behaviour. Although the strength of our observed associations were weak, the level of content difficulty may be an important factor to consider when deciding when to use lecture videos as learning resources in higher education.</p>