Multimedia versus Traditional Course Instruction in Introductory Social Psychology

Abstract

We compared grades and course evaluations in an undergraduate social psychology course taught using 3 different instructional formats: traditional, traditional with a course guide, and multimedia with a course guide. Students' grades (N = 937) and course evaluations of grading procedures (N = 547) were higher when a course guide was available. The multimedia format did not provide any significant additional benefits. We discuss the relative effectiveness of different types of course enhancements (i.e., course guide, multimedia lectures) and advantages that they may provide, such as facilitating the standardization of multisection courses at large universities.