Teaching That Sticks: Evidence-Based Strategies Delivered Through Video

Today’s students are digital natives who expect video content that is engaging and well-designed. While educators recognize this, they often face pressure to adopt evidence-based teaching practices, without the time or support needed to transform their course materials.

The key is finding tools that are both effective in engaging modern learners and aligned with educational research, while minimizing the heavy lifting for faculty.

Studies consistently show that learning outcomes improve when video is integrated into course materials.² Video is more than just content you watch; it's a powerful built-in teaching strategy. When thoughtfully designed, it puts evidence-based approaches into action, often without extra work required from instructors. Here's how:

• 🔷 Animation and narration combine to help students use both visual and verbal parts of the brain, reinforcing understanding better than text alone.
• 🔷 Short videos help manage complexity, guiding students’ attention and reducing distractions.
• 🔷 Videos with embedded interactivity boost engagement and active learning.
• 🔷 Video delivered as a series helps students build knowledge layer by layer.
  
  

Let’s explore scientific evidence-based teaching approaches that work well with video—not just as an add-on, but as an instructional strategy. This is especially useful in STEM+ subjects, where visualizing processes is essential for conceptual understanding.

1. Retrieval Practice

Retrieval practice involves actively accessing memories instead of re-watching or re-reading, which strengthens understanding and long-term retention.^3,4 Video provides an ideal canvas for integrating these retrieval opportunities. For instance, video-based lessons could include short embedded quizzes that break up passive viewing and give students immediate feedback. This helps learning stick and highlights areas for review without the need for extra assessment tools.

2. Scaffolded Concepts

Early gaps in understanding become barriers to advanced thinking. Scaffolding involves breaking down complex systems into smaller, digestible parts, and gradually reducing support as students gain knowledge.⁵ A series of short, targeted videos can be used by faculty to guide students from foundational to advanced topics, building understanding step by step.

3. Flipped Lab or Lecture Prep

The flipped classroom model moves the first stage of learning outside of class, freeing up class time for higher-level activities like analysis and group discussions. This approach improves student performance and engagement.^6,7 Videos save time and make it easier to design effective flipped experiences. What’s more, they are ideal for self-paced learning: students can pause, slow down, and re-watch as many times as they need.

In the following clip, Dr. Lindsay Parker from Macquarie University describes how she has effectively incorporated a video-centered flipped model in her labs.

Science has never been static, and teaching shouldn’t be either.

Purposefully designed videos do more than deliver content. They bring proven teaching approaches like active recall, scaffolding, and flipped classrooms to life. Integrating trusted video resources already aligned with course goals means less time spent re-teaching the basics and more time challenging students to connect the dots. Educators gain a scalable way to boost engagement and active learning in and out of the classroom—without reinventing the wheel. 

Combine evidence-based teaching methods with high-impact videos. 
Request a JoVE video playlist aligned with your syllabus!

1. Kaltura. (2020). The state of video in education 2020: A Kaltura report. Kaltura Inc. https://corp.kaltura.com/resources/the-state-of-video-in-education-2020/
2. Noetel, M., Griffith, S., Delaney, O., Sanders, T., Parker, P., del Pozo Cruz, B., & Lonsdale, C. (2021). Video improves learning in higher education: A systematic review. Review of Educational Research, 91(2), 204–236. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654321990713
3. Roediger, H. L., & Butler, A. C. (2011). The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 15(1), 20–27. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2010.09.003
4. Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving students’ learning with effective learning techniques: Promising directions from cognitive and educational psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266
5. van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2010). Scaffolding in teacher–student interaction: A decade of research. Educational Psychology Review, 22(3), 271–296. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-010-9127-6
6. Tune, J. D., Sturek, M., & Basile, D. P. (2013). Flipped classroom model improves graduate student performance in cardiovascular physiology. Advances in Physiology Education, 37(4), 316–320. https://doi.org/10.1152/advan.00091.2013
7. O’Flaherty, J., & Phillips, C. (2015). The use of flipped classrooms in higher education: A scoping review. Internet and Higher Education, 25, 85–95. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.02.002