Investigating the Impact of Course Content Usage on Student Learning in Upper-Level Chemistry Courses

Lecture capture videos were explored as beyond the classroom course materials in upper-level descriptive inorganic chemistry courses during Fall 2017, Fall 2018, and Fall 2020 semesters. Page views data from the learning management system (LMS) Canvas site served as a proxy for course content usage materials such as lecture capture videos. There was a significant increase in page views on the LMS site since lecture capture videos were introduced in the course. On the basis of the page views data, students were categorized as high-end users (HEU) and low-end users (LEU). Students in the HEU category used more resources in the course than the students in the LEU category. Also, students in the HEU category performed significantly better than students in the LEU category on the cumulative final exam in the course. The information processing model and cognitive load theory suggest that reviewing content helps in minimizing learning losses, thus promoting student learning. This study suggests that usage of course content materials such as lecture capture videos promoted self-paced learning and helped students with reviewing/learning content through auditory and visual channels as suggested by the cognitive theory of multimedia. Lessons learned from the current study prompted the author to explore makeshift HyFlex classrooms during the Fall 2021 semester, especially toward the later part of the semester. HyFlex classrooms enabled students to attend online classes via Zoom while the other students from the course attended in-person classes. This endeavor particularly helped those students who missed lectures due to a variety of unforeseen reasons.