Impacts of Lecture Recordings on Student Academic Performance and Attendance

Project Background and Summary

In previous studies on lecture capture technology, initial analysis showed overwhelming positive student support but a more hesitant instructor response. Students reported increased accessibility with disabilities, flexible options to stay enrolled in a course after missing classes due to illness or other commitments, the ability to review complex material at their own pace, and support for diverse learning styles. Though students have actively requested the increased implementation of lecture capture, some faculty members have expressed concerns about potential declines in attendance or student academic performance. This project aimed to address these faculty concerns by investigating whether access to or use of lecture capture technology impacts student attendance or grades.

Approach

To understand the potential impact of lecture capture technology on student attendance and grades, OIT analyzed data from three courses over the Spring 2024 academic semester. This study was conducted in partnership with three faculty members during the Spring 2024 academic semester. These instructors provided data for attendance per lecture and final course grades. Additional data included lecture viewing metrics, via administrative access to the Mediasite platform. This data was supplemented with qualitative data pulled from a student survey distributed within partner courses after the completion of the semester.

The project was initially conceived as an A/B study to compare student metrics between two sections of the same course (one with access to lecture recordings and one without). However, the project team reconsidered this approach due to low faculty participation and ethical concerns about withholding educational resources, given their reported uses and benefits of the technology. This project instead compared data regarding lecture recording usage, student grades, and student attendance across three different courses. This approach allowed for case studies that faculty members could relate to based on their course's similarities to a particular partner course while also producing more generalizable findings for drawing broader conclusions.

The three courses involved in this study include two in-person engineering courses and a hybrid computer science course. Classes varied in size and guidelines for grades and attendance. Aspects of the partner courses have been de-identified to protect the privacy of the students and instructors.

• Course A: Mechanical Engineering (undergraduate-Level)

  • 118 students

  • Lectures, hands-on labs, and guest speaker sessions

  • Lab attendance, preparation and lecture engagement account for 5% of grade

• Course B: Civil Engineering (Graduate-Level)

  • 21 students

  • Traditional lecture-based format with emphasis on theoretical concepts and problem-solving exercises

  • Attendance encouraged, but not graded

• Course C: Computer Science (Primarily Undergraduate Upperclassmen)

  • 20 students

  • Lecture-based, with emphasis on computational representation and analysis of biological networks

  • In class or remote with attendance and participation making up 20% of the overall grade

Project Findings

Course A showed a negligible in grades or attendance between those who watched lecture capture and those who did not

• 32.2% of students viewed lecture recordings for an average of 3 hours and 8 minutes per student
• Final grade differences between viewers and non-viewers was 0.12% (88.14% and 88.02, respectively)
• Attendance average for students who viewed lecture capture was 52.0% compared to 54.0% attendance for students who did not

Students in Course B had the highest lecture recording viewers (76.0%) and these students final grade average was 3.9% higher than non viewers (94.6%; 90.7%)

• Students who viewed lecture recordings watched an average of nearly 5 hours per person

• Lecture recording viewers had an 8.0% lower average attendance rate than non-viewers (66.0%; 74.0%)

Course C revealed a slight correlation between lecture recording usage and improved grades, as well as higher attendance rates

• Final grade average for viewers were 4.7% higher than non-viewers (92.3%; 87.6%)
• Attendance average for students who viewed lecture recordings were 10.0% percent higher (84.0%; 74.0%)
• 40.0% of students viewed at least one lecture recording with a total average viewing time of 42 minutes

Conclusion

While courses analyzed in this study varied by enrollment size, course design, and use of lecture capture, the combined results across all participating courses indicated that lecture capture technology does not adversely affect student attendance or academic outcomes. These results can reassure educators that implementing lecture capture can enhance learning flexibility without compromising attendance or performance.

Project Participants and Roles