How effectively do popular YouTube educational videos adhere to best practices for teaching chemistry? Researchers from Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University are collaborating on a grant to investigate this question.
Since its launch in 2004, YouTube has experienced explosive growth in global popularity, a trend that was significantly boosted by the COVID-19 pandemic. According to a recent report by the Pew Research Center, YouTube is the most widely used social media platform among U.S. adults aged 18 and older, with about 80% of adults surveyed reporting that they use it. The platform is especially popular among younger users, with 93% of individuals aged 18-29 indicating frequent use.
Evaluating introductory chemistry instructional videos on YouTube was a daunting, yet worthwhile venture that could potentially benefit students and faculty across STEM disciplines.
The two received $400,000 in funding by the National Science Foundation in 2023 for their project: Collaborative Research: Developing and Testing a Framework to Evaluate the Quality of Chemistry Instructional Videos Students are Watching on YouTube. The project aims to identify how well instructional videos follow best practices for supporting students’ learning of chemistry concepts and evaluate the extent to which the most frequently watched videos incorporate them.
