Video-based Supplemental Instruction: Interactive video courses

Abstract

The magical ingredient in the process appears to be the technology that manifests in the form of the videocassette and the remote control device. This technology enables the student to alternate between the professor's lecture and the silence in which to consider the meaning. The moments of silence are precious. Silence offers the student a rare commodity in the context of a classroom: time to think. And the reflective time allows the student to form questions, observations, and opinions. Those, then, are shared with fellow students. Confusion is resolved; conflicting views are weighed; differences are explored. Students leave the session with clearly defined questions and a sense of what to do next.