– 26 October, 2020
Know your child’s ‘Golden Minutes’
– 26 October, 2020
If you were asked to recall a boring lecture, how would you describe it? Wouldn’t it be a long one, with the professor talking at a length and your concentration fading in and out! Imagine that with the syllabus children have to cope up with today. With the increasing volume of study material and the demand for practical understanding of concepts is leading parents to search for the most effective reference material. It’s no surprise that video-based learning has gained popularity today for its interactive explanations. Classrooms across the world are incorporating digital tools in their set-ups, as many experts are now presenting research that shows how effective educational science videos for middle school can be when it comes to a student’s ‘grasping ability’ of that subject/theory. Let’s delve into this a bit deeper, shall we?
What are the ‘Golden Minutes’?
Remember how our parents insisted on beginning our studies at the break of dawn? They said it improved recall and we all did try it out! The ‘Golden Hour’ from then has now become the ‘Golden minutes’ in today’s fast paced world. Students are increasingly referring to science and math videos for middle school or high school to support their learning curve. When books and tests get boring, videos seem to be the next point of revision with one great benefit- it does not require to be seen at dawn! A recent study was conducted based on the video usage and consumption of their online courses. They determined that short videos with around 6 minutes watching time gathered the highest attention span.
This study even stated that on an average, students spend around 3 minutes on videos that are longer than 12 minutes. It means that the longer the content, the lesser chances of the student being engaged. But the results with shorter videos were different. Students were motivated to watch it through the end, and kept repeating that behavior for similar videos that were short and crisp! This and numerous other studies on video learning gives us two take-aways- one that use of videos in teaching and learning prove effective and two, you don’t need them glued to the screen for longer than 6-9 minutes!
Microlearning increases engagement, thus builds recall
Why do you think it is more difficult to remember names than faces? Because visualizing is a lot easier, for most of us. It’s the working memory that decides what to store and what to discard. What it stores becomes the long term memory, what it discards needs to be revisited. Most students face difficulties when theories or chapters have heavy information- they need to repeatedly study it till they either learn it by-heart or understand it. Short science videos for middle school create a learning experience that is engaging for students. If videos are as short as 6 minutes, every chapter is broken down into smaller parts. They become simpler milestones, while ensuring the attention span is highest with every video. Since, the working memory has only a limited capacity, it must be fed with the most easily processed information so it can send it right to that storage!
Increased learning, retention and clarity on concepts
How does everyone study a Math or Science chapter- one sum at a time, one theory at a time, or one experiment perhaps? It’s easier to categorize study material into smaller sections, because they can be learnt faster. Since, short videos do both, break down concepts and make it interesting, there are two sensors involved- auditory and visual/pictorial. Pictorial representations of any concept helps students visualize those better. As mentioned in the point before, what goes in the long-term memory is material that is processed easily. What is easily understood helps a faster recall. So, if you are looking at maximizing the capacity of the mind, next time you see a relevant science or math video for middle school make sure to bookmark it and test for yourself!
MSVgo as a video App
One of the most important aspects of learning is how well the student understands it, or can the student explain it to someone else. That is what determines his practical knowledge. Especially, when it comes to subjects like Math and Science, that are more theory based or require clear conceptual ability. Videos, short ones can assist children in getting that clarity. So now you know that short videos work quite effectively while studying. What next? Searching for relevant ones across the web? Looking for an effective digital tool that helps narrow references? Let’s cut down some of that working memory’s effort and introduce you to MSVgo. A Math and Science video library that has over 6000+ engaging videos anywhere between 6-15 minutes for CBSE, ICSE, IGCSE and ISC board curriculum . Each math and science video for students animates the chapter or a particular theory and brings difficult concepts to life! Every video includes practical examples that are easy to relate to, engaging both the pictorial and auditory senses. You can look for any chapter/keyword by simply using the search function.
In conclusion, if children have to learn from videos be it math or free science videos, they first have to watch them! They have to be interesting, examples based and work as a great reference point if they get stuck with a doubt. As parents, introducing MSVgo or video based learning as a habit, even if it is about 6 minutes everyday- can assess your child’s grasping ability over the old by-hearting/writing down method. The visual elements, animated explanations and illustrations could even help improve recall. You could start by including some educational video time in their current time-table. However, since it is a passive activity, it is only the child that can tell you what works best- reading or watching videos, or a bit of both!
