The Effects of Instructional Design on Student Engagement with

Volume 16, 2017

Accepting Editor: Minh Huynh │ Received: October 3, 2016 │ Revised: November 12, 2016; February 13,

April 5, April 22, 2017 │ Accepted: April 24, 2017

Cite as: Costley, J., Hughes, C., & Lange, C. (2017). The effects of instructional design on student engagement

with video lectures at cyber universities. Journal of Information Technology Education: Research, 16, 189-207. Re-

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THE EFFECTS OF INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT WITH VIDEO LECTURES

AT CYBER UNIVERSITIES

Jamie Costley*

Kongju National University, Gongju,

South Korea

costleyjamie@gmail.com

Christopher Hughes

University of Birmingham,

Birmingham, United Kingdom

chris.jl.hughe[email protected]

Christopher Lange

Joongbu University, Guemsam,

South Korea

christopherhlange@gmail.com

* Corresponding author

ABSTRACT

Aim/Purpose

The number of students enrolled in online courses that use video lectures is on

the rise. However, research shows that the number of students watching video

lectures is low, and the number watching videos to completion is even lower.

Background

This paper seeks to understand this problem by looking for correlations be-

tween instructional design and student engagement with video lectures.

Methodology

Students at a cyber-university in South Korea (n=1801) were surveyed on their

perception of the instructional design used in the courses they took and their

engagement with online video lectures.

Contribution

This paper contributes to the body of knowledge by demonstrating positive

correlations between instructional design, watching, and finishing video lectures.

Findings

While most other research has found low levels of online lecture viewership,

this paper found significantly higher numbers watching and finishing videos.

Other major findings of the paper are that five key elements of instructional

design for online learning environments (designing methods, setting the curricu-

lum, establishing time parameters, establishing netiquette, and utilizing the me-

dium effectively) all correlated positively with students watching and finishing

video lectures.

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

190

Recommendations

for Practitioners

Based on findings in this paper, it is recommended that practitioners consider

taking actions when designing their instruction for online courses. These in-

clude batching their video lectures together by topic, devoting greater resources

to helping students utilize the medium, and communicate time parameters in a

way that encourages students to view video lectures in a timely manner.

Recommendation

for Researchers

As the watching of video lectures in this study was mandatory for learners, an

interesting area of further research would be to examine whether that decision

led to higher numbers of students watching them.

Future Research

It is important for researchers to conduct further research into the interplay

between ways instructors can design their instruction in order to encourage

learners to better experience online learning.

Keywords

instructional design, cyber university, video lectures

INTRODUCTION

The number of institutions offering e-learning environments as augmentations of and alternatives to

traditional fully face-to-face classroom based learning experiences has rapidly increased in recent

years (Lee & Lee, 2015). E-learning courses are increasingly being initiated by institutions for their

cost benefits (Bonk, Olson, Wisher, & Orvis, 2002; Graham, Woodfield, & Harris, 2003), embraced

by instructors for the pedagogic benefits they offer (Morgan, 2002; Sorg et al., 1999), and sought out

by learners for, among other factors, their flexibility, accessibility, and the opportunity to self-regulate

their study paths (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2008; Traphagan, 2005). The

increasing student interest in e-learning courses is evident, as enrolment has steadily increased over

the years (Allen & Seaman, 2013; C. Kim & Santiago, 2005; Korea Internet & Security Agency, 2015;

Korean Ministry of Education, Science & Technology, 2010; S. Lim, 2014).

Although e-learning environments provide many of the same pedagogical functions as traditional

ones, it is important for instructors and designers to be aware that there are significant differences

(Al-Qahtani & Higgins, 2013; Cole, Shelley, & Swartz, 2014; Jung, 2000; Lee & Rha, 2009). One ma-

jor difference is the way in which instruction is designed. Instructional design (ID) considers the

ways “the instructor, learners, materials, instructional activities, delivery system, and learning and per-

formance environments interact and work with each other to bring about desired student learning

outcomes” (Dick, Carey, & Carey, 2015, p. 1). In e-learning environments, five facilitating elements

of instructional design can be evaluated in order to decide whether ID has been effective. These are

designing methods, setting the curriculum, establishing time parameters, establishing netiquette, and

utilizing the medium effectively (Anderson, Rourke, Garrison, & Archer, 2001). When these elements

are perceived by learners to have been established in ways which positively facilitate and assist en-

gagement and learning, a high level of instructional design can be said to be present. Conversely,

when these elements are not set up in and communicated in such a way, low levels of instructional

design can said to be present. Another integral part of many online courses is instruction or tutorials

delivered via video recordings (Breslow et al, 2013.) While there has been a huge upswing in the

number of courses offered and the number of students signing up for them, especially when cyber

university courses are factored in, there appears to be a lack of significant engagement with these

lectures by the learners they are supposed to serve (Clow, 2013). Engagement, for the purposes of

this paper, means accessing and watching online video lectures as part of a course of study in an

online program. Engagement with video material is important in learners’ satisfaction with the course

(J. Kim, Kwon, & Cho, 2011; Zhan & Mei, 2013), their likelihood of completing the course

(Adamopoulos, 2013; Downes, 2010), and the likelihood that that they will wish to continue with e-

learning in the future (Giannakos, Jaccheri, & Krogstie, 2015; Giannakos & Vlamos, 2013). For these

reasons, it is important to understand the relationship between instructional design and video lecture

consumption.

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

191

The purpose of this paper is to help address the lack of research on the relationship between in-

structional design and video lecture watching in online learning at cyber universities by presenting

empirical evidence that shows how the student’s perception of instructional design influences deci-

sions to start and finish video lectures. The main research question this paper seeks to answer is:

How does students’ perception of instructional design correlate with their decisions to watch and

finish video lectures?

This paper will address this question by first reviewing the theoretical background behind cyber uni-

versities, instructional design, video lectures, and student engagement with video lectures. Next, pre-

vious research related to the current study will be presented. This is followed by a methodology sec-

tion. Next, results of the current study will be shown and followed by a discussion of their meaning

and implication. A conclusion section summarizing the study will appear as the final section.

THEORETICAL BACKGROUND

CYBER UNIVERSITIES IN KOREA

South Korea has emerged as one of the leading proponents of e-learning driven by encouragement

and generous government funding twined with the ready acceptance and embracing of advances in

facilitating technology. This has led the number of students enrolling in courses offered by cyber

universities to increase (C. Kim & Santiago, 2005). Created as part of Korea’s Lifelong Education

Act, cyber universities were conceived in 1998 to provide fully online courses to university students

as alternatives to perceived limits present in more traditional forms of higher education. Since the

start of cyber university courses in 2001, there has been a dramatic increase in enrolment (C. Kim &

Santiago, 2005). Figures show that enrolment increased by 25% between 2001 and 2010 (J. Kim, et

al., 2011). Though some research into Korean online classes have claimed that the quality of instruc-

tion is “excellent” (Bae & Jeon, 2014), there remains some questions as to the method of delivery

and appropriateness in Korea (Im & Kim, 2014). Furthermore, though there are claims of a signifi-

cant paradigm shift in Korean education because of online learning (Yi, 2015), questions remain as

to whether or not old offline patterns of teacher-centered instruction still remain the dominant para-

digm.

INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN

Differences between courses that are administered in brick and mortar environments and e-learning

present challenges to the effective use of instruction designed to maximize online students’ out-

comes. Unlike offline learners, e-learners feel a sense of emotional and physical distance from their

learning environments, which presents a major obstacle for online instructional designers to over-

come if they want to avoid the potentially adverse effects it can cause, including decreased motiva-

tion and lack of interest (Lee & Rha, 2009; Russo & Benson, 2005). Effective instructional design

can address this distance and potentially compensate for it in order to allow learners to maintain fo-

cus and motivation and to support them as they navigate their learning path. The absence of estab-

lished forms of behavior and expectations in online learning platforms makes it necessary for in-

structors and designers to make their planning process as explicit and transparent as they can, as

varying the levels of instructional design have been also shown to lead to higher or lower levels of

student learning and satisfaction (Anderson et al., 2001; Costley & Lange, 2016). As part of teaching

presence within the Community of Inquiry (CoI) framework, the instructional design and organiza-

tion component addresses these issues. Instructional design, as defined for the current study, is the

development of instruction through the implementation of the following five elements: setting the

curriculum, designing methods, establishing time parameters, establishing group norms, and utilizing

the medium effectively (Anderson et al., 2001). Shea, Fredericksen, Pickett, and Pelz (2003) give a

detailed explanation of what each element entails. Setting the curriculum promotes transparency of

instruction through descriptive explanations of goals and desired outcomes. Designing methods in-

cludes the clear explanation of how to complete specific assignments and participate in learning

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

192

tasks. Students are made aware of important due dates through the establishment of time parame-

ters. Utilizing the medium effectively focuses on any issues the students may have with understanding

how to use specific aspects of the online technology. Finally, establishing group norms helps ensure

that the communication occurring within the online environment is socially acceptable. These in-

structional design elements serve as a means to provide students with a clear overall plan to succeed

within the online environment.

VIDEO LECTURES

One way of counteracting the degree of distance felt by learners and reflecting effective instructional

design is by providing quality video lectures. These can provide students with a sense of instructor

presence, helping overcome the lack of real time physical and emotional interaction (Oomen-Early,

Bold, Wiginton, Gallien, & Anderson, 2008). Video lectures must, however, be designed and utilized

correctly, if they are to be effective, and those that are not, can affect student outcomes negatively

(Lin & Chen, 2001). The use of new forms of media and technology must, according to Davis, Ba-

gozzi, and Warshaw’s (1989) Technology Acceptance Model (TAM), satisfy concerns over usefulness

and ease of use. Acceptance and usage of course sites, and the video lectures therein, are aided by

allaying these concerns (Selim, 2007).

VIDEO LECTURE VIEWERSHIP

The viewership of video lectures at cyber universities refers to the watching of video lectures by stu-

dents who are enrolled in courses with associated video lectures. Regardless of size, there is a signifi-

cant amount of data to show a discrepancy between the number of learners enrolling in e-learning

courses and the number who watch the video lectures. Gorissen, Van Bruggen, and Jochem (2012)

reported that, in a course at a Dutch university comprising of 34 videos, no individual viewer exceed-

ed 20 views. McNulty et al. (2011) observed students enrolled in five separate course over the span

of three cohorts, and found that less than one student in twenty watched a “large number” of videos

and 64% watched less than 10% of video lectures. Stein and Allione (2014) found that, of approxi-

mately 36,000 students enrolled in a cyber-university course designed by Pennsylvania State Universi-

ty, less than 15,500 watched part of one video.

Focusing specifically on students’ efforts to watch the entire video lecture, research has also investi-

gated completion rates of videos among students who started watching the lectures. While studying

the relationship between self-reporting and system analytics of videos watched by 5,000 learners at

two different universities, Gorissen et al. (2012) found that the majority of enrollees neglected to sit

through a single full lecture. Meanwhile, Guo, Kim, and Rubin (2014) found that more than 53% of

learners beginning a video ceased viewing before it ended. The majority of these instances occurred

before the video’s half way point. At the level of cyber universities, a study conducted by Guo et al.

(2014) on 127,000 learners enrolled in an edX course found that, even discounting for dropouts in

the first 5 seconds, 25% of viewers ceased viewing before completing 75% of video instruction.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND STARTING TO WATCH VIDEO

LECTURES

Setting the curriculum as part of instructional design often includes communicating course outcomes

and clearly stating how to achieve those outcomes (Shea et al., 2003). Making it clear to students if

attendance is mandatory and part of assessment serves as one way of doing this, and doing so may

have an impact on students’ actual attendance. Parallels can be drawn between the attendance of lec-

tures in traditional settings and the watching of video lectures in online courses, as watching the vid-

eos equates to “attending” the lectures within an e-learning course. The attendance of lectures in a

traditional sense has been the subject of numerous studies (Friedman, Rodriguez, & McComb, 2001;

Marburger, 2001; Massingham & Herrington, 2006; Moore et al., 2003; Purcell, 2007). At the top end

of attendance, figures reported a range from 60 - 82.5% (Friedman et al., 2001; Marburger, 2001;

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

193

Massingham & Herrington, 2006; Purcell, 2007; Romer, 1993). At the lower end, rates of 30%

(Moore et al., 2003) and even as low as 7% (Massingham & Herrington, 2006) have been reported.

As Marburger’s (2006) study of two groups enrolled in a macroeconomics course demonstrates, mak-

ing the attendance of lectures mandatory does seem to have a positive correlation with increased

attendance. This study showed that the class with a mandatory attendance policy had an average at-

tendance that was 9.1% higher than the one in which attendance was not enforced. This is supported

by further studies with similar results (Berenson, Carter, & Norwood, 1992; Devadoss & Foltz, 1996).

However, other recent studies have suggested that penalties do not affect attendance as much as pre-

viously thought (Keen, 2006; Moore, 2003). Instead, the quality of instruction has far more of an

impact on the students’ decisions to attend lectures (Keen, 2006; Moore, 2003).

Setting and communicating curricula has long been known to positively affect learners’ engagement

with course materials (Tyler, 2013). If there is no clear rationale for participating in a course, en-

gagement rates will be low (Phelps, Rosalie, Ashworth, & Hahn, 1991), but if the rationale is clear,

then higher engagement rates will be evident (Wisher & Priest, 1998). Dykman and Davis (2008)

demonstrated that learners are more likely to focus on learning when courses are clearly planned and

offer clear expectations and guidelines. Evans, Baker, and Dee (2016) also demonstrated the im-

portance, after investigating 2,900 lectures, of communicating topic and outcomes by “batching”

similar content and clearly labeling it. Additionally, e-learning courses that utilize the mediums of

instruction effectively by providing materials and instructional design that offers ease of use are more

likely to stimulate engagement such as the watching of video lectures. It has been shown that it is

important to optimize e-learning by providing learners with the training needed to control their

learning (DeRouin, Fritzsche, & Salas, 2004), that giving this kind of instruction can help with en-

gagement (Brown & Ford, 2002), and that a lack of knowledge about how to correctly utilize a dis-

tance platform can be the primary factor for program failure (Reeves, 1993). Darrington (2008) has

pointed out that many students lack the tech savvy necessary to achieve desirable outcomes, while

Magnussen (2008) showed that online training is necessary to address this issue and reduce learner

frustration. Helping students become proficient at using specific e-learning platforms through specif-

ic instructional design techniques may impact their decision to engage in the platform. Liaw (2008)

studied 424 students use of Blackboard and found that self-efficacy was key to satisfaction, which in

turn promoted intention to use. Therefore, if instructors provide students with clear instruction on

how to use specific video lecture platforms, that may have an effect on their decision to start watch-

ing the videos.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN INSTRUCTIONAL DESIGN AND COMPLETING VIDEO

LECTURES

Instructors who design video lectures need to take into account the length of videos used for their

learners. While videos that are too short may not engage the students enough, videos that are too

long may keep students from completing the videos. The length of time learners spend watching

lectures and the causes for this have been the source of some debate of late. Guo et al. (2014) inves-

tigated 6.9m videos by analyzing the length of time learners spent on a video. They produced a much

reproduced finding that the median engagement is 6 minutes. They also found that learners rarely

watched more than half of videos that are nine minutes in length. Additionally, videos that are

around 3 minutes in length received longer attention with 75% of sessions completing three quarters

of these videos. Of significance to the current study is their conclusion that videos that were pre-

pared especially for the online course and, therefore, display added levels of tailored instructional

design were completed more often than videos that were designed for an alternative use and subse-

quently adapted.

The length of time spent watching a video may also be related to learners’ ability to utilize the medi-

um effectively. J. Kim et al. (2014) investigated 862 videos from 4 cyber university courses looking for

data on in-video dropouts and peak activity. They found that there were more dropouts in longer

videos. They used navigating away from the video before it had finished as a measure of engagement. This led

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

194

to the discovery that 55% of learners dropped out across all videos. Interestingly, though, it was

found that 37% of learners dropped out within the first 3% of the video. This quick dropout is as-

cribed to a number of instructional design possibilities that may have negatively affected the learners’

ability to utilize the medium effectively including the following: auto-start, accidental start, misleading

titles, or course navigation.

Instructional design considerations are key to learner engagement, specifically to engaging students

enough to complete the video lectures. This is particularly the case when it comes to establishing

time parameters. Successful instructional design of online classes is said to be related to the setting,

pace, modulation of instruction, and tracking of due dates (Almala, 2007; Li & Irby, 2008). Support-

ing the value of establishing time parameters, Geri, Gafni, and Winer (2014) describe the “U-shape”

nature of video consumption over the course of a program. This means that more videos are

watched at the beginning and end of a program than in the middle, and that the number watched at

the end of a program was found to be the peak across all of the programs they analyzed. The high

viewership at the end of the program was attributed to the students demonstrating their awareness

of forthcoming assessment. Accordingly, clearly establishing time parameters may encourage stu-

dents to completely watch videos because they are aware of deadlines involving assessment.

THE CURRENT STUDY

Past research has shown that there is a problem when it comes to video lecture viewership, namely

that not enough students are significantly watching the videos. This is evident in research showing

that many students fail to even watch part of a video lecture (Stein & Allione, 2014). Additionally, of

the students who actually start watching the videos, research shows that a number of them do not

complete all of the video lectures (Gorissen et al., 2012; Guo et al., 2014). One way of addressing

this issue may be through effective use of instructional design. Although no research was found

showing specific instructional design decisions that lead to students starting to watch videos, there is

sufficient support from related studies to form hypotheses. First, research has shown that setting the

curriculum has had a positive effect on attendance and engagement within offline courses (Berenson,

et al., 1992; Devadoss & Foltz, 1996; Dykman & Davis, 2008 Marburger, 2006; Phelps, et al., 1991;

Wisher & Priest, 1998). Second, from an e-learning standpoint, instructional design aimed at utilizing

the medium effectively has been shown to increase levels of engagement (DeRouin et al., 2004; Liaw,

2008). Additionally, designing video lectures that are a specific length has been shown to increase the

chance that students will complete the lectures (Guo et al., 2014) and that getting students to use the

platform effectively may influence their decision to continue watching the video lectures (J. Kim et

al., 2014). Finally, establishing time parameters may be effective in getting students to complete the

video lectures, as they anticipate assessment (Geri et al., 2014). This study seeks to answer the ques-

tion of whether instructional design actually affects students’ decisions to not only start watching

video lectures, but also to complete them once they have started. Based on previous research, the

following hypotheses are proposed:

RESEARCH H YPOTHESES

H1: Less than half of the respondents watched the video lectures.

H2: Less than 25% of the respondents completed a video.

H3: Instructional design is positively correlated with students starting the video lectures.

H4: Instructional design is positively correlated with students completing the video lectures.

It is predicted that results from the study presented in this study will demonstrate a relationship be-

tween instructional design, watching videos, and finishing videos. When instructional design is con-

sidered effective by learners, they will be more likely to begin watching videos and also finishing

them. A figure visually representing this relationship can be seen below. In Figure 1, the oval repre-

sents instructional design. Effective instructional design correlates with watching and completing

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

195

videos, as represented by the two boxes. Additionally, initially watching videos will also correlate with

completion. This is demonstrated by the arrow between the Watching videos and Completing videos boxes.

As can be also seen in Figure 1, the five instructional design indicators together load into the total

instructional design construct.

Figure 1. The indicators generating instructional design and instructional design

affecting watching videos and completing videos

METHODS

BACKGROUND TO THE OPEN CYBER UNIVERSITY

This research looks at the effects of instructional design in the Open Cyber University of Korea

(OCU). Participants that were a part of this study took OCU classes during the spring semester of

2016. The OCU was opened for classes in 1998, though its official founding is in 1997 (Jung & Rha,

2001). To finance the OCU, a consortium of 23 traditional offline universities came together so that

their students could take a wider variety of classes (Jung, 2000). The OCU is the largest provider of

cyber university courses in Korea with more than 400 courses and serving more than 120,000 stu-

dents each year (“About OCU,” n.d.). The contents, courses, and instructors that form part of the

OCU are provided by regular offline universities that make up the OCU (Jung & Rha, 2001).Some

classes offer offline meetups or offline assessment, though this is rare and most instruction, assess-

ment, and interaction take place online, however the participants in this study took classes that were

100% online.

Instructional

Design

Designing

methods

Setting the

curriculum

Establishing

time parame-

ters

Establishing

netiquette

Utilizing the

medium

Watching videos

Completing videos

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

196

OCU classes are available at no additional cost to students who are enrolled in offline courses in any

of the offline member universities that make up the consortium. However, payment is required for

OCU students not enrolled in one of the member universities. Representing the largest cyber univer-

sity consortium, the OCU offers more than 400 courses to approximately 120,000 students each year

(“About OCU,” n.d.). OCU classes are strictly taught online, with the exception of a few face-to-face

offline meetings offered to students not enrolled in any of the member universities. Generally speak-

ing however, OCU courses contain very little learner-to-learner interaction. Students who are en-

rolled at the member universities may take only one OCU class each semester (Jung & Rha, 2001).

The member universities provide the design, direction, content, and instructors of the OCU courses.

A council consisting of representatives selected by the member universities is in charge of policy

creation within the OCU (Jung & Rha, 2001). Additionally, instructional design and programming

teams provide additional support to the instructors of the OCU courses. Finally, an evaluation team

oversees the OCU, checking for aspects that may need help or further development (“About OCU,”

n.d.). The OCU runs its own learning management system. Though each class varies, there is space

on the LMS for attendance, video lectures, forums, professor Q and A, quizzes, and supplementary

audio and visual material (Han, 2012).

DATA COLLECTION AND RESPONDENTS

The beginning of the study included a series of short qualitative interviews with 10 students who

had taken OCU classes in the second semester of 2015. The questions that formed a part of these

interviews centered on the nature of learner-to-learner activities, the types of instruction that the

students encountered, and how they felt instructional materials in the OCU affected their learning

experience. A common comment from the interviews was that many students did not watch the vid-

eos. Though the videos are compulsory to watch, and students must click and start all videos as part

of their participation grade, one of the original interviewees Kim’s comment was typical, “I just turn

on the lecture and do something else, like watch T.V. or my phone.” Following that, a broad set of

survey items was given to 92 students. This survey contained items ranging from cheating online to

learner-to-learner interaction, to automated feedback systems. From this survey, several issues

showed themselves to be relevant to students. Therefore, a more specific survey designed to be taken

by a larger sample of students was developed. It is that second survey that is used for this study.

The survey was written in English first, and then later a Korean translation was created. This transla-

tion was evaluated by an expert in distance learning and the OCU. The translation was considered to

be clear and an accurate translation of the English survey. This survey was put into a Google Sheets

form and a link to the survey was sent to the OCU’s administration. The OCU administration

checked the contents of the survey and considered its appropriateness. Once the survey was accept-

ed a link to the survey was posted on the main information board of the OCU, along with a message

inviting the students to fill out the survey. The link was put the main board of the OCU in April of

2016. Students could fill out the form voluntarily and anonymously, by the time the survey was taken

offline in May, 1801 students had submitted surveys.

From the 1801 surveys that were submitted, 180 were removed from the analysis used as part of this

study as the respondents had failed to fill out the gender, age, start watching the lectures, complete

watching the lectures, or instructional design items. This left 1621 valid respondents, of which 828

were female (51%) and 793 were male (49%). The oldest subject was 63 while the youngest was 15,

with an average respondent age of 23.5. Among the respondents, they took a wide variety of classes

in the OCU, though each participant in the study was taking only one class at the time of the experi-

ment.

INSTRUMENT DEVELOPMENT

To create the measure to find out if the students started watching the video lectures, a single simple

item was used. This item read, “Did you actually watch any of this week's lectures?” There were only

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

197

two possible answers, “yes” or “no”. To find out if the students completed watching the video lec-

ture, another single item was used, which read, “Did you completely finish watching all of the lec-

tures?” As with the other item, there were only two possible options for the students to select, “yes”

or “no”.

To generate the instructional design levels used in this study, five items from Shea et al. (2003) were

used. These items are part of the instructional design and organization subcategory of teaching presence and

include the items: Overall, the instructor for this course clearly communicated important course outcomes (for exam-

ple, provided documentation on course goals); Overall, the professor for this course clearly communicated important

course topics(for example, provided a clear and accurate course overview); Overall, the instructor for this course clearly

communicated important due dates/time frames for learning activities that helped me keep pace with the course (for

example, provided a clear and accurate course schedule, due dates, etc.); Overall, the instructor for this course helped me

take advantage of the online environment to assist my learning (for example, provided instructions on how to navigate

or use the online system); Overall, the instructor for this course helped students to understand and practice the kinds of

behaviors acceptable in online learning environments (for example, how to communicate with the professor or students

online). The respondents were asked to score between 0 and 10 how much they agreed with the previ-

ous statements. Once the items were created in English, they were translated into Korean and dou-

ble-checked by an expert in teaching presence. Cronbach’s Alpha for the three items was calculated to

be .909, which was deemed high enough to be used as a single construct.

RESULTS

To gain an overall picture of the main variables used in this study, means for instructional design and

its component parts were examined. Overall the level of instructional design the students perceived

was 6.27. This level of instructional design is similar to that found in other research using this partic-

ular construct (Shea et al., 2003). The lowest score for instructional design was 0.0 and the highest

was 10, with a standard deviation of 2.19. Among the elements used to generate the instructional

design construct, the one with the highest average was designing methods (6.87), followed by setting

the curriculum (6.73), then establishing time parameters (6.44), and establishing netiquette (5.82),

with utilizing the medium effectively (5.47) having the lowest average score among the elements that

make up the instructional design construct (see Table 1).

Table 1. Descriptive statistics for instructional design (

= 1621)

Min

Max

Mean

Instructional Design (ID)

6.27

2.19

Designing methods

6.87

2.41

Setting the curriculum

6.73

2.42

Establishing time parameters

6.44

2.52

Establishing netiquette

5.82

2.76

Utilizing the medium effectively

5.47

2.64

Of the 1621 students who were a part of this study, 1353 began watching the videos (83%) and 242

did not even start watching the week’s videos (17%). Of those 1353 who began watching the videos,

only 962 students answered that they completed watching the videos and 391 students answered that

they did not complete watching the lectures. Furthermore, correlations were computed to see if there

was any relationship between starting to watch the lectures, completing the lectures, gender, and age.

As can be seen in Table 2, age was positively correlated with both beginning to watch the lectures

and completing the lectures, that is, older participants were more likely to begin watching and, also,

more likely to complete watching.

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

198

Table 2. Correlations between watching the lectures, and age

Starting to watch the lectures

Completing the lectures

Age

1621

.062*

.082**

** = Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

* = Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

In Table 3, the results comparing gender were included. The results show there is a statistically signif-

icant difference between males and females. Males were less likely to watch the videos. Furthermore,

of those that began, males were also less likely to complete watching the videos.

Table 3. Percentages of watching lectures by gender

Gender

Percentage

p-value

Participants who started to watch the videos (n = 1352)

Male

85%

.000

Female

91%

Participants who completed the videos (n = 962)

Male

76%

.000

Female

86%

Levels of instructional design were compared to see whether or not students started watching the

lectures. As can be seen in Table 4, higher levels of instructional design are positively correlated with

the students beginning to watch the lectures. Furthermore, the indicators that make up the instruc-

tional design construct were also compared with whether or not students started watching lectures.

Every indicator was positively correlated with the students starting to watch the lectures.

Table 4. Correlations between levels of instructional design and instructional design

indicators and participants starting to watch the lectures (

= 1621)

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

(6)

(7)

Starting to watch lec-

tures

Instructional design

.074**

Designing methods

.064**

.842**

Setting the curriculum

.050*

.887**

.847**

Establishing time pa-

rameters

.085**

.906**

.753**

.816**

Utilizing the medium

effectively

.059*

.808**

.494**

.547**

.641**

Establishing netiquette

.074**

.856**

.569**

.630**

.702**

.747**

** = Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

* = Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

Levels of instructional design were compared to whether or not students completed watching the

lectures. As can be seen in Table 5, higher levels of instructional design are positively correlated with

the students completing watching the lectures. Furthermore, the indicators that make up the instruc-

tional design construct were also compared with whether or not students completed watching the

lectures. Every indicator was positively correlated with the students completing the lectures.

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

199

Table 5. Correlations between levels of instructional design and instructional design

indicators and participants completing the lectures (

= 1353)

Completing the lec-

tures

Instructional design

.104**

Designing methods

.059*

.857**

Setting the curriculum

.077**

.890**

.859**

Establishing time pa-

rameters

.109**

.909**

.782**

.828**

Utilizing the medium

effectively

.084**

.809**

.513**

.553**

.634**

Establishing neti-

quette

.092**

.856**

.586**

.632**

.699**

.747**

** = Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)

* = Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)

DISCUSSION

H1 predicted that “Less than half of the respondents watched the video lectures”. This was not

proven. In fact, 82% of learners clicked on and watched at least some of the video lectures. This is

important as it goes against much of the current literature that suggests that video lectures are not

widely watched (Gorissen et al., 2012; McNulty et al., 2011; Stein & Allione, 2014). Active engage-

ment with course material is desirable for the instructors, the institutions designing it, and the stu-

dents in order to promote optimum outcomes. Therefore, the reasons for this difference are of keen

importance. One reason for this discrepancy could well be the instructional design employed. As will

be discussed below, this study included variables related to instructional design such as communi-

cating outcomes and effective use of the medium. Results showed a positive relationship between

these variables and watching video lectures.

The data did not support H2, which predicted that video lectures would be completed by less than

25% of students, as suggested by previous research (Gorissen et al., 2012; Guo et al., 2014; J. Kim et

al., 2014). In the current research, 71% of learners who began watching the video lectures completed

them. As with beginning to watch video lectures, this is highly significant as completing lectures was far

exceeded in this study compared to any study reviewed in the current literature on this topic. The

same variables related to instructional design that showed a positive relationship with beginning to watch

video lectures also had a positive relationship with completing the lectures.

Interestingly, older students were more likely to both begin watching and completing video lectures.

This could be an indication that older learners plan their time better so that they are able to watch

and finish more video while studying in a self-determined schedule. It could also mean that younger

learners have shorter attention spans resulting in them dropping out of videos early. A solution to

this discrepancy could be for instructors to identify and react to differences by providing edited high-

lights of the instruction or possibly simplified slides separate from the video lectures.

H3 stated that instructional design is positively associated with students starting the video lectures. In

this paper, instructional design is considered to be effective when the students perceive that the in-

structor has communicated key information to the students in a way that has helped them under-

stand what is required in order for them to be successful. In other words, the instructor has provided

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

200

the means to get them to learn (Dick et al., 2015). This type of instructional design is needed to give

students a good understanding of the course and to facilitate engagement. The data supported H3 in

that instructional design was positively correlated with students watching video lectures. As well as

being positively correlated with instructional design as a combined construct, it was also positively

corresponded with all constituent elements, as can be seen in Table 4. Other research had suggested

that this would be the case. The importance of communicating curricula (Almala, 2007; Dykman &

Davis, 2008; Li & Irby, 2008), communicating topics and outcomes (Evans, Baker, & Dee, 2016), and

using system and netiquette (Brown & Ford, 2002; Darlington, 2005; DeRouin et al. 2004; Magnus-

sen, 2008) have been shown to be important to learner engagement in previous studies examining

different contexts. However, this appears to be the first study to demonstrate a positive correlation

between students feeling positive about the instructional design employed and watching video lec-

tures.

The variable designing methods had a positive relationship with beginning to watch videos. As part of

this, outcomes, goals, and responsibilities, including the mandatory nature of watching videos would

have been communicated. These findings suggest that, in the same way making and communicating

the mandatory nature of attending traditional lectures increases attendance (Berenson et al., 1992;

Devadoss & Foltz, 1996; Marburger, 2006), making it clear that watching of video lectures is manda-

tory has a positive relationship with students at least beginning to watch them. As well as communi-

cating the mandatory nature of attendance, setting and communicating curricula has been shown to

have positive effects on learners’ engagement in traditional educational environments by providing a

clear rationale for participation, demonstrating that courses are clearly planned, and communicating

topics (Dykman & Davis, 2008; Evans et al., 2016; Phelps, Rosalie, Ashworth, & Hahn, 1991; Tyler,

2013; Wisher & Priest, 1998). The positive relationship reported in this study demonstrates that the

same is true of courses offered by cyber universities.

The variable setting the curriculum had a positive relationship with starting to watch videos. This echoes

Evans et al.’s (2008) study that showed that instructors can promote engagement by doing things like

by “batching” and clearly labeling similar topics.

The variable utilizing the medium effectively had a positive correlation with starting to watch videos. This

offers support to past studies which showed the importance of utilizing e-learning mediums of in-

struction in a way that allows learners to engage with them and optimize e-learning. DeRouin et al.

(2004), Liaw (2008), and Magnussen (2008) emphasized the need for training learners to help stu-

dents control their learning. Brown and Ford (2002) showed that this type of help can improve en-

gagement. Reeves (1993) and Darrington (2008) showed that the absence of ability to navigate a plat-

form leads to failure. This paper further adds to the debate by showing that a positive relationship

between showing learners how to use a cyber-university content delivery platform can lead to high

levels of video lecture viewership.

The other variables, establishing time parameters and establishing netiquette were also found to be positively

related to watching video lectures. The positive relationship with establishing time parameters could be

interpreted as showing the benefit of clearly communicating important dates such as deadlines, dues

dates, and any quiz or exam days to students on their beginning to watch video lectures. It is harder

to interpret the significance of a positive relationship with establishing netiquette. It could be that estab-

lishing group norms related to watching videos to allow for active participation in forums or discus-

sions may have played a part, but this is an area for future focus.

H4 stated that “Instructional design is positively correlated with completing video lectures”. This

hypothesis was proven. Not only was the combined construct instructional design found to have a posi-

tive relationship with completing video lectures, but each of the individual variables also had positive

relationships. This can be seen in Table 5.

The variables designing methods and setting the curriculum had a positive relationship with completing vid-

eos. As was discussed in the literature review, the length of a video and whether it was developed as

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

201

part of the instruction designed specifically for the online audience to which for whom it is being

utilized play important roles in determining how likely a student is to complete a video lecture (Guo

et al., 2014). The positive relationship demonstrated in this paper could be due to the communicating

the need for engaging with video until the end and the development of engaging topics which made

this more likely as these videos were developed specifically for students studying at the OCU. This

supports the idea that, as part of instructional design, video lectures should be tailored to their audi-

ence and the fact that this is the case communicated to students.

The variable utilizing the medium effectively had a positive relationship with completing videos. This was

also found to be the case by J. Kim et al. (2014). Their study showed that lack of ability to navigate

an online platform led to learners navigating away from videos early. This reinforces the need stated

above for learners to be assisted in becoming competent users of e-learning environments.

The variable establishing time parameters had a positive relationship with completing videos. This sup-

ports previous works that have demonstrated the importance of setting, pace, modulation, and track-

ing of due dates in online learning environments (Almala, 2007; Li & Irby, 2008). The current study

was not set up to ascertain when learners engaged with videos, so Geri et al.’s (2014) “U-shape” de-

scribed in the literature review could not be supported. The comparatively high number of students

completing videos combined with the positive relationship shown between setting dates and those

doing so suggests that, whenever learners are watching videos to completion, they are doing so in a

timely manner.

As with starting to watch videos, the relationship with establishing netiquette was positive, but the signif-

icance of this is a still opaque. Again, it could be that a positive relationship suggests that learners are

aware of their responsibilities as part of a community of inquiry as students of a cyber-university to

complete lecture more often than has been shown in previous studies. Again, this is an area for fu-

ture focus.

The five elements of instructional design used in this study are generally applied to online environ-

ments to provide students with clarity of the overall plan of the course. Furthermore, they are aimed

at promoting focus and direction among students within their online learning process (Shea et al.,

2003). The fact that students’ perception of this type of instructional design was correlated with vid-

eo lecture viewership is important within a general e-learning context, with particular importance

being placed on the Korean context. University e-learning environments in general have been found

to lead to low participation rates and often produce low levels of motivation and engagement (Yuan

& Powell, 2013). Maintaining student interest in watching video lectures is particularly critical in

South Korea, where video lectures generally reflect teacher-centered lectures that occur in offline

instruction (K. Lim, Kang, & Park, 2016). This has been attributed to long-standing cultural norms,

where Korean students are expected to be mere recipients of a one-sided lecture (K. Lim et al.,

2016). Disregarding traditional norms of Korean learners may be a delicate issue, but designing video

lectures to promote engagement and maintain their interest is a positive step for overcoming en-

gagement issues of e-learning within a Korean context. It is apparent from this study that promoting

Shea et al.’s (2003) instructional design elements addresses such engagement issues within a Korean

context, as video viewership was positively correlated with those elements.

CONCLUSION AND LIMITATIONS

This study examined the engagement with video lectures by students enrolled in online courses at a

cyber-university in South Korea by examining the relationship between watching video lectures and

five elements of instructional design – setting the curriculum, designing methods, establishing time

parameters, establishing group norms, and utilizing the medium effectively (Anderson et al., 2001). It

was found that, while many other studies showed that a small number of video lectures were watched

and ,of those that were watched, an even smaller number were completed, a large proportion of re-

spondents said they had watched video lectures and also completed them. It was also found that in-

structional design positively correlated with both students watching video lectures and the videos

Instructional Design & Student Engagement

202

being completed. The relationship between these constructs is similar to the one proposed in Figure

1. This study differs from previous work in that it sought to discover whether instructional design

considerations could affect student engagement with video lectures. The engagement by students

with video lectures has historically been low, while engagement has been shown to be of benefit.

Therefore, discovering ways in which engagement with video lectures can be improved is a worth-

while endeavor. Previous studies have addressed the effect of instructional design on student en-

gagement in traditional face-to-face contexts. Others have also addressed the effect of video design

considerations such as length and the use of mixed media on knowledge transfer. Others still have

considered the effect perceived ease of use and usefulness on engagement with online platforms.

However, as far as the authors know, this is the first study to illustrate the correlation between in-

structional design and engagement with video lectures. The, so, what?, of this study is that the atten-

tion that instructors pay to ensuring their instructional design is effective for online learning envi-

ronments can translate to increased student engagement with video lectures. At a time when online

education is in the ascendancy as the go to form of instruction in many contexts, and one in which

video lectures are a key component of instruction, consideration of how instructional design will

affect student engagement with these resources and in these contexts is an important one.

PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS

This study contributes to the discussion on using video lectures in online learning environments by

pointing out the important effect of instructional design on students’ engagement with a key means

of delivering content: video lectures. This study is of use to instructional designers as it demonstrates

the importance of getting key elements of instructional design right when creating online courses

which use video lectures.

First, goals and outcomes need to be clearly described when instructors are setting the curriculum.

This makes the value and purpose of engaging with video lectures clear. Second, when designing

methods, learners need to be aware of how they should complete tasks and assignments. In the con-

text of the study, watching video lectures was compulsory. A positive correlation between this varia-

ble and engagement with video lectures shows the importance of communicating this to students.

Additionally, it is tentatively suggested that consideration be given to making the watching of video

lectures compulsory and somehow linked to grading. Third, time parameters need to be established

so that learners engage with video lectures in a timely manner and are aware of the lectures with

which they need to engage with in time to meet due dates. Forth, and of critical importance, students

need to be trained in how to effectively engage with the technology utilized as a medium of content

delivery. This could be in the form of tutorial, workshops, or “how-to” guides. Finally, group norms

and netiquette need to be established for learners engaging in online environments. In relation to

watching video lectures, this could take the form of establishing how lectures could be consumed

and how the content should be used in future discussions or assignments.

A final point to take away from this study is that younger and older students may engage with video

lectures differently and alternatives could be considered to deliver content to younger students less

able to cope with the freedom of self-directed study and therefore less likely to begin or complete

video lectures.

FUTURE AREAS OF RESEARCH

Future areas of research to be considered involve isolating and examining in more detail the phe-

nomena reported in this paper. Additionally, other factors affecting student engagement need to be

further investigated. Most importantly, to what extent does making the watching of video lectures

mandatory affect their viewing? It has been suggested in this paper that making mandatory the

watching of video lectures promoted higher levels of engagement than in previous studies. An inter-

esting piece of research for consideration would be the comparative study of engagement among

students enrolled in online courses in which for one section watching videos is mandatory and for

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

203

another it is not. Secondly, investigations of the five constructs of instructional design could be fur-

ther investigated, in particular the most effective way to utilize the medium. A comparison of “how

to”, documents, tutorials, and workshops could, for example, be investigated. Lastly, further research

into the content and production of video lectures is required. One areas of interest could be the ef-

fect of using mixed media on engagement.

LIMITATIONS

Although the results appear to be useful for e-learning instructional designers who wish to promote

video viewership through instructional design decisions, there are limitations to this study. Primarily,

the survey provided a snapshot of a particular set of students studying in a particular context. It is

therefore limited in its generalizability. Caution should be applying these results to other contexts.

Further research on different contexts is necessary in order to verify this study.

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BIOGRAPHIES

Jamie Costley earned his PhD in Instructional Design in the College of

Education at Kongju National University, where he also works as a visit-

ing professor. Dr. Costley has been involved in teaching students in

blended learning situations and researching online instructional strategies

since 2010. His main area of research is the impact of task or learning

environment design on student-to-student interaction. Dr. Costley is cur-

rently involved in research into improving instruction in online classes in

South Korea, and welcomes contact on this topic.

Costley, Hughes, & Lange

207

Christopher Hughes is an educator who has taught and researched ef-

fective hybrid instructional strategies since 2006. He holds an MA in Ap-

plied Linguistics from University of Birmingham. His main area of inter-

est is how best to design online environments that maximize student en-

gagement. He is currently researching how differing factors affect student

engagement with online video lectures.

Christopher Lange is a visiting professor in the Liberal Arts department

at Joongbu University in South Korea. He has published papers on group

work and e-learning environments. His current research interests are the

effects of interaction within online learning environments. Additionally,

he is interested in investigating ways of improving online instruction, de-

sign, and delivery to better address the needs of e-learning students. He

recently earned a PhD in Education from Kongju National University in

South Korea.