Recording lectures and the impact on student attendance

by Ms Jocasta Williams, Mr Michael Fardon

Recording university lectures has become a relatively common practice in recent years, attempting to make the lecture method more accessible and flexible for an increasingly diverse student population. Although numerous studies have been conducted into how the recording of lectures has impacted teaching and learning practices, the debate regarding student (non-)attendance at live lectures persists. Investigating the relationship between recording university lectures and attendance at live lectures was the focus of a study in 2006 at the University of Western Australia (UWA) where the practice of recording lectures is deeply embedded in the university's teaching and learning fabric.

The results from the 2006 UWA study confirm that lecture recordings are now a critical learning resource for many UWA students and most stated that, despite using lecture recordings, they still attend live lectures regularly. In reviewing the feedback from students, it became evident that they could be divided into two separate (although frequently overlapping) groups: those who use lecture recordings instead of attending live lectures (e.g. those with timetable clashes, work commitments and/or medical conditions), and those who use them as well as attending live lectures (e.g. to support revision and reviewing concepts and/or to overcome language barriers).

Out of the study, three main topics were highlighted for further consideration: firstly, the importance of advising students of the appropriate use of lecture recordings; secondly, the focus on student attendance at lectures should shift to a focus on student engagement with lecture material; finally, the need for lecturers to ensure effective support for students who have become highly dependent on recordings for their learning activities.

The practice of recording lectures and its impact on lecture attendance is being widely-debated in higher education internationally and this presentation will offer a useful insight into the topic through sharing the findings from this study.

ID Number: 1064

Date: Wednesday, 5th September 2007

Time: 1600

Location: Law and Social Sciences Building, Room B62

Theme: Large-scale implementation

Presentation: 2007_AltC_Williams_Attendance.pdf (The file which you can access from this link is the responsibility of the author of the Abstract to which the file relates, not ALT.