Video for Skills Learning – Evidence That it Works
Video feedback really works
Feedback is widely accepted as a critical part of the learning process (Boud & Molloy, 2013). As many scholars indicate, feedback not only provides direction on what particular techniques the leraner needs to improve, but is essential for the student’s growth – boosting their confidence, increasing motivation and self-esteem (Clynes & Raftery, 2008). While the feedback itself may be provided in a variety of different ways, there has been a particular surge in the use of video-based feedback methods alongside video assignments to support learning and education in professional development and sporting environments. More recently, as Lauber & Keller (2014) discuss, the usage of such methods in conjunction with course material may be an exceptionally promising tool within the health sector for the practice and education of nurses. With the critical responsibility of caring for and treating patients (often in stressful situations), the nursing educational process is rigorous and complex. There are a variety of skills a nursing student must master in order to be effective in their career including clinical practice, communication skills, motivational interviewing skills and many more. Early research suggests that video assignments and feedback are being put to effective use to assist in the mastery of such skills. Consider the following cases evaluating the effects of video feedback on various skills taught to nurses.
Case 1: Communication and Interview Skills
The Study:
A study conducted by Noordman, Vander Weijden and Van Dulmen (2010) examined the effects of individual video feedback on communication skills, clinical competence (adherence to practice guidelines), and interviewing skills of nurses working in primary care. The study involved 17 nurses and 325 patients in which nurse-patient consultations were video-taped at two sessions with an interval of 3-6 months. Before the recordings, nurses were allocated to a control or video-feedback group. Nurses allocated to the video-feedback group received video-feedback between the two sessions.
Findings:
The results indicated that nurses who received video-feedback appeared to pay significantly more attention to patient’s request for help, to accuracy in their head-to-toe examination, and gave significantly more understandable information to the patient. Moreover, in regards to interview skills, nurses in the video-feedback group appeared to pay more attention to ‘agenda setting and permission seeking’ during their consultations. Effectively, the study demonstrated that video-feedback may be an effective method to improve the generic communication skills of practicing nurses in the health sector. “Although a single video-feedback session does not seem sufficient to increase all motivational interviewing skills, significant improvement in some specific skills was found.”
A full link to the study may be found here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24588648
Case 2: Working with a Human Patient Simulator
The Study:
A similar study was conducted by Grant, Moss, Epps, and Watts (2010) to evaluate the effect of video-facilitated human patient simulator (HPS) practice and guidance on a student’s clinical performance. Students were given various roles and were evaluated on behaviors related to patient safety, communication, prioritization of care, implementation of appropriate interventions and delegation other health care team members. The study had 20 students from nursing and nursing anesthetist programs who participated in HPS practice and guidance with video feedback compared to a group of 20 students who participated in HPS practice and guidance that used oral feedback alone, in order to identify performance indicators that were sensitive to improvement.
Findings:
The study showed that there was a significant difference between the the intervention group exposed to video feedback and the control group on three of the desired simulation behaviours: patient identification, team communication, and assessing vital signs. The highest number of desired behaviors were exhibited by the intervention group. Although there were no huge differences between the intervention group exposed to video feedback and the control group in total performance scores, the mean scores on the desired simulation behaviors were higher in the former. This is great evidence that video-recording and feedback provides advantages in exactly the practices and skills that you would expect it to improve. Moreover, the students in the intervention group in this study expressed great satisfaction with the idea of viewing their performance on video and receiving feedback. We note that this was 2010, and the video recordings were not made available to the students on the internet and the feedback was not pinpointed to times on the videos, except by reference to the minute where it occurred.
A link to the full study may be found here: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1876139909005325
Case 3: Emergency Care
Method
A study was conducted by Anita Nystrom in 2014 on 44 undergraduate nursing students. The primary aim was to examine the experiences of nursing students being video-recorded during an examination and of receiving feedback on their performance. The examination involved providing proper and effective emergency care for a simulated patient. Descriptive in design, the study tested the effectiveness using a qualitative approach with written answers and open ended questions.
Findings
The study revealed a great deal about the usage of video-recordings and feedback. While some students reported feeling tension knowing that their examination would be recorded, many of the subjects felt the dialogue with and responses from the teacher in connection with visualized feedback were beneficial the process was an excellent learning opportunity for the process of emergency care. As reported by Nystrom
“The students described how this opened their eyes to their own actions, and that visualization provided an opportunity to increase self-knowledge, both as a person and regarding their role as a nurse. The video-recording allowed them to see clearly and reconnect to what they had done and what they had neglected to do, which enabled the students to prepare for their future professional role.”
A link to the full study may be found here: http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:648405/FULLTEXT03
Video-enabled learning is better for mastering skills
Overall, these case studies demonstrate that within the health sector, video-recording and video based feedback are viable valuable educational tools which promote dialogue, increased self-knowledge and professional growth for nursing students. They are very effective in bolstering students’ communication and interview skills, their abilities with HPS, and their ability to handle an emergent situation. However, as with other professions, the effectiveness of the feedback is heavily dependent on the feedback process, and the ability of the instructor to provide timely criticisms. Giving students clear and constructive feedback on their work in progress is just as important as giving clear instructions for the assignment itself, and platforms like WeVu help provide a nuanced solution to this problem. The software not only allows for students to see what happened and learn from their experiences but also provides an effective outlet for instructors to give students feedback throughout the learning process. The accessibility of the video for student reflection, peer feedback, instructor coaching, and assessment – plus the comments appearing at the right time and place on the video – makes it even more likely that we will see learning gains from the use of video for skills learning.
