Lecture Recordings, Viewing Habits, and Performance in an Introductory Programming Course

Abstract

Lecture recordings are a common and useful resource for students due to the flexibility they provide. Recent rapid shifts to online modes of teaching have made recorded lectures especially valuable as many students rely on them to access course content. As a result, there is a pressing need to understand how students consume lecture content via recordings and what patterns of access are effective. In this research, we investigate the common lecture recording viewing behaviors of students and the relationship between lecture recording viewing and academic performance in a first-year programming course. Several trends were observed. A significant positive correlation between lecture recording views and final grades was identified. Students who repeated the course after failing it once, achieved, on average, higher grades if they had more lecture recording views in their second attempt. A small number of students engaged in habitual “binge-watching” behavior and those students had lower grades, on average, than students who watched more regularly. This was a particular problem for repeating students, attempting the course a second time, who failed the course at twice the rate if they engaged in habitual binge-watching. Although lecture recordings appear to be a helpful learning resource for students in introductory programming courses, this work suggests that binge-watching is an unproductive study strategy that should be discouraged.