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Video playback speed impacts and attitudes in a soil science course.

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Title: Video playback speed impacts and attitudes in a soil science course.
Authors: Rees, Gordon L.1 (AUTHOR) grees@calpoly.edu, Graham, Rebecca1 (AUTHOR), Yee, Rebecca S.2 (AUTHOR), Guzman, Jacob A.3 (AUTHOR)
Source: Natural Sciences Education. Jun2026, Vol. 55 Issue 1, p1-14. 14p.
Subject Terms: *Higher education, *Outcome assessment (Education), *Educational outcomes, *Educational films, Closed captioning, Soil science
Abstract: Asynchronous video lectures are regularly used in higher education, and students are commonly able to manipulate playback of these videos by adjusting playback speed and turning on closed captioning. The impact of these types of adjustments on student learning has been studied in a few fields, but additional study of the topic is needed, and the combination of the use of captions with video speed adjustments has only been minimally evaluated. In this study, we used a survey with embedded short lecture videos at controlled playback speeds (1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, and 2x), with or without auto‐generated captions, followed by short quizzes to evaluate the impact of video speed on short‐term retention. The assessment was completed by 468 students in an introductory soil science course, with videos focused on soil science concepts at an upper‐division undergraduate level. Most students reported that they habitually turn on captions and increase playback speed for lecture videos, with 1.25x being the most commonly reported speed. We found that in some, but not all cases, increasing playback to 2x speed had small but significant negative impacts on student performance on post‐video quizzes relative to 1.5x speed, but there were no negative impacts up to 1.5x speed. The addition of auto‐generated captions did not impact learning outcomes, and there were no differences as a function of gender, year in school, or video playback habits. We conclude that increasing playback speed for video lectures is unlikely to have major negative impacts on student learning. Core Ideas: Most students increase playback speed and turn on captions for lecture videos and feel both benefit their learning.Video playback speed had inconsistent, small negative impacts on concept retention at 2x, but no impact up to 1.5x.Presence of auto‐generated closed captions did not impact student performance on post‐video quizzes.Other factors, including gender, year in school, and video playback habits, did not impact these results. Plain Language Summary: When students watch prerecorded lecture videos, they often have the ability to adjust playback by changing the video speed or turning on captions. In this study, we asked students in an introductory soil science course about their experiences and habits with watching lecture videos, showed them two short videos about more advanced soil science topics at different playback speeds with or without captions, and then quizzed them on the material in the videos they had just watched. Most students reported that they commonly speed up their lecture videos and turn on captions. We found that speeding videos up to two times regular speeds led to slightly lower quiz scores some but not all of the time, but 1.25x and 1.5x did not hurt performance. Turning on captions did not have an impact on quiz scores. Overall, we conclude that speeding up lecture videos isn't likely to have a major impact on learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
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Database: Education Research Complete
Description
Abstract:Asynchronous video lectures are regularly used in higher education, and students are commonly able to manipulate playback of these videos by adjusting playback speed and turning on closed captioning. The impact of these types of adjustments on student learning has been studied in a few fields, but additional study of the topic is needed, and the combination of the use of captions with video speed adjustments has only been minimally evaluated. In this study, we used a survey with embedded short lecture videos at controlled playback speeds (1x, 1.25x, 1.5x, and 2x), with or without auto‐generated captions, followed by short quizzes to evaluate the impact of video speed on short‐term retention. The assessment was completed by 468 students in an introductory soil science course, with videos focused on soil science concepts at an upper‐division undergraduate level. Most students reported that they habitually turn on captions and increase playback speed for lecture videos, with 1.25x being the most commonly reported speed. We found that in some, but not all cases, increasing playback to 2x speed had small but significant negative impacts on student performance on post‐video quizzes relative to 1.5x speed, but there were no negative impacts up to 1.5x speed. The addition of auto‐generated captions did not impact learning outcomes, and there were no differences as a function of gender, year in school, or video playback habits. We conclude that increasing playback speed for video lectures is unlikely to have major negative impacts on student learning. Core Ideas: Most students increase playback speed and turn on captions for lecture videos and feel both benefit their learning.Video playback speed had inconsistent, small negative impacts on concept retention at 2x, but no impact up to 1.5x.Presence of auto‐generated closed captions did not impact student performance on post‐video quizzes.Other factors, including gender, year in school, and video playback habits, did not impact these results. Plain Language Summary: When students watch prerecorded lecture videos, they often have the ability to adjust playback by changing the video speed or turning on captions. In this study, we asked students in an introductory soil science course about their experiences and habits with watching lecture videos, showed them two short videos about more advanced soil science topics at different playback speeds with or without captions, and then quizzed them on the material in the videos they had just watched. Most students reported that they commonly speed up their lecture videos and turn on captions. We found that speeding videos up to two times regular speeds led to slightly lower quiz scores some but not all of the time, but 1.25x and 1.5x did not hurt performance. Turning on captions did not have an impact on quiz scores. Overall, we conclude that speeding up lecture videos isn't likely to have a major impact on learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
ISSN:21688273
DOI:10.1002/nse2.70046