Is an Instructional Video Better than a Face-to-face Demo to Teach T-budding in an Intro Plant Propagation Course?

Abstract

Teaching grafting techniques like T-budding is challenging because learners must pay close attention to detail, observing closeups of plant structures and following specific sequences, and such attention to detail is difficult to achieve in large enrollment classes. The objective of this study was to compare the effectiveness of an instructional video vs. traditional face-to-face demonstrations to teach T-budding. A 10-minute instructional video demonstrating the steps necessary for T-budding was developed in 2001. For three consecutive years (2001, 2002, and 2003) the two methods were compared by having students see a video or receive a face-to-face demonstration, asking them to graft three buds to a root-stock and then complete a survey. Ninety students were taught T-budding with the aid of the video, and 80 students received traditional, face-to-face demos. In the survey, students were asked to evaluate the clarity of the T-budding instructions, rate the amount of help they needed from the instructor, assess the level of difficulty of T-budding, and answer two questions that tested their conceptual knowledge of T-budding. There was no difference between the two groups in the amount of time it took for students to complete the assignment and in terms of the perceived level of difficulty of the assignment. Students reported that the clarity of the face-to-face demonstrations was better than that of the video presentation, but students who saw the video obtained higher scores in the quiz than those who received a face-to-face demonstration.