Elevating student potential: creating digital video to teach neurotransmission

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience education
• Educational technology

Background:

• Students' ubiquitous access to technology necessitates integrating digital tools into education.
• Traditional teaching methods may not fully engage contemporary students.
• Adapting pedagogical strategies to leverage students' digital literacy is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To assess the effectiveness of a digital video creation project in teaching neurotransmission.
• To evaluate student engagement and understanding of neurological concepts through multimedia projects.
• To determine the flexibility of this approach for various neuroscience courses.

Main Methods:

• Students in an introductory neuroscience course created 3-5 minute digital videos on neurotransmission.
• Video projects incorporated images, text, animation, and music using freeware.
• Learning outcomes were compared to students taught via traditional methods.

Main Results:

• Students who created videos demonstrated a superior understanding of neurotransmission across multiple levels (Bloom's revised taxonomy).
• Engagement increased irrespective of students' career aspirations in neuroscience.
• The approach was validated through direct and indirect assessments.

Conclusions:

• Digital video creation is an effective strategy for teaching complex neuroscience concepts.
• This flexible pedagogical approach enhances student engagement and comprehension.
• The method holds potential for broad application in upper-level neuroscience curricula.