"How To" Videos
Overview
Breaking down something into its simplest steps can be challenging and fun. This strategy uses video as a tool to let learners articulate the steps behind a process, one that they already know or one that you’d like them to practice. Topics can range from serious to funny and they can be generated by teachers or learners. The process of making “How To” videos help learners plan, organize, and articulate their thoughts and can support oral and written communication. This strategy can be used to address academic goals (e.g. applying literacy skills, describing knowledge in content areas) and social/behavioral goals (e.g., practicing routines, working on desired behaviors).
Videos & Examples
What is a “How To” video? (2:44)
This video describes what a “how to” project addresses and how the process of making the videos can support academic, behavioral, and socio-emotional objectives.
How to Make a “How To” Video (1:24)
Watch a short video that uses this strategy to illustrate how a group makes a “how to” video.
Tip Sheet
This Tip Sheet: Key Elements of a “How To” video lists the key considerations for making a “How To” video.
Student-made “How To” Video Examples
These are examples made by students of varied ages. Each group discussed their topic, decided on 5-6 scenes, created titles, and filmed their videos.
More Examples
Check out these “How to” video examples made by teachers. These videos include useful, funny, and informative videos that can be instructional and fun to make.
How can you integrate this strategy in the classroom?
The table below illustrates how the “How To” video strategy can be used in various lessons to reduce barriers and address learner variability in alignment with the steps of the UDL Design Cycle.
| Goal for this lesson | This strategy can be used to show and describe a process. This strategy can address a variety of academic objectives and behavioral/social objectives and can allow students to demonstrate knowledge and skills in various areas. Goals that this strategy addresses includes:
|
|---|---|
| Potential barriers to reaching this goal |
|
| Learner variability factors | Strengths:
Preferences:
Support Needs:
|
| Assessment | Have the learner(s) write out the “titles” for each short video clip. Take a look at the title and give feedback if needed (for example, if they are missing a step or could add something else, you can provide feedback.) Provide feedback as needed as students work together on making the videos. Groups of students will need different levels of guidance. |
| Methods | Identify a skill that a student (or group of students) can break down into simple steps. You can also have your learner(s) pick the skill they’d like to show. If you are picking a skill for learner(s) you can pick something they know how to do or a skill you’d like them to think about and practice. The process of making the video lets learners articulate how to do something and reinforce their ability to master the skill. Ask student(s) to plan out 5-6 short video clips breaking down the skill or process. If learners are working in groups, have them collaborate on how to demonstrate an action in each video. Encourage groups to share tasks (who is acting, who’s taking video, etc). After coming up with the actions they will do on each short video, students create “titles” on paper for each short video clip. The titles serve as an organizational tool and can support literacy skills. If you are working with young children or students who are unable to write a title, help them with this skill. As you or the students record the short videos, you can start again if the students want to re-record. The key to this strategy is that there is no editing necessary. Record the short clips as many times as needed to get the take that students want. The clips are short (less than 10 seconds) so it’s easy to record and redo if needed. This also gives students practice with various skills. The end result is 5 to 6 short clips that you can piece together using video editing software (for example, iMovie or WeVideo) or put onto Google Slides. If you use Google Slides, each clip can go on one slide. In Google Slides, you can also encourage students to add titles or words on the slide to enhance literacy learning. |
| Materials |
|
How does this strategy support multilingual learners and students with disabilities?
This strategy aligns to the Foundations and Frameworks for supporting Multilingual Learners (MLLs) and Students with Disabilities in the following ways:
Content and Language Development | “How To” videos address all principles of content and language development and support learners’ social, affective, and cognitive needs. The strategy especially addresses: Support for language production
Opportunities for feedback and practice
Cultural & Linguistic Connections
|
|---|---|
Universal Design for Learning | The process of making “How To” video is where a lot of the learning occurs. The process can be fun and engaging while also building in many opportunities for learning. This strategy incorporates various strategies that align to all three UDL principles:Representation, Action & Expression and Engagement: UDL Guideline 3: Comprehension
When learners create their videos, they internalize skills that can be transferred and used in other settings. Viewing one’s own “How To” videos or those made by peers can also support generalization and understanding of the skills being demonstrated and how to articulate information Action & Expression Guidelines Guideline 5: Communication and Expression
These videos allow learners to demonstrate and articulate ideas using various tools. Although the end product may be a video, learners can use various tools and resources as they develop the project. For example, they can create “title slides” on paper to introduce each clip; this can help learners organize the key steps in their videos. They can also use props and other resources in the video to help them express and illustrate their ideas and thoughts.
Learners have many avenues of developing ideas and practicing what and how they will say in the process of making this project. They can have fun recording and rerecording (and simply delete the clips they do not want). Teachers can provide formative feedback as they develop their ideas or video clips. “How To” videos allow learners to develop ideas and record short videos that do not have to be perfect and to pull together the clips they want in their final video. Guideline 6: Executive Functions
The process of making “How To” videos provides many powerful supports for executive function. Learners can set an end goal (what they are going to demonstrate) and then plan how they will break that down into chunks. By creating “titles slides” for each clip, they can organize how they will articulate their thoughts. Guideline 7: Recruiting interest
Learners can decide what they would like to demonstrate and how they would like to show their skills and articulate their ideas. These projects can be very motivating because the learners are in charge of deciding what they would like to do. Teachers and aides can provide support as needed. Guideline 8: Sustaining effort and persistence
Because these projects rely on learners articulating something they feel good at or are interested in, they are inherently motivating. The projects can be solo or incorporate peers and others, depending on the topic. (For young children, “How To” videos can be a great way to have learners demonstrate classroom/community norms. For older children, these videos can be an opportunity to work with peers to demonstrate ideas and skills, related to content you are teaching, behaviors they are working on, or things that students want to show, allowing them to demonstrate their strengths and interests..) Guideline 9: Self Regulation
“How To” videos inherently support many aspects of self-regulation. In the process of creating the content for the videos, learners have a chance to articulate and show how to do something well and demonstrate what they know, which is inherently motivating. The strategy lets learners demonstrate how to meet expectations and showcases that they can articulate it in their own unique and creative ways. As they work on their projects, learners can evaluate the direction of their project and make quick decisions on what to edit/delete, allowing them to assess and self-reflect. |
Multilingual Learners and Students with Disabilities | The process of making these videos can support several cognitive aspects of learning. Teachers can provide scaffolds, as needed by the learner(s), to help students break down the task.
Some specific supports that are inherent to the process of making “How To” videos include:
|
Culturally Relevant Practices and Asset-Based Pedagogies | “How to” videos can be on topics of interest to the learners. Learners can choose topics that have cultural connections (e.g., how to do something or make something relevant to their home, family or cultural connections) and linguistic backgrounds (incorporating home language into their videos). These videos can also be made with others, allowing learners to highlight friends and family in their work. |
Additional Resources
The “How to” Video Strategy is based in the evidence-based practices of video modeling (VM) and video self-modeling (VSM). Video Modeling provides a video-based model of target skills or behaviors and Video Self Modeling incorporates the student doing target skills or behaviors themselves on video. Video modeling and video self-modeling have an extensive research base, and are considered evidence-based practices to support students with disabilities.
The “How To video strategy adapts the VM/VSM concept and incorporates the opportunity to let students demonstrate a variety of skills and create videos. The “How To” strategy breaks the process into steps and can be useful and motivating for all learners, including language learners and students with disabilities.
Research & References
Rao, K., & Skouge, J. (2015). Using multimedia technologies to support culturally and linguistically diverse young children and their families. In K. Heider & M.R. Jalongo (Eds.), Young children and families in the information age: Applications of technology in early childhood (pp. 101-115). Springer. doi: 10.1007/978-94-017-9184-7_1
Rao, K., & Torres, C. (2017). Supporting academic and affective learning processes for ELLs with Universal Design for Learning (UDL). TESOL Quarterly, 51(2), 241-287. doi:10.1002/tesq.342