The Lecture Capture Paradox: Disentangling the Benefits and Drawbacks of In-Person Lecture Recordings
Lecture capture (LC) offers students flexible opportunities to review lecture content, yet their impact on learning and study behaviour remains contested. This seminar synthesizes two projects examining LC use and exam performance across undergraduate biology courses enabling both between- and within-student analyses.
TILE Network
Date: Wednesday 25 March 2026
Time: 16:00 - 17:00
Venue: Teams
Category: Academic events
Speaker: Kirk Hillsley (he/him)
Abstract:
Lecture capture (LC) offers students flexible opportunities to review lecture content, yet their impact on learning and study behaviour remains contested. This seminar synthesizes two projects examining LC use and exam performance across undergraduate biology courses enabling both between- and within-student analyses.
In the first dataset, continuous LC availability was examined across in-person courses, each with three independent, non-cumulative exams. LC viewers outperformed non-viewers (66.1% vs. 59.4%). Zoom analytics showed that total LC view time was the most significant metric. Mixed-effects modelling revealed opposing associations of total view time (+1.74% /hour) and number of lectures viewed (-1.92% per lecture), with the combined metric of ‘average minutes viewed per lecture’ being the strongest predictor of exam performance. Decomposition of total LC time suggested a positive between-student effect (+2.52% /hour) but a negative within-student effect (-0.84% /hour) consistent with “cramming”.
The second dataset extends these findings using a within-course quasi-experimental design in which half of lecture blocks were recorded and half unrecorded, with attendance electronically tracked. Across both datasets, results are consistent with a Theory of Self-Regulated Learning interpretation: LC can enhance achievement when integrated into regular, distributed study routines, but mere availability may inadvertently foster counterproductive study habits.
About the speaker:
Kirk Hillsley (he/him)
Assistant Professor | Trent University, Ontario, Canada
A very potted bio:BSc in Physiology and Ph.D in Neurophysiology, Sheffield University UKPostdoc'd in USAResearch director at a small Canadian biotech companyLecturer at Ontario Institute of TechnologyLecturer at Trent University (2014-)SoTL research on Lecture Capture (starting in 2023) emerged from the COVID pandemic.