Students Submit Video Recordings on Carmen for More Effective Peer Review and Self Reflection

CarmenCanvas is constantly improving and adding new features that can enhance the teaching and learning experience.  Hollie Moots, Instructor of Clinical Practice at the Ohio State College of Nursing, is using video submissions on Carmen to advance peer and personal reflections. She was inspired to incorporate a new way of learning after researching the effects of video in the classroom.

Throughout the Health Assessment course, Moots has classes totaling 165 students, and these students typically practice procedures on each other in the lab. During the autumn 2018 semester, however, Moots asked a group of 10 students to pilot a different version of the class in which they also videotaped themselves performing health assessments on classmates and then watched the videos to better understand their interactions with the patient and overall success of procedures.

To do so, Moots had cameras set up in the lab. In order to prepare for their head-to-toe final in which they would assess the health of their patient, the students recorded a practice round two weeks before the exam.

“Originally, I thought I’d have them use their phones because that’s easy and familiar for them, but then I realized that wouldn’t work for confidentiality reasons. Instead, I requested each student’s video clip from IT and sent it them individually,” Moots explained.

Students were then asked to watch their own video and one of a classmate’s. Were they talking too much or too little to their patient? How accurate were their results? Having students see their own actions allowed them to learn what areas to improve on or what they’re doing well at.

“Even though it made me a little nervous to take the video, seeing it was really helpful and made me realize that I knew more and was more capable than I may have felt like I was,” one student reported.

The best news about this new use of Carmen? 100% of the students agreed that reviewing both their own and a peer’s video was helpful.

“I really enjoyed doing this because not only was I prepared weeks ahead of the actual assessment, I also was able to share what I’ve been doing with my family members and it was really awesome!” one student commented.

Because all students agreed this system should be used for the entire course, Moots hopes to expand video assignments to all students enrolled and eventually other courses.

“Peer review is a major concept in nursing; you have to give evaluations of employees all the time, so this will help students give and receive professional feedback,” she explains.

Moots recommends to anyone interested in using these unique CarmenCanvas features to start by reading about peer reviews on Canvas Community. Tutorials can also be read to answer questions. Additionally, she also suggests requiring a written or formal submission of review and reflection in order to guarantee all students are using this resource to their advantage.