Evaluating Storytelling Videos Using YouTube Analytics

Prior research has shown that storytelling is an effective method for increasing comprehension of concepts. Students often find computational topics, such as data structures, to be difficult to grasp initially. To bridge this gap, we investigate whether the use of storytelling in pre-lecture videos increases students' retention and understanding. At a North American university, instructors randomly assigned students to two separate groups who watch different types of pre-lecture videos: one in a traditional format and the other where they teach a concept through storytelling. These videos were deployed as unlisted YouTube links embedded in students' quizzes. Using YouTube's Reporting API, we analyzed the audience retention data against elapsed time to compare audience retention between traditional and storytelling teaching methodologies. There were more storytelling videos with a higher average retention level, and the audience displayed less skipping behaviour than their traditional counterparts. In the future we will further analyze students' perceptions of storytelling videos to better understand higher audience retention and the effectiveness of learning through storytelling lectures.