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For a research project I've decided to look at the merits of teaching through video compared to teaching through the medium of a lecture. This lead me to Khan Academy, a website launched in 2006 with the purpose of teaching the masses for free using video.

Whilst I personally love the concept and think its a brilliant idea, I am yet to find ANY evidence on how effective Khan's solution is compared to more traditional teaching.

Maybe I am missing something obvious, but my question is:

  • Is there any evidence supporting Khan's (and others like his) concept?
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Sorry for being off-topic, but I can't resist: KHAAAAN! – Oliver_C Dec 21 '12 at 10:12
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On-topic: Wikipedia has a blurb on this. – Oliver_C Dec 21 '12 at 10:23

2 Answers

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Is there any evidence supporting Khan's (and others like his) concept?

There is at least one study that is supportive of the general concept.

Effectiveness of video as an instructional medium in teaching rural children

However there are almost certainly important differences which may have a bearing, for example the availablity of a teacher, familiar with the material, with whom the student can interactively discuss any parts they do not understand.

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This video discusses some of the problems with Khan Academy (and similar) videos. It seems that while these videos can definitely be useful, there are some problems with them in certain cases, most notably not paying enough attention and not recognising misconceptions.

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+1 answers the question and does so with a reference that uses data from research, in accordance with the policy of this site. – AlanSE Dec 21 '12 at 18:44
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This answer is poor because it just points to a video and doesn't explain anything at all. It's basically unreferenced just like any answer that doesn't look directly at the sources. – Sklivvz♦ Dec 21 '12 at 20:01
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+1 because I found it very interesting. However still looking for more evidence. – doreye01 Dec 22 '12 at 8:49
@Sklivvz I would argue that it is not a poor answer. It does point to a video, yes, but this video is by a person whose PhD. research (to which there is a link the description of the video, so it is not unreferenced) was about this topic and the video mentions the most important findings of this research in only 8 minutes. – ChaosAndOrder Dec 22 '12 at 16:32
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@ChaosAndOrder our reference requirements are strict, and the fact it comes from a PhD is just an appeal to authority. What is the evidence? The video is not evidence. – Sklivvz♦ Dec 23 '12 at 17:40
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