Students Can Give Psychology Away: oral presentations on YouTube

Abstract

This article describes a novel assignment involving students giving a presentation on YouTube about how to apply behavior-modification principles to change a specific type of behavior, chosen by each student. The presentations covered topics such as how to end nail biting and how to reduce anxiety about public speaking. Giving an oral presentation on YouTube rather than in the classroom has advantages in (1) being feasible for large classes and for students in online-only courses, (2) saving class time, (3) allowing students to view their own performance, (4) allowing easier grading, and (5) creating an opportunity for students to 'give psychology away' to the public. Submission of links to YouTube videos by almost every student in the course, with no significant technical problems, demonstrated the feasibility of requiring video presentations. Evaluations of the assignment by 48 students, responding anonymously, indicated that students viewed the experience as helping them increase their public-speaking skills and confidence and improve their knowledge of the presentation topic. Other psychology courses could use a similar assignment.