A high school principal is conducting classroom walkthroughs. A first-year teacher shows a video documentary; most students appear engaged, while others are distracted. Which strategy would be most appropriate for the principal to suggest to the teacher to improve instruction?

• A. Including activities before and after the video to establish and reinforce learning objectives
• B. Replacing the video with a textbook
• C. Providing longer videos without activities
• D. Reducing accountability

Answer: (A)

Setting and reinforcing learning objectives around video instruction through activities before and after is a high-leverage approach. When students have a brief pre-activity, they activate prior knowledge and understand what they should focus on, which helps sustain attention and makes the video more purposeful. Establishing clear objectives at the outset gives them a target for what they should learn, and it guides the questions or prompts used during the viewing. Afterward, a follow-up activity reinforces the key ideas, allows students to apply what they saw, and provides a clear check for understanding. This combination helps connect the video content to evidence of learning and supports all learners, including those who were distracted at times.

Replacing the video with a textbook loses the engaging multimedia element and the opportunity to teach with a specific objective in mind. Providing longer videos without accompanying activities can increase cognitive load without guiding students toward meaningful processing. Reducing accountability would undermine expectations for learning and the practice of staying on task.