When students are disengaged during video-based lessons, what is a recommended tactic to connect content to learning goals?

• A. Incorporating activities before and after the video to establish and reinforce learning objectives
• B. Increasing the video length
• C. Switching to lecture-only format
• D. Having students summarize the video in one sentence

Answer: (A)

Connecting content to learning goals comes alive when you frame the video with purposeful tasks before and after viewing. Pre-view activities set the learning objectives and activate prior knowledge, giving students a clear reason to engage with the content. Post-view tasks require applying or reflecting on what was learned, reinforcing the objectives and helping students see how the content translates into real skills or understandings. This alignment keeps the lesson goal-focused and enhances motivation and accountability. Longer videos, a lecture-only approach, or a quick one-sentence summary don’t establish or reinforce that connection as effectively, because they either fail to cue the objectives, reduce active processing, or provide insufficient practice and reflection.