The Effect of a Familiar and Unfamiliar Lecturer on Attention Level and Assimilation of Information in a Video Lecture: Preliminary Experimental Data

The development of modern pedagogical science cannot be imagined today without the use of modern technologies and arrangement of interdisciplinary relationships. An example of such interaction is neuropedagogy which can be considered as a scientific field that combines pedagogy, cognitive sciences and neuroscience, to be used to investigate the interrelation between the physiological processes in the brain and learning. The paper presents the results of a research carried out to investigate the effect of a familiar and unfamiliar lecturer on attention level and information assimilation through a video lecture using the electroencephalogram. The “attention” scale was assessed on the basis of the analysis of beta and theta rhythms ‘ activity. During the pilot experiment, the testees watched two video lectures. One of them was presented by a familiar trusted lecturer whose lectures the learners had already listened to. The second video lecture was delivered by an unfamiliar lecturer whom the learners had never heard before. According to the preliminary study results, both videos showed exactly the same mean value attention of 81.1 %. However, the video lectures assimilation rates differed. The efficiency in case of the familiar lecturer was 72%, and 60% in case of the unfamiliar lecturer. The obtained data require further study and confirmation, extension of the sample and testing of different video topics for more objective assessment. The lecturer's role needs clarification and can help to improve the perception of information.