Orientation Videos in Online Project-Based Teacher Professional Development Short Courses: Enhancing Engagement but not Retention

Project-based learning (PjBL) offers a valuable framework for teacher professional development (TPD). However, the complexity of PjBL can hinder engagement and retention in asynchronous online formats, particularly in contexts with low computer literacy and limited infrastructure. Orientation videos, which combine announcements, technical demonstrations, and instructional scaffolding, can potentially decrease extraneous and intrinsic cognitive load in online TPD. This explanatory sequential (quant-qual-) mixed-methods instrumental case study explores the value of orientation videos in an online PjBL short course. Data were collected from two implementations of a six-month short course, with a focus on the second implementation, which included orientation videos. Video usage data for all 62 participants enrolled in this second implementation were collected from the video hosting platform. Additionally, 22 of the 28 participants who completed the short course, as well as 10 who dropped out, voluntarily completed a post-course questionnaire. Retention was compared between the two implementations of the short course, i.e., without and with the videos. Data were analysed with descriptive statistics and through inductive thematic analysis. Findings reveal that participants who completed the short course engaged actively with the videos, which they found clearer than equivalent text. However, the videos did not improve participant retention. Orientation videos could be a scalable design element to support engagement in online PjBL TPD. The context- or design-specific nature of the benefits observed here still needs to be determined.