Use of instructional videos in leadership education in higher education under COVID-19: A qualitative study

multimedia learning theories [86, 89], which stressed that highlighting key points and using flow charts or tables for presentations reduced learners’ extraneous cognitive load, thus improved their learning efficiency. Also, the “modality” principle was supported, which stated that presenting visual illustrations with voiceover narration could improve learning efficiency [32, 90]. For the features of case-based videos, some students in this study favored animation in the case-based videos because they were interesting to them, while some students preferred the use of role-play video production because it was more engaging. Studies also revealed that voice recordings in animated videos could bring cases to life [91], while stories with real-life filming could add a sense of realism and transfer textbook knowledge to practical settings for students [92]. Moreover, this study found that students perceived that the combination of the- ory-related videos and case-based videos offered a variety of video format, which enhanced their interest. In the literature, studies examined college students’ and teachers’ preferences for different video presentation format. It was found that videos on hands-on demonstration were most welcomed by college teachers [93], while videos that demonstrated instructors’ presence were helpful to university students’ learning [32, 94]. The current study adds to the literature by illustrating how theory-related videos and case-based videos could engage students’ interest.

Third, for video content, in this study, students expressed that the difficult English vocabu- laries in the theory-related videos may bring additional challenge for them. In the literature, the majority of studies on video-based teaching and learning were conducted in the Western context, so this study showed how language could create a barrier for learners in the Chinese context. The “subtitle” principle proposed by Mayer et al. [95] also highlighted that having video subtitles was beneficial for students with diverse cultural or language background. Besides, this study found that the use of more realistic situations in case-based videos could arouse students’ interest. In the literature, a study revealed that cases could link content with action, and could relate students’ learning with others’ experience [96]. Another study examin- ing the use of videos to simulate clinical scenarios in nursing education also found that video simulation could effectively enhance students’ critical thinking skills and leadership competen- cies, suggesting the usefulness of videos in helping nursing students to transfer textbook knowledge to professional practice [97]. Fourth, this study examined how the videos benefited students’ pre-lesson self-learning. For theory-related videos, students believed that the videos enabled them to learn the theories in a self-learning mode because of the clear explanation and examples presented in the videos. For scenario-based videos, most of the students believed that they were able to self-learn the

videos before lectures because the cases were related to their daily lives. In the literature, a study showed that flipped classroom approach combined with video-based learning materials were key to students’ self-learning [15]. In practical dental training, a study also found that both two-dimensional videos and 360˚ virtual reality training enabled students’ easy access and portability during online education and were effective for students’ self-learning [98]. The current research adds to the literature by explaining how theory-related videos and case-based videos could benefit students’ pre-lesson self-learning. Fifth, this study investigated the videos’ benefits to students’ learning of course content. The videos enhanced students’ self-discipline attitude and time-management. Watching both theory-related videos and scenario-based videos allowed students to learn the theories and their application. Also, this study showed that both theory-related and case-based videos could engage students in self-reflection. In the literature, studies demonstrated that animated videos on microscopic mechanisms explained the dynamic biological knowledge more clearly [99], and the use of case-based videos enabled students to experience scenarios with real patients even in a classroom setting [100]. Studies also showed that videos, especially case-based videos, PLOS ONE Qualitative evaluation of virtual teaching and learning videos in leadership education PLOS ONE | https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0291861 September 21, 2023 17 / 28