I don't see how it
will actually be self-paced, though-- because the "work-work" is still happening IN the classroom in this version of things.
So an advanced student can
watch all of this instruction at his/her own pace, all right...
but they can't DO anything about it without the cooperation of whoever is holding the keys to assignments and assessments.
I disagree with you on point two, as well-- if the explanation doesn't make sense the FIRST time, sure, maybe rewinding and watching it again once or twice is a good idea, (for fairly complicated ideas, I mean) but beyond that, the problem is likely to be something more than missing some nuance of the presentation. The problem is likely to be that there is an assumed bit of background knowledge which isn't shared by the student.
A good teacher only offers the SAME explanation a couple of times to a student. At that point, one switches gears and starts
probing to find out
what the student is thinking at each step along the way. This is the only method of finding the underlying problem and correcting it efficiently. It's also WAY more efficient at finding trouble spots and working more intensively over those.
The other thing that my DD has found with this sort of instruction is that
invariably, there are 'missing' steps in logic or illustration... and while some of the time those things seem relatively minor, sometimes they make concepts/methods which feel alien to a student totally incomprehensible instead. Because an unnatural method doesn't resonate with a student and they can't just "follow" the logical progression for themselves without seeing each.and.every step. Gifted students will simply shrug and find their own way around it, as often as not, inventing a new way that DOES make sense to themselves... and the teacher is none the wiser (until it matters later on, when the lack of full understanding crops up as a gap in a later concept), but the less capable students just spin.
I do agree with DAD on points 3 and 4. And frequently on 5, which will come as no surprise to anyone.
My prediction is that-- in practice, I mean, and based on our experiences with a variation upon this kind of model-- a PG student can watch (or read) the entire YEAR of pre-algebra before the end of September, but then get to SIT and do nothing meaningful, as his/her classmates limp along without much instructional support for months... and months...
Oh-- I just realized! That won't be a problem. THAT kind of student can "cement his/her knowledge through group work with less able learners." Perfect!
My most pressing questions, having lived with this kind of "instructional" model for some time--
a) how do students ask questions IN REAL TIME? Because if they cannot, then they will wind up developing misconceptions/stalling until they can get it corrected... which certainly is neither efficient nor good for learning.
b) what about students who require redirection during instruction? A video recording doesn't notice when Johnny is tuning out. Or is that now on Johnny's mom and dad? Or is it on Johnny himself? Doesn't this just "empower" students to "own their own self-regulation" to an even greater degree? At what point does
someone stand up and note how incredibly developmentally inappropriate that whole notion is for children and most adolescents? I mean, sure-- it works. FOR ADULTS. With solid executive function. That's basically what the research here does show. Until mid-20's, most human beings aren't great at KNOWING what works best for themselves in terms of deep learning.
Seriously, though, the upshot is that this places the whip in parents' hands, the burden for doing the least entertaining part of "learning" squarely on students who aren't mature enough to self-regulate well, and takes the active portions of learning back into classrooms where there cannot possibly be adequate support for it given student-teacher ratios. What this will mean is even LESS attention in classrooms for kids who are high-potential, and even more use of those kids as miniature teacher's aides, while they gnash their teeth at having to sit through MONTHS of material that they went through in the first few
days of school.
