Authentic insights into science: scientific videos used in out-of-school learning environments

The primary objective of the current project was to convey authentic science to students in out-of-school student laboratories. High school students have diverse and partially wrong concepts of scientists' work. To convey more realistic concepts, we developed videos of scientists working on relevant and up to date scientific topics. These videos, covering different work fields of scientists, were integrated into experimental stations as part of the student lab. Half of the participating students performed the experimental part only (n = 117), whereas the other half of students (n = 119) additionally watched the videos. The results of a pre-post comparison show significant increases for previously underestimated work fields, such as artistic (d = 0.94) and social (d = 0.51) aspects, for the video group. Furthermore, the perceived authenticity in the student laboratory was also promoted by the videos (d = 0.47). In conclusion, videos were shown to be a suitable option to promote the perceived authenticity in out-of-school student laboratories and to convey an authentic concept of scientists` work.