Beyond one-size-fits-all: speech rate personalization as a key to inclusive video lecture design

The increasing importance of video lectures in diverse educational settings underscores the need for further research on designing universally accessible and effective learning experiences. While several design guidelines have been proposed, a consensus on optimal values for certain features remains elusive, possibly due to students’ varying personal preferences. This study examines the effects of video lectures features—specifically the instructor’s speech rate—on students’ attitude and attention, with a focus on tailoring to individual preferences. An exploratory study was conducted with the participation of 54 undergraduate engineering students in a flipped classroom course analyzing their interaction with 17 video lectures. Initial findings showed no universal speech rate preference affecting students’ attitude and attention. However, subsequent cluster analysis identified distinct preference groups, underscoring the necessity for customizable speech rates. The study further investigated whether students’ speech rate preferences could be predicted based on their historical preferences, finding that such predetermination positively influenced only the learning variable used for preference selection, without broader applicability. The findings emphasize the need for adaptive video lecture features, promoting the use of educational technologies that support customization to enhance the alignment with student preferences. Further, the paper addresses the impact of video content type and topic complexity on the student preferences.