As a pivot to online teaching during COVID-19, Halabi (2021) described how a student-produced podcast assessment substituted for the final examination in an MBA accounting course. Students were tasked with interviewing a small business owner, entrepreneur, or start-up to create a podcast to help teach or illustrate an accounting concept learned throughout the course. The instructor provided two options for creating the podcast: Kaltura Capture software (supported by the university) and Audacity (not supported by the university). Students also received detailed instructions and requirements of the assessment, a grading rubric, and previous student examples. In addition to creating and submitting the podcast, students created and submitted a one-page description or summary of the podcast. Based on reflections from the instructor and students, the student-produced podcasts provided an efficient learning experience that connected theory to practice while serving as an authentic assessment. Although the traditional accounting assessment was changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, podcast assignments have ongoing applicability as authentic assessments in future semesters, even for other disciplines.
Using
the SAMR (Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition) model,
Hitchcock, Sage, Lynch, and Sage (2021), redefined a traditional social work
research paper to incorporate a podcast interview. The four social work
instructors collaborated to develop, implement, and evaluate a podcast
assignment in different sections of practice and policy courses at the undergraduate
and graduate levels. This case study
evaluated how podcasting technology contributed to building social work skills
in the classroom. It addressed two research questions:
- Can a digital podcast assignment contribute to social work learning outcomes?
- Do students perceive the digital podcast assignment to be as effective as traditional assignments in achieving social work learning outcomes?
Students were asked to create a podcast, 15-20 minutes in length, using an interview or discussion approach, on a topic relevant to the course. The creation process started with a written plan and an interview guide, included a written transcript, and ended with a reflection. Students exchanged their podcasts with each other and provided feedback using the assignment rubric as a guide. Instructors also provided feedback to the students using the same rubric. The instructors found that the podcast assignments contributed to social work learning outcomes and enhanced student learning. Overall, students felt that the podcast assignment was better than traditional classroom assignments, such as writing a paper or completing a PowerPoint presentation.
In summary, podcasting in education is a great way to enhance the learning experience for students. One way to implement podcasts in a course is to modify an existing assessment, wherein students use the audio format of the medium in place of a written paper or presentation. Podcasts expose students to opportunities to use technology and show what they know differently from traditional assignments.
References
Halabi,
A. K. (2021). Pivoting authentic assessment to an accounting podcast during
COVID-19. Accounting Research Journal, 34(2), 156–168.
https://doi.org/10.1108/ARJ-08-2020-0219
Hitchcock, L. I., Sage, T., Lynch, M., & Sage, M. (2021). Podcasting as a Pedagogical Tool for Experiential Learning in Social Work Education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 41(2), 172–191. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2021.1897923
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Cite this blog: Washington, G. (2022, December 31). Student-created podcasts as an
innovative approach to assessments [Blog post]. Retrieved
from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/
Photo by Jonathan Velasquez on Unsplash
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