Student-Generated Interview Podcasts: An Assignment Template

Abstract

Podcast assignments in higher education foster students’ deep engagement in course content, knowledge construction, technical skills, and problem-solving abilities. Persuaded by the success of previous podcast case studies, we designed a podcast assignment in a First Year Seminar course wherein students created a ten-minute podcast based on an interview that compared theoretical concepts to the lived experience of the interviewee. Students were guided through four distinct stages of the assignment: (1) knowledge and skill preparation; (2) organizing and conducting the interview; (3) interview synthesis and post-production; and (4) peer review and class reflection. The results of a student survey indicate that the podcast assignment design and format supported students’ achievement of learning outcomes and that students valued the podcast assignment. From the instructors’ perspective, the podcast assignment allowed students to achieve learning outcomes, improve oral communication skills, and engage with course content in a deep and authentic way. Finally, we provide an assignment template with timelines for instructors considering implementing a student-generated podcast into their course and suggestions for its implementation.

Keywords

• student-generated podcasts
• interviews