There’s no question that a good professor can make a huge impact in the life of a student. But a good podcast might be just as—if not more—effective at helping that student ace a test.
In a thought-provoking study titled “iTunes University and the Classroom: Can Podcasts Replace Professors?” (published in Computers and Education), the research of psychology professors Dani McKinney, Jennifer Dyck, and graduate student Elise Luber suggests that in some cases, podcasts can help students learn more than they might in an in-person lecture. I wrote about it briefly here, and you can read a summary of the research in New Scientist.
Though it was a small study, and the researchers are quick to point out that more studies need to be done, it does suggest that podcasts can play an important role in helping students learn. The study’s lead author, Dani McKinney, agreed to answer a few questions for Atomic Podcasts about how the results surprised her—and what students and professors should take away from the research.
Why did this topic interest you?
I have been interested in best practices in teaching for awhile. I was wondering how students would use new media types to enhance their learning. I thought iTunes U was a great new tool, and I wondered how it would be used.
What sort of results did you think you might get? Were you
surprised by what you found?
I thought we would get the typical result: those who were IN THE CLASS would perform best. It never pays to miss class (in my opinion). But I wondered if we would see similar results as we do when students get notes from a friend (typically about a 10-15% drop in performance based on using someone else's notes). When we got our results, I was amazed. So, we started looking closer at the data, and it was in looking at ALL the data, including the survey information, that we found some good rationale. It wasn't just HAVING the podcast, or even just listening to it. It was those who treated the session as if they were in the classroom setting who performed better.
In a lot of ways, in-person lectures are great. You can ask
questions, you can ask the person next to you if you missed
something, and you don't have to worry that a tech glitch or dead
battery will keep you from seeing the lecture. What are the primary
advantages of podcasts over in-person lectures?
Well, the glitch issue might happen using any media. So, if that were to happen, no one would get a copy of that day’s lecture (unless the professor wanted to retape it or something). But once the lecture is recorded, it can be downloaded onto your desktop computer, it can be loaded onto your portable mp3 player, burned onto a CD, etc. The lecture can be truly portable! If the lecture is recorded during a real class, you can hear other student's questions, and if you have questions later, you can always email the professor. In general, I feel that lots of times students have questions but in a big lecture setting they don't raise their hands, anyway. They rely on others to be brave. In some ways, e-mail has really changed that whole area already—I get many more emails per day from students than I ever used to, and I don't think they have any more questions than they ever had. I just think they have a safer way to ask, a more private and one-on-one way.
The main advantage of a podcast will come when people use it to clear up parts of a lecture that may have been too fast for them, or times when they missed something. It could also be used to replay parts you would like to hear again to help you study. I think these uses are excellent even for students who attended class that day.
You mention in your conclusion that you don't think the results of
the study suggest that podcasts should replace professors, but I'm
wondering if you could talk about some of the general implications of
the study—and what you hope students and professors will take away
from it.
I think it tells us a lot about the various ways students study, and encode information. Some people like to hear things over and over and that helps them. Now those students would have a chance to hear things again. I think it is awesome for students who missed a class. They now have a chance to decide for themselves what notes to take instead of relying on a friend's notes, which may or may not be in a similar style to their own. One student may write something down as important, and another student may miss it altogether, or they may not write it down because they already know that stuff. When your give your notes to a friend, those were YOUR notes that you took in your own style. So, now students would have a chance to decide for themselves what they need to take down to study from.
Outside of the study, what is your general sense of professors’ feelings about teaching and learning via podcast? Is this something
they're eager to get involved in? Reluctant? Resistant because of the
perceived challenges inherent in new technology?
I think that professors are as different as students—some embrace new technology and will use it in ways to teach things we never could before. Now almost every classroom has a DVD player, and we show clips of things. Ten years ago, that was something you had to plan way ahead of time and order a TV and VCR to be delivered. Now, if I decide the night before that something on the news is relevant to my class, I can tape it and bring it in. How amazing is that?! Other professors may use this as a way to get students more information than a typical class period could allow. Some may tape a podcast of a section that they won't have time to cover, and that will free up class time for cool activities.
I think some professors do not want to add these kinds of things to their classes. They may find it distracting, or they are unsure how to use it well, and so they would prefer just to lecture and have group discussions. I think different classes lend themselves to different approaches. So, just as we have different learning styles, we see different teaching styles.
Posts
