Emily O'Reilly & Andrew Strankman (Podcasts in Education, Part 1)

Teaching Matters Edinburgh

In this episode, Dr Emily O'Reilly and alumnus Andrew Strankman from the School of Biomedical Sciences introduces us to the specifics of their fascinating project on educational podcasts. This project, funded by the Principal's Teaching Awards Scheme, surveyed a diverse online cohort of students at The University of Edinburgh and their responses to teaching through podcasting. Taking us through the project's origins, methods, results, their discussion attends to how podcasting can revitalise student engagement, and how we might better exchange knowledge in online (and offline) classrooms.

This is the first in a two-part conversation between Emily and Andrew, facilitated by Teaching Matters' Eric Berger, which features both researchers reflecting on the 'whys, whats, and hows' of educational podcasting – and digital education more broadly.

2:00 – Emily and Andrew introduce themselves and their interest in podcasting, particularly in what the podcast form offers their students
14:41 – Our speakers expand on the particulars of their PTAS project, focusing on the kinds of students they interviewed and the feedback received
27:00 – The two consider what the 'best' kinds of educational podcasts tend to sound like
34:35 – Emily and Andrew reflect on podcasts from their perspectives as course organiser and instructor, respectively, mid and post-pandemic
41:30 – Emily, Andrew, and Eric discuss how podcasts can shake up traditional classroom dynamics between teacher and learner

Our Decolonising the Curriculum podcast series was referenced in this conversation, which you can find here.

Transcript of the episode is available here.

Music for this episode was provided by Hooksounds.