Early childhood lecturers turn to podcasting in a bid to engage learners

Two early childhood lecturers from Murdoch University have turned to podcasting in a bid to boost engagement from their learner cohorts. 

 

Kylie Ridder and Kim Beasley became aware of increasing levels of disengagement from those studying a Bachelor of Early Childhood with the University, identifying that many students were juggling the competing demands of multiple jobs, joining university after having children and life and cost-of-living pressures getting in the way.

 

Despite lectures being made available online, to be accessed at a convenient time, engagement levels were still low, leaving the duo to look for more innovative solutions. Each of the podcast episodes is complemented by extensive notes, so that listeners can go back, review the core details, and follow references to learn more. 

 

Speaking with The Brisbane Times Dr Beasley said she hopes the podcast will support students to feel “like part of the conversation,” and more connected to the topics being studied, as well as being connected to the leadership team. 

 

“We share stories from our own practices and challenge each other on issues, which also conveys to students the importance of critical thinking and questioning,” she said. 

 

For student Kara Pursell, finding time to sit and watch lectures has been challenging, and it’s not a format she finds engaging. 

 

“Having lectures in a podcast format has helped me as it means that I can just listen and I can be multitasking, or on the go,” she said.

 

“I would listen to the podcasts when driving or catching the train, which was productive for me.”

 

The more ‘conversational’ format of the podcast, she continued, makes it “feel as though there is less pressure on it. I love to listen to Kylie and Kim talk about what they are passionate about.”

 

Fellow student Callan Fazio agreed, saying he listens when driving to and from hockey games. 

 

“I did feel as though my retention was better because sitting at a desk and in classroom settings, I feel it’s a bit harder for me to concentrate,” he said.

 

“[The podcast] definitely felt more personal, and I took more away from it than I normally would.”

 

Podcasting in the ECEC sector is well established. Provoking Minds, a podcast by KU Children’s Services covers meaningful topics in early childhood education with some of the sector’s most experienced educators and subject matter experts.

 

In the outside school hours care space, Barbi Clendining from Firefly HR and Saurubh Malviya from We Belong Education host After the Bell.

 

The 150 archived episodes of The Early Education Show also provide useful information, insights and discussions about multiple aspects of the ECEC sector. 

 

To read the original coverage of this story please see here.