Student engagement was increased by participation in the creation of podcast projects as an alternative to traditional assessments in online economics classes. Instructions, rubrics, and other supporting materials to create such a project will be shared with participants in the session.
A student podcast project was introduced in an introductory online microeconomics class during the fall 2019 semester to increase student engagement and motivation. A similar project was introduced as an alternative to more traditional written assignments in the spring 2020 semester in an upper-level labor economics course (using the UDL principle of providing students with multiple means of expression and engagement).
Each student participated in the creation of two podcasts during the semester, either individually or with a partner. The process, in each case was:
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Students created podcast proposals in which they applied what they were learning to the world around them.
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After receiving feedback, students developed either a script or a detailed outline of their podcast.
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Students created a draft recording of their podcast for feedback (with revision options if needed),
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The final podcast audio was produced, along with an abstract, show notes, and a transcript. Students were given the option of sharing the podcast either within the class or publicly. All podcasts were shared within the class and the public-facing ones were published online.
A website will be shared with participants that contains student handouts, rubrics, and other information needed to successfully implement a podcast project.