These takeaways are synthesized from Shae's students for the Art of the Podcast lab. (MeshEd, 2022)
1) Students care a lot about college and high school readiness. Pretty consistently, this is ranked their highest priority for the course.
2) Some students are motivated by the possibility of a real contest/presentation for their end product.
3) Students who feel comfortable participating are generally more excited by the course.
4) Kids really like the technical side of things! For podcasting, they largely want to learn the how-tos of editing and recording. In fact, over time, from the pre-course survey to the mid-course survey, two students reported that they are more interested mid-course in the technical side of things. For a coding/game-based lab, this could translate into students wanting to know technical skills for game design.
Student Survey Citation
Steinberg, J. (2022). Mid-Course Survey. [Data Set] MeshEd.
Steinberg, J. (2022). Pre-Course Survey. [Data Set] MeshEd.
We want to be careful about how much we say about this on this course site, but after looking over the curriculum bundle materials, it will be very important that we structure our own action lab course around a Project-Based Learning model.
We will be taking part in MeshEd's learning design process. We will build out the course through MeshEd's unit guide and scope and sequence, working backwards from a HQPBL project, then setting learning goals and objectives, then designing the course for 10 sessions. Julia will be overseeing our progress.
How do the students interact with technology being used and are they succeeding or are they having difficulty?
With help from tech videos and some 1:1 coaching, students are able to use podcast editing software. They can easily navigate the digital portfolios. Google Suite tech is very familiar to them.
How are students interacting with the course material?
Students really get out of this course what they put in. Every student who consistently attended class was able to produce some sort of podcast.
There is a gradual release of responsibility model in which most of the beginning of the course is guided by the teacher, whereas later, it becomes more workshop-based and the class is structured based on student need.
Students put what they produce onto their digital portfolios, and interact with content through a course roadmap. All the curriculum content is hosted there.
They are interacting mostly in-person, but some students join virtually. All content is hosted virtually.
Are learning objectives being met?
By the end of the class, there is usually some sort of group share out that lets the teacher know if students are meeting the objective of the class.
The objective for each class is also made VERY clear. Students and teacher see a class outline at the start of class, so everyone knows what to expect.
Ultimately, the goal is for students to make a podcast, and the objectives along the way help students get to that goal. The achievement of learning objectives is assessed by both the student through self-reflection, and the teacher through periodic check-ins through formative feedback forms.
What is the student's engagement level?
Depends on the student. The "chill" atmosphere of the after school class means that some students are super engaged, and others are more interested in their phones at times.
What do students do in class, what do they like about the current format, what don’t they like?
Students do a range of activities, from discussion, to games, to creative projects like vision boards. Students often like when they can do collaborative activities, and any "practice" (i.e., practice interviews) are usually successful activities.