The Impact of Incorporating a Collaborative Podcast Project into a Broadcasting and Hosting Art Course on Student Performance DOI:

Abstract

Background and Aim: With the rapid growth of internet technology and artificial intelligence, students in broadcasting and hosting programs face several challenges. They often lack practical skills, making it hard to apply theoretical knowledge in real-world communication. The changing media landscape also requires them to adapt to new formats, but their ability to use and integrate new technologies is limited. Platforms like TikTok and Red Book dominate content distribution. While they provide entertainment, they may weaken students' critical thinking skills. This can create information echo chambers, making deep analysis and creative content production more difficult. This study explores the impact of collaborative podcast projects in broadcasting and hosting courses. It applies podcast technology in an educational setting, using ideas from constructivist, humanistic, and connectivist learning theories. A quasi-experimental design is used to assess students’ Mandarin tone and broadcast pronunciation, creativity, writing, post-production, and overall performance. Student feedback is also collected to examine the benefits of podcast technology in this field. The findings aim to help educators improve teaching methods, enhance course design, and support better learning outcomes.

Materials and Methods: This study uses a quasi-experimental design. The participants are 120 first-year students majoring in broadcasting and hosting arts at Shanghai Lida College. The study examines the impact of collaborative podcast creation on student performance in this course. The sample size is 64 students. The experiment includes a treatment group and a control group to compare differences in key variables. A lottery sampling method is used to randomly select two classes. One class is assigned to the control group and the other to the treatment group. Both groups take a pre-test and a post-test. An independent t-test is conducted using Jamovi to analyze the data. At the end of the course, an open-ended questionnaire is given to the treatment group. The responses are analyzed using NVivo 15, focusing on attitudes toward podcast technology and learning motivation. This helps to explore the factors affecting student performance in collaborative podcast projects. The intervention was an eight-week collaborative podcast project, where students worked in teams to produce and distribute podcasts.

Results: The findings indicate that while the improvement in Mandarin tone and broadcast pronunciation did not reach statistical significance, collaborative podcast projects have the potential to enhance student performance in creativity, production skills, and writing skills. The analysis of open-ended responses suggests that learning motivation in the podcast project was driven by creativity, emotional engagement, a sense of achievement, and collaboration. Additionally, students’ attitudes toward podcast technology were largely positive, with frequent mentions of its role in diversifying professional knowledge and expanding future career opportunities.

Furthermore, the results highlight that although students perceived learning new technology as a challenge, completing the project gave them a strong sense of achievement and increased confidence in their technical skills. These findings support the integration of podcast projects as a valuable instructional approach in broadcasting and hosting education.

Conclusion: Integrating collaborative podcast projects into broadcasting and hosting courses has the potential to improve students' creativity, post-production skills, and writing abilities. The process of podcast creation involves deep learning cycles, including collaboration, emotional engagement, creative learning, a sense of achievement, and self-directed learning, all of which positively influence learning motivation. As a learning tool, podcast technology diversifies professional knowledge and expands future career opportunities.