Using podcasts to cultivate learner–teacher rapport in higher education settings

ABSTRACT

Developing rapport with learners has presented challenges for Higher Education teaching practitioners since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, who increasingly facilitate learning within synchronous/ asynchronous online environments. Podcasts are of renewed interest as a digital learning resource in this context. We explored, inductively, views of podcasts designed for teaching and learning purposes held by students (n = 11) and by practitioners (n = 5) in two disciplinary settings. Textual feedback on two sample podcasts per student was subjected to content analysis. Findings underscored the value of podcasts as digital learning resources to help nurture teacher–student relations. Podcasts may help establish teacher credibility, may help teachers feel more familiar/approachable to learners and may provide an outlet to communicate in a kind, informal tone to attenuate learning-related anxiety. We draw on findings from our small-scale exploratory study to present practical guidance for developing podcasts designed (in part) to cultivate teacher–student rapport.

KEYWORDS:

• Podcasts
• adult learners
• digital learning
• distance learning
• rapport
• content analysis

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Dominic Conroy

Dominic Conroy is a Principal Lecturer in Psychology at London Metropolitan University and leads an Addiction and Mental Health MSc. Previously, Dr Conroy has lectured at University of East London and conducted NIHR-funded postdoctoral research at Birkbeck, University of London. Dr Conroy’s ESRC-funded PhD research was completed at Sussex University. Dr Conroy is a Senior Fellow of the HEA (SFHEA).

Warren Kidd

Warren Kidd is a Teaching Fellow and a Subject Leader for Secondary School Direct Humanities ITE and shares responsibility for leading the PGCE Secondary Geography programme at the University of East London (UEL). Dr Kidd’s Doctorate investigated the identities and craft practices of novice teachers in the life-long learning sector in England while adopting a digital ethnographic approach to qualitative data. Dr Kidd is a Principal Fellow of the HEA (PFHEA) and a Founding Member of The International Forum for Teacher Educator Development (InFo-TED).