Two lecturers from the University of Amsterdam (UvA) and Utrecht University (UU) created the podcast ‘Amongst planners’ for first-year bachelor students enrolled in a spatial planning course at the UvA and UU. In addition to being well received by students, the podcast also drew interest from spatial planning practitioners

Background information

Podcasting as an educational technology holds promise due to its flexibility, accessibility and ability to offer in-depth content. In line with Bloom’s taxonomy, podcasting can support learning goals that go beyond understanding, encouraging students to apply and analyze information as well. 

Aims

This project aims to answer the following research questions:

• How is the podcast ‘Amongst planners’ used as a learning device by students and practitioners?
• What are the key learning aims achieved by the podcast ‘Amongst planners’?
• How could the podcast ‘Amongst planners’ be better integrated in course designs and the curriculum?
• How could the podcast ‘Amongst planners’ contribute to lifelong learning of spatial planning practitioners? 

Project description 

To answer the research questions, students completed questionnaires on the use of podcasting and filled out course evaluations. The questionnaire findings were explored in more depth through student focus groups. Additionally, interviews were held with spatial planning practitioners to gain insight into their views on the podcast and its potential learning effects. 

Results & Conclusions

The questionnaire findings showed that most students are positive about learning ‘outside the classroom’, appreciating that the podcast can be listened to at times and places that suit them. Most students find the podcast helpful in understanding the material, but they also note that listening to it is not essential for doing well in class or achieving high grades. Furthermore, students generally feel that the podcast clarifies and helps them better understand spatial planning practices. During the focus groups, students (among other things) expressed that they appreciated the ‘informal chat’ and advised not to make the podcast obligatory exam material, as this would risk turning the podcast into a ‘recorded lecture’. However, engagement with the podcast remains relatively limited, in part because the podcast was not obligatory exam material and some students considered the length too time-consuming. 

The interviews with the practitioners indicated that they started listening to the podcast ‘out of fascination’, ‘out of curiosity about the topic’ and ‘to refresh knowledge and to recall what had been forgotten’. Spatial planning practitioners also listened to it to understand what is currently being taught at the university. In this regard, the podcast not only brings practice into the classroom (as expressed by the students) but also (in a sense) brings the classroom to practice. However, spatial planning practitioners noted that the podcast provided only limited new knowledge. Suggestions for improvement included ‘paying more attention to the show notes’ and ‘to select speakers from both academia and practice’. 

Overall, we conclude that podcasts can serve as valuable supplementary materials in spatial planning courses. However, these are just preliminary insights, as this research was exploratory and is based on a single case. We encourage other scholars to conduct further research and to examine the (potential) learning effects of podcasts in education.

References

• Evans-Cowley, J. S. (2018). Planning education with and through technologies. In A. I. Frank & C. Silver (Eds.), Urban planning education: Beginnings, global movement and future prospects (Chap. 19). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-75325-3_19
• Haas, P. M. (1992). Introduction: Epistemic communities and international policy coordination. International Organization, 46(1), 1–35. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0020818300001442
• Moore, T. (2022). Pedagogy, podcasts, and politics: What role does podcasting have in planning education? Journal of Planning Education and Research. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739456X221106365
• Van Breda, J., & Swilling, M. (2019). The guiding logics and principles for designing emergent transdisciplinary research processes: Learning experiences and reflections from a transdisciplinary urban case study in Enkanini informal settlement, South Africa. Sustainability Science, 14, 823–841. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11625-018-0637-7
• van Karnenbeek, L., Janssen-Jansen, L., & Peel, D. (2022). Conceptualising co-creative planning pedagogies: The community knowledge triangle. Planning Practice & Research, 37(4), 446–463. https://doi.org/10.1080/02697459.2021.2014642

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