From Theory to Practice: Student Podcasting through Online Learning Environments in Political Science

Abstract

This work aims to advance on the systematization of teaching experiences in the formulation of evaluation activities, mediated by ICT, for academic and professional training in the field of Political Science. It explores the usefulness of student podcasting as a didactic strategy for theoretical-active learning in digital university environments during COVID-19 pandemic. Based on the design of an assessment questionnaire and a non-probabilistic convenience sampling strategy, a survey has been administered to N=40 students from two theoretical undergraduate courses of the School of Political Science at the University of Costa Rica, taught during two semesters in 2020. The article reviews the related results according to the degree of satisfaction with podcasting as a way of evaluating the appropriation of theoretical content. It is concluded by arguing that this teaching-learning methodology helps to facilitate among students’ new ways of "putting theory into practice", this through the exercise of creative, reflective skills and theoretical-conceptual argumentation according to the creation of student-made podcasts, based on work on theoretical lines and conceptual proposals of relevance to Political Science.