WORKSHEET FOR DEVELOPING A MENTORED TEACHING PROJECT 2019

Teaching and Learning Goal: What skill or ability do you want students to acquire? What behavior do you want to change? What
knowledge do you want to test? What assumptions (either students’ or the instructor’s) do you want to test? Focus on only one such goal.

In previous teaching experiences, I have noticed my students’ ability to regurgitate information by rote. However, they often struggle to look
beyond the definitions or brief descriptions required for the exam and seek to apply knowledge and skills beyond the class. I would like to
examine a method I could use to promote application or knowledge to real-world settings, as this may allow the students to see the course
material in action and further absorb the information.

Teaching Question: Adapt the teaching and learning goal to a specific course. Make this question narrow and focused so that it can be
measured.

A course where I see this issue becoming relevant is KIN 445 – Sociocultural Analysis of Sport and Physical Activity. This is a course requiring
much critical analysis of abstract ideas, but can be highly relevant to everyday life. Subject matter involves the economic state of sport and
relationships between the many athletes, spectators, and administrators of sport at various levels. If the course is successful, students will be
able to view sport events, news stories, and sport-related media more critically.

Teaching Question: How can media and course material be used to supplement each other and promote application of content to real-life
settings outside of class.

Assessment Technique: What instrument are you going to use to collect information? Is it simple enough that you know how to analyze
the results? Will the information it provides answer the teaching question?

There are multiple instruments to use to answer the teaching question. The first technological instrument is a form of audiovisual media;
specifically, a podcast. This medium is accessible, in that most are free to listen and some include a transcript of the episode for any audience
with hearing impairments. The podcast can represent a form of media to which students can apply knowledge learned in class.

The second instrument, which will act as the actual assessment technique, is a computer-based survey. The same survey can be used before
and after the podcast is assigned for “reading” in order to explore how the students consume podcasts and apply sport sociology constructs to
their daily lives.

See Classroom Assessment Techniques p. 59 for a helpful “Checklist for Avoiding Problems with Classroom Assessment Projects”
WORKSHEET FOR DEVELOPING A MENTORED TEACHING PROJECT 2019

Classroom Practice: What assignment or activity are you going to use in the class to try to test the question? When are you going to do it?
Who will conduct it? Will it be graded? Will it be anonymous or will students sign their names? How long will it take? How will students
know what to do with it? Who will explain it? How will the relationship between this assignment and activity and the course be
explained?

One assignment and one activity can be used to test this question. There are five quizzes throughout the course based on the day’s reading
assignment, and one of them can be on the podcast. A quiz such as this can emphasize the importance of applying course content to media,
and can also measure retention and absorption of information. This will be the last quiz of the semester, and scores will be compared to those
of previous exams to determine whether knowledge gained matches that of quizzes based on readings.

There are also two movie assignments during the semester, where students are assigned a sport-related movie to view in preparation for a
group discussion in class. I can create a third in-class discussion for the podcast assignment, which will occur late in the semester and still
allow students to express their understanding and beliefs related to the podcast episode. This will take the duration of the class on that day,
and students should be comfortable with the format after already participating in a discussion like this twice prior.
Summary of Results: What does the information you collected through the assessment instrument tell you about your teaching question?

Out of 38 students in the class, 34 completed the survey at time 1 and 35 completed the survey at time 2. The average score on the podcast
quiz (4.89 out of 5) was not significantly different from the average score on quiz 1 (4.89) or quiz 3 (4.86), but was significantly higher than the
average score of quiz 2 (4.22) and quiz 4 (4.35). The average proportion of the podcast listened to (82.76%) was significantly higher than the
proportion of movie 2 (46.61%), but not significantly different from the proportion of movie 1 (79.09%). Generally, the podcasts were rated as
a useful tool, and the in-class reflection/discussion was deemed enjoyable.

Beyond the quantitative data, open-ended questions allowed for more nuanced responses by the students. Many students enjoyed the ease
of being able to listen to the podcast while driving, walking, or washing dishes. However, this may have negatively influenced long-term
retention, as some students reported not remembering much of the episode. In comparing the movie and podcast assignments, eight
students stated they liked/preferred the movie. In contrast, nine students referred specifically to the ease or convenience of listening to a
podcast or reading along with it, rather than needing to attentively watch a movie.

Generally, the podcast assignment appears to have similar student outcomes (from an academic and affective stance) when compared to the
movie assignments.

See Classroom Assessment Techniques p. 59 for a helpful “Checklist for Avoiding Problems with Classroom Assessment Projects”
WORKSHEET FOR DEVELOPING A MENTORED TEACHING PROJECT 2019

Conclusion: What have you learned? What surprised you? What would you do differently? What implications does this have for your
future classroom practice?

I learned that podcasts are a potential avenue the instructor could use in a course such as Sociocultural Analysis of Sport and Physical Activity.
The podcast assignment appeared to promote similar levels of critical analysis and reflection to the movie reflections and discussions. This
was further supported by the high ratings of students suggesting to continue or increase the use of podcasts in future sections of this course.

I was surprised at how many students chose to use the transcripts of the podcast. I had originally chosen a podcast with transcripts because
these can be more accessible for individuals with hearing impairments. However, many students chose to read along with the episode as a
second form of consuming the podcast. This unexpected finding was a positive in this case, and reminds me of the importance to search for
podcasts that provide transcripts when they are assigned to classes. Unfortunately, transcribed podcasts are difficult to find, and this may
severely narrow down the options available for sport sociology classes. The podcast episode used for this study, for instance, gave broad
overviews of sport in society, whereas the movies documented specific athletes or teams and provided a more in-depth look at a single sport
sociology concept. Over time, I could search and document relevant episodes, keeping track of which ones provide transcripts, and have a list
of podcasts addressing the numerous topics of the course. This way, I could choose when and how to implement podcasts into the class.

If I were to conduct a similar study again, I would ask the students more information about their experience with the movie reflections. Based
on responses to this study, podcasts appear to be a useful tool to explore concepts related to sport in society. However, more information
about the movie assignments (which acted as the alternative assignments to the podcast) may have provided more insight into what benefit
podcasts could have over and above those available through movies.

For future classroom practice, I plan to continue incorporating podcasts into sport sociology courses. Taking into consideration the feedback
received during this study, I could continue to offer podcast episodes (with transcripts) relevant to class content. I was pleasantly surprised by
how many people stated that they intended to listen to more podcasts similar to the one assigned in this course. This is an outcome more in
line with my global teaching philosophy. My goal as a teacher is not just to impart knowledge during the semester I have the students, but to
instill a curiosity for learning outside of the course. This goal was a reached, in part because of the inclusion of podcasts as course material.

See Classroom Assessment Techniques p. 59 for a helpful “Checklist for Avoiding Problems with Classroom Assessment Projects”