Course Design with Podcast and “Psychological Fidelity”

Michael Tews and Laura Cruz from The Pennsylvania State University presented an asynchronous session at the 2021 Lilly Conference online entitled “Reconfiguring: Emerging Models of Integrated Course Design for the post-COVID world.” I’ve watched several Lilly sessions with Cruz and was curious about their new projects. The presenters started their session with a podcast clip Tews uses to start class. Tews had to redesign an HR course to be online due to the pandemic and realized opportunities to bring in speakers and use breakout rooms for discussions. The class was redesigned with the help of Cruz to consider principles of redesign. Crus is an educational researcher and wanted to include design principles:

  1. De-centering of the professor.
  2. Interactive social learning.
  3. Utilization of virtual spaces.
  4. Integration of multiple constituents.

Cruz challenged Tews to draw a version of the redesigned course using the above principles. Students create a podcast! The classroom is divided into two breakout rooms: studio A and studio B. Two guests were the professors for the day in studios. Students have time blocks for debates as well as talk to the guests. There were also hot topics networking dialogues with the help of learning assistants. Tews showed color-coded tables with columns for topics and guests and rows with time slots. Tews had very structured systems that allowed students to interact, network, discuss, and record a podcast based on the HR summit they held based on their sessions. Tews added a fifth principle: the psychological effect of human connections. Tews mentioned that the podcasts “enhanced the psychological fidelity of the experience.”

Cruz asked: how could these design principles be incorporated into your courses? The idea of psychological fidelity resonated with me: how can we include and leverage the affective side to rethink instructional design and the learning experience. I think the challenge is to think about what constitutes an educational activity aligned with course objectives that touches on the affective domain.

Black woman with curly black hair with arms spread out and eyes closed. The woman is wearing a white dress with flower/plant pattern. The background is cloudy with mountains.
Tews brings in the idea of psychological fidelity into course design. How can course objectives be met and the learning experience improved by incorporating assignments (such as the podcast that Tews created) that have an affective component? Photo by Joshua Abner on Pexels.com