Twin Falls middle school students learn science by creating podcasts
“It didn’t feel like real work, it felt like you were just doing it for fun”
TWIN FALLS, Idaho (KMVT/KSVT) — Students in the Twin Falls School District are learning about energy through the modern-day trend of podcasting.
A podcast is defined as a digital audio file made available on the internet, and physical science is the study of natural objects, they may not seem like they fit together, but Cassidy Huggin’s eighth-grade class at O’Leary Middle School is making it happen.
“It didn’t feel like real work, it felt like you were just doing it for fun,” said Isabell one of Huggins’s students.
In an effort to encourage young learners to use their voice and write to a broader audience, Huggins has tasked her students with picking a form of energy such as nuclear, solar or hydroelectric and then they will write and record a podcast.
“I have a kid who is incredibly quiet,” Huggins said. “He does not even raise his hand and he was out in the hallway recording for like a half an hour straight.”
The podcasts explain the energy source while also enabling the students to put their own humor and creativity into it. Huggins said public speaking is not something her students necessarily like, but this project has gotten some students out of their comfort zone.
“This is my first time doing this project,” Huggins said. “I had no idea that kids don’t really know how to write for the general public.”
The students’ excitement for their projects has continued to grow, and this innovative way of teaching may be seen again.
“I have seen so much excitement and they are now putting in-jokes and personal anecdotes,” Huggins said.
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