Podcasts and non-science students' curiosity in science

Abstract

Students with a low interest in science may be unwilling to learn about the subject, have no curiosity, or have no desire to discuss the topic with others. Podcasts could be one way to increase a student's overall curiosity. A focus group of 20 Montana State University undergraduate students listened to three podcasts about science topics they were not interested in. All the students listened to a general science podcast, and then the group was split into three, with each subgroup listening to two more podcasts focusing on their non-interests. They took two surveys, one before and one after listening to the podcasts. These surveys asked questions that explored three types of curiosity: diversive curiosity, meaning a willingness to learn novel ideas; epistemic curiosity, which is an internal interest; and empathic curiosity, connecting people to each other. There was a statistically significant change between the initial and final survey answers, but the level of curiosity was stronger in some areas than others. The change in response between the two surveys indicated that 95% of the students in the focus group enjoyed the podcasts even though they had low diversive curiosity. Forty percent increased their epistemic curiosity after listening to specific podcasts, and 75% increased their empathic curiosity and would be more willing to talk about the topic with friends and family. Both diversive and empathic curiosity showed a large-event size effect, 1.40 and 1.33. Epistemic curiosity showed only a small effect, 0.38. Listening to science podcasts increased curiosity among students with a low interest in science. The level of increase depended on how much the student knew about the subject before listening. However, even students who knew something about the podcast's topic learned something new. Students who had no interest in a topic and may have been reluctant to learn about it found it more intriguing after listening to a podcast. Many students were willing to share their knowledge with friends and family. No matter how the students felt about the podcasts, all the students agreed that podcasts would be useful as part of a classroom curriculum.