Mystery Show, Starlee Kine's podcast for Gimlet media, has been keeping me company on many recent road trips. I've been recommending it to friends often, but I believe it could also be a powerful teaching tool (especially in middle and high schools).
Every episode is an example of authentic inquiry - something I don't think we (educators) or students engage in nearly enough of. Someone in Starlee's (the reporter) life comes to her with a genuine and burning question ("How tall is Jake Gyllenhaal?" "How did Britney Spears decide to read that book?" "Who does this unique belt buckle found in a gutter belong to?"). Starlee explores all of the possible leads and solves the case.
It raises questions about audience and purpose. The text is entirely unique - the questions are quirky, the voice casual, the ideas well-developed and thoroughly described. Who is this created for? What is the purpose? Why a podcast instead of another format?
It's an opportunity to practice Wisconsin's standards for speaking and listening. Each episode is around 60 minutes and contains no images - just words. It's great practice in listening, and listeners could analyze the reporter's presentation of knowledge and ideas. (Check out DPI's materials about speaking and listening for more information.)
It (along with Serial and This American Life) have pushed me to think about the larger role of podcasts in the classroom. Podcasts could be valuable (and often free!!) additions to text sets. Podcasts could be a format students choose for presenting knowledge and ideas. Podcasts could be a source of information for research. Check out these links for more about podcasts in education:
- Podcasting in education (from EdTechTeacher)
- Guide to podcasting (for those wishing to create a podcast)
- Educator resources from This American Life (another of my favorite podcasts)
Note. Are you wondering how to listen to a podcast? For those wishing to listen on a smart phone, this article is helpful. Some podcasts also have a web-listening feature. Visit the website for a particular podcast and listen directly on the site.
