Influence of Active Production Versus Passive Consumption of Podcasts on Medical Students' Learning Outcomes

Introduction: In recent years, podcasts have been increasingly deployed in medical education. However, studies often fail to evaluate the learning outcomes from these podcasts effectively. The aim of this study was to determine whether the active production of podcasts enhances students' knowledge compared to the passive consumption of student-produced podcasts, as it increases the engagement with the learning content through active learning.

Methods: The study was conducted at a German medical school during the fifth-year paediatrics block internship. The final sample consisted of 86 students who were divided into small groups that produced podcasts on one paediatric topic on the first day and listened to a podcast on another topic on the second day.

Results: The first group, which produced a podcast on topic A and only listened to a podcast on topic B, performed significantly better on questions on topic A than on questions on topic B, (p < 0.01, d = 0.63). This effect was not observed in the second group, which produced a podcast on topic B and listened to a podcast on topic A (p = 0.81, d = 0.04). Additionally, it was found that a longer time interval between podcast production and the knowledge test led to poorer memory performance (β = 1.10, p = 0.04).

Conclusion: While the differing results between the two groups may be due to a lack of power to detect meaningful differences, this study nonetheless provides initial evidence that the active production of podcasts may enhance the learning outcomes of medical students.

Trial registration: Not applicable.