Active Body, Active Mind?

When was the last time you sat and listened to music?

There was a time when music was stationary. Listening to music involved spinning vinyl on a turntable. My family’s hi-fi system was in the living room, so there wasn’t much else to do when listening but sit. Today, music is portable and personal. Listening to music is now paired with activities like exercising or commuting, and digital streaming services offer curated playlists for any mood or activity. Music + activity = enjoyable experience.

As a lifelong learner I sign-up for various online courses, mostly video-based lectures. I watch some of these lectures while I’m on the elliptical machine at the gym. I think exercising my mind and body at the same time is efficient. In fact, I think physical activity increases my mental acuity. Mind + body = engaging experience.

This insight seemed interesting. I explored it further. I ripped the audio portion of the next lecture into mp3 format so I could listen while running. Hyper-focused is how I can best describe the experience. The combination of physical exertion and mental attentiveness primed me for a productive learning experience. Medical research is starting to dig into the physiology of why this is too, with recent reports (such as this snippet in ‘Time’) suggesting that increased blood flow to the brain during exercise may play some part in my sensation of ‘superfocus’.

Anytime/Anywhere Content

Blended learning is about giving students control over when and where they will consume passive learning experiences, i.e. lectures. Making passive experiences personal and portable (blended) is a big step for pedagogy—the giant leap would be to offer the material in multiple formats, like audio files.

SciLIFT has been experimenting with audio lectures in the Dino 101 MOOC since mid-2017. The idea was to ‘mobilise’ the only portion of the course that students couldn’t combine with other parts of their daily life, and that still required them to sit down and statically absorb information: the course notes. Facilitator and paleontologist Gavin Bradley recorded the course notes in a sound booth at the Centre for Teaching and Learning. Audio files were then posted to the MOOC platform, in the hope that students could fully integrate their learning with their daily routines.

While not every student will be an ‘audio learner’—some students prefer reading the course notes to feel connected with the material—the recordings were popular additions to the course, prompting spontaneous positive feedback from some learners:

• “Your audio readings are super helpful! Thanks for doing that!”
• “I thought they were great! Very helpful especially for the bus ride home”.
• “I really appreciate you uploading the audio notes! ”

Spurred on by positive responses, Gavin is proceeding with recording audio notes for the Palaeontology Mini-MOOCs: Early Vertebrate Evolution, Ancient Marine Reptiles and Theropod Dinosaurs, with the hopes of collecting more formalised student feedback at the end of each course.

Course Playlist Frees Class Time

Blended learning is about giving your students anywhere/anytime control over the passive dimensions of the course, giving you, the instructor more time for engaging face-to-face activities like: discussing practical applications, demonstrating step-by-step problem solving, or helping students think critically about ideas.

Someday, lectures will morph into playlists; students may even binge an entire course over a weekend. Think how this could reshape face-to-face engagement—instructors guiding learning through application, background, context and deeper dives.

Going Deep: Engaging in the story behind the story

And, to answer the initial question… the last time I sat and listened to music was a live concert—I knew all the songs and thoroughly enjoyed hearing the singer/songwriter tell the behind the scenes stories of inspiration. Perhaps the personal-music revolution holds some insights for realizing the full potential of teaching and learning in the 21st century.

If you are interested in exploring blended learning, the SciLIFT team is ready to help you re-imagine your course to maximize learner engagement. Contact Anna Rissanen at scitl@ualberta.ca to book an initial consultation.

Rus Hathaway,
Education Developer, SciLIFT