IFS Grade 12 Students Produce Podcast as part of Their History Course
Terminale (grade 12) students at the International French School (Singapore) took up the challenge of speaking into the microphone and recording a radio programme that explores themes covered in their history class.
As part of their history lesson, IFS students produced two podcasts in the web radio room at the IFS Multimedia Library (3C).
The first podcast is about the World in 1945 and the beginning of the Cold War. The second podcast deals with the Cold War and the process of decolonisation.
Mr Maxime Pilon, the History-Geography-EMC teacher at IFS, helped guide the students during this project. For him, the pedagogical objective was to engage the students in an activity where they could actively examine and explore more deeply their learning: “The web radio is an interesting tool which requires research and choosing what information to share. This allows for a certain freedom of expression while minimising active guided instruction from the teacher. The topic can be covered more in-depth, with the help of the teacher and structured by the course and the textbook…”
This experience allowed the IFS students to learn how to organise a radio programme. They worked on the programme’s structure and conduct, defined each person’s roles, created different sections and chose the appropriate hosts and speakers.
Louis, a Terminale student, commented, “It was the first time we did this kind of a pedagogical exercise. By playing the historical characters, we were able to learn history differently. The production of the podcast allowed us to combine creativity and knowledge.”
The students discovered that creating a podcast requires rigour, planning and essential group work.
Mr Pilon, for his part, was satisfied with the project and the experience, which generated a certain amount of excitement among IFS students: “We feel the radio spirit, with a common thread, fluid speeches, slogans, interviews …. While reinforcing key notions, the use of specific History vocabulary and everything that makes a radio programme.”
To discover the podcasts made by Terminale students, click below:
To learn more about IFS Lycée, click here.