Rethinking content delivery for learning reinforcement: a reflective account of podcast summaries and Universal Design for Learning in Pharmacy Education

Maintaining student engagement with lecture content beyond the classroom remains a persistent challenge in higher education. While lecture recordings are widely used, they often require substantial time to revisit and may not align with students' study habits. This reflective article examines the introduction of concise AI-assisted podcast summaries as a supplementary learning resource within a second-year module in the MPharm programme. The purpose of this reflection is to explore how this intervention influenced student engagement with lecture material and how the experience reshaped my assumptions about how students revisit and consolidate learning.

Podcast summaries of approximately ten minutes were created to capture key concepts from lectures and were made available through the university's learning platform with captions and transcripts to support accessibility. The summaries were reviewed and edited to ensure pedagogical alignment with the lecture content. Student engagement was explored through learning platform analytics and open-ended survey responses, alongside informal peer feedback. The intervention emerged from ongoing reflections on students' difficulties revisiting full lecture recordings and their expressed preference for shorter revision resources.

Student feedback and usage patterns indicated that the podcasts were primarily used after lectures as tools for reinforcement rather than preparation. Many students integrated listening into daily activities such as commuting or exercising, indicating the flexible nature of podcast-based learning. Reflecting on this experience challenged my assumption that students primarily require preparatory materials and instead highlighted the importance of supporting post-lecture consolidation. The intervention also raised considerations about balancing concise summaries with the need to maintain depth in complex public health topics.

The experience suggests that podcast summaries can provide a flexible means for students to revisit complex material while complementing existing teaching approaches. More broadly, the project illustrates how reflective engagement with teaching practice can reveal mismatches between educator expectations and students' learning behaviours.