Flipped Learning for Beginners

Flipped Learning for Beginners

If you are looking for a way to improve student engagement and performance, you may be interested in flipped learning. Flipped learning is a teaching strategy that allows teachers more face-to-face interaction with students and helps students learn using higher level critical thinking skills. A teacher can flip a single lesson or may choose to flip an entire classroom.

Flipped Learning: the Beginnings

In the beginning, two teachers began recording and posting their lectures online for students who were absent. People liked the idea and asked them why they did it and how it was working. The two teachers traveled around the country talking about their methods. Other teachers began making their own videos for students to use outside the classroom and soon people realized that using this approach for all of their students allowed them to have more face-to-face interaction during the class period. Students watched the videos outside the classroom and came to class prepared to discuss and practice their newly learned knowledge or skill. This was the beginning of flipped learning.

The Flipped Classroom

Most people think of a flipped classroom as a switch between what is done at school and what is done at home. In a traditional classroom, the teacher lectures and then assigns homework. In a flipped classroom, the teacher provides lecture at home so that students are prepared to practice when they arrive at school. This is flipped learning at its most basic level.

Flipped learning is about how to best use your class time. Based on your high school and college experience, most of you set through lectures which was followed by independent work time. You were probably assigned reading to do or a paper to write in between classes. If you were like most students, you occasionally left class and discovered that you did not understand the concept. Where is the teacher? How can you get help on your own?

Flipped learning is about moving activities that require lower-level thinking skills out of the classroom time in order to dedicate time to higher order thinking skills and more face-to-face interaction. For instance, fifteen to twenty minutes of a traditional classroom is lecture. Perhaps another ten to fifteen minutes is used for things like identifying, describing, explaining, discussing, or rewriting. For most classrooms, this leaves only five to fifteen minutes left for higher order thinking skills. The students leave the room and now must try to use higher order thinking skills on their own with no support.

Flipped learning alleviates this problem. Now consider this example. A teacher creates a video of his or her lecture. The teacher may also assign recall questions or require notes. The student completes this work before they come to class. Now the teacher has forty-five minutes for higher order thinking skills such as application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The teacher is present while students work these problems and is able to walk around and help them individually.

In addition, it becomes obvious who did not prepare for class and who is confused by the concept. The teacher can now counsel, give immediate feedback, and clear up misconceptions before an assignment is turned in. The teacher can differentiate instruction at this point for both remediation and enhancement based on the student's skill set and level of maturity.

Benefits of Flipping

1. The teacher is more involved with assessing student comprehension. The teacher is available to question students' understanding and monitor progress as students work instead of after they turn an assignment in for grading.

2. Class time can be more hands on. Since the teacher is freed from lecturing during class, more time is available for labs, group activities, and other hands-on, active learning experiences.

3. Parents are more aware of content. Previously, parents may have seen a copy of a worksheet. It was difficult for them into interact with their child about the concept if they were unfamiliar with the concept. With a flipped lesson, parents see the content and can help their child process the ideas through discussion or further practice.

4. The classroom becomes student-centered. Lecture is teacher-centered. The teacher provides the information while the students listen. With flipped learning, the students are now actively engaged in a group practice session. The teacher now moves through the class helping individual students and addresses the group as a whole when he or she sees common problems.

5. Flipped learning encourages collaboration. Listening to a lecture and recording notes are not collaborative activities. In addition, distractions during this time can make it difficult for the student to concentrate. With flipped learning, students come together to practice. It is easier to problem-solve and collaborate in a more relaxed social environment.

6. Flipped learning encourages differentiated learning. When students practice with the teacher present, the teacher can quickly recognize gaps and misconceptions. He or she can also make additional resources available to students in a variety of formats that the student may not be able to access at home. Students who need remediation can watch the lecture again or work directly with the teacher. Students who need enriched materials have more opportunities using school resources.

7. Flipped learning can be used with mastery learning. With the teacher and student interacting during the practice stage, the teacher can ensure that the student masters the concept before moving on. Time is freed for additional practice and assessment opportunities. With mastery learning, students and teachers work together until a minimum level of mastery is achieved.

8. Flipped learning can be used with self-paced learning. The teacher eventually creates a library of learning materials that students can access as needed. In one alternative school, each student was assigned a set of objectives and matching activities to complete by a specified date. The teacher monitored progress as each student worked through the lessons, pulling resources as they were needed, and counseled and assisted students as necessary.

Rachel E Kovacs 10/2013

References

Flumerfelt, S., & Green, G. (2013). Using Lean in the Flipped Classroom for At Risk Students. Journal Of Educational Technology & Society, 16(1), 356-366.

Herreid, C., & Schiller, N. (2013). Case Studies and the Flipped Classroom. Journal Of College Science Teaching, 42(5), 62-66.

Millard, E. (2012). 5 Reasons FLIPPED Classrooms Work. University Business, 15(11), 26-29.

Pearson, G. (2012). Students, parents give thumbs-up to Flipped Classroom. Education Canada, 52(5), 46.

ROEHL, A., REDDY, S., & SHANNON, G. (2013). The Flipped Classroom: An Opportunity To Engage Millennial Students Through Active Learning Strategies. Journal Of Family & Consumer Sciences, 105(2), 44-49.

Sams, A., & Bergmann, J. (2013). Flip Your Students' Learning. Educational Leadership, 70(6), 16-20.

Semple, P. (2013). It's Never Too Late to Flip!. Internet@Schools, 20(1), 8-13.