The Flipped Classroom

Most people think of a flipped classroom as only 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.

In its more evolved state, 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 where there is 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 such as 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. With flipped learning, students learn at their pace and use classroom time to further build on that learning. One unintended consequence of flipped learning is increased interaction both among students and between students and teachers. The topics for discussion in these interactions also change. However, this creates a new gap in understanding if students have questions about the course content. If the student is attending the traditional classroom lecture at home, he or she cannot ask questions if the material is confusing or doesn’t fully follow from the material that was presented before. The intended higher order classroom discussion will be thwarted and cause some students to withdraw from the discussion or misconceptions to perpetuate itself because the discussion didn’t address a specific nuance necessary to basic understanding.

KoolLearning, a new entrant in the digital learning sphere, solves this problem in two ways:

1. It offers a platform where diverse content can be stored and utilized. The course material is organized much like a textbook, but because it is a digital binder, it allows for multiple sources of content (websites, OER and proprietary) to be mixed together so that students can combine videos, text, examples, references, and analogies to get a full understanding. Common misconceptions can be addressed right in that context with different sources providing different perspectives of the problem. This diversity of content helps seal understanding.
2.  It allows students to clarify their doubts by asking questions either to teachers or industry experts, if they have been signed up by the teacher. Moreover, assessments can be integrated and embedded in the content. Thus, students can experience the benefits of the traditional classroom lecture from home at their own pace in groups

A Time to Learn

The biggest difference between a traditional classroom and a flipped one is the change in the use of classroom time. Students don’t spend their time in class completing assignments or passively listening to a lecture. They use the time more effectively for discussions based on the course content that they have already viewed at home. The focus in classroom then is on learning with very little distractions. Similarly, the teacher’s role also shifts dramatically. From being the person who talks to the class and coaches the entire class on a concept. In a flipped classroom, teachers often find themselves walking around the classroom observing how students learn and helping them master the concepts by clarifying their misconceptions should they have any. This forms the foundation of a personalized teaching approach – if teachers notice students struggling with a concept, they will focus more time in helping them and if they notice some other group solving a problem uniquely, they might augment their learning with a more challenging course content that will continue to motive them. KoolLearning helps teachers in personalizing students’ learning experience by providing a platform where teachers can easily create groups and move students in and out of groups. This helps them flip their classrooms easily. They can modify the same course content for different groups by easily adding relevant multimedia content. Groups can be created for ELL students who need extra subtitles or special needs students who need specific examples or references that can help them learn better.

The goal remains a better learning experience for students – where they can access the best resources compiled for them by their teacher and learn to master the concepts at their own pace.