Most teachers have heard of the Flipped Classroom. However, many of us don't have a full understanding of this approach to teaching and learning. The video below provides an excellent introduction to the Flipped Classroom. The speaker in the clip is Jon Bergman, a former MS and HS science teacher. He is one of the two teachers who pioneered and developed the Flipped movement.
What is a Flipped Classroom?
In its simplest form, a teacher moves the lecture (or content acquisition) out of the classroom and then uses in-class time to facilitate engaging, higher-level learning activities.
A variation of the flipped classroom is a flipped lesson where a video (or other instructional resource) is used in-class as a replacement for whole class instruction. This often occurs during station-rotation or is embedded within a playlist.
Here is a more formal definition presented at the iNACOL conference:
“Flipped Learning is a framework that enables educators to reach every student. The Flipped approach inverts the traditional classroom model by introducing course concepts before class, allowing educators to use class time to guide each student through active, practical, innovative applications of the course principles.“ --Academy of Active Learning Arts and Sciences, 2018
Why Use a Flipped Classroom Approach?
Increased Student Engagement:
In the video above, Bergman says, "The magic of the flipped classroom" is not the videos. It's that students have more time in class for engaging learning activities. The "magic" is increased student engagement. He adds, "It's time to change from passive to active learning, so we can reach every student every day."
Because students are held accountable for their own learning of content, they must also be more engaged in the knowledge acquisition process. No one is doing it for them.
Inquiry and Higher Order Thinking Opportunities:
At the iNACOL conference, Bergman stressed to use in-class time to “give them [students] projects and inquiry activities. That’s where the magic will really happen.” He also emphasized that the flipped classroom can "transform a classroom" into a place where students are “applying, analyzing and creating.”
Increased Individualized Student Contact:
Bergman stresses that at the core of Flipped Learning is an intent to "give struggling students more of what they need--me [the teacher]." Full class instruction limits relationship building with students. Being freed up to interact with students one on one and in smaller groups goes a long way to helping establish deeper relationships with students. Bergman also says, "Flipped learning comes down to relationships," and this helps to turn the classroom into "an active place of learning where there is someone there for them [each student]."
Increased Achievement:
Bergman points out that Flipped Learning has been highly researched (over 500 studies), and the vast majority point to increased student achievement. In fact, there are now entirely flipped universities and even Harvard Medical School has adopted the flipped approach. Flipped learning has also been shown to increase the depth of learning due to the increased level of engagement in class.
A Meta-Strategy:
Bergman calls Flipped Learning a "Meta Teaching Strategy" that supports all others. It is a vehicle to move the classroom to more student-centered, active learning experiences. Below is a slide from his recent iNACOL presentation on Flip 3.0. Flipped Learning allows these other strategies to happen.
How Do I Flip?
Start Small:
Don't feel you need to flip your entire course. You can start by flipping a lesson or using an in-class flip as part of a station rotation or even whole class rotation. Consider content that can easily be understood by the student on his/her own.
Choose Your Method of Sharing Content:
Find a way to move whole class instruction to a independent learning activity. This is most frequently done through a video or screencast, but it does not have to be. The content can be gained through research, reading, listening, a slideshow or engaging with online content and simulations as well.
Design an Engaging, In-Class Experience for Students:
This is the most important part. Be sure you take advantage of the flipped experience to now provide students with a more engaging classroom experience. This could be inquiry based, collaborative, experiential, etc. and can free you up as the teacher to interact more personally and individually with each student.
More To Come
In upcoming tech tips, we'll dive deeper into more of the specifics of Flipped learning. Until then, here are a few additional resources to explore:
- FLR -- The official online flipped learning eMagazine.
- The Evolution of Flipped Learning (an infographic)
- Flipped Classroom Model (video)
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