FLIP learning has been defined as “Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.”
Ref.
Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P™
I am currently teaching senior high school chemistry to tail end Gen Y students. Like Penny and Linda, I have been teaching a (type of) flipped teaching for years. My model is to teach for conceptual understanding and expect them to fill in the content and detail gaps outside class. It has generally been successful, as I get a good proportion of outstanding results (peer moderated). Naturally I have to adequately scaffold those who are less able, BUT this year I have had considerable trouble teaching because my better students have complained that I am not teaching them properly, to me and to their parents. Apparently what they mean is that I expect them to do too much outside of class, and be self motivated. It is possible that this method, which I like, may be jeopardised by the different social approach of the upcoming generations. A psychologist suggests that this may be due to their facility with IT which leads them to believe that success is easy and based on superficial collection of information, and also with the parenting style called 'helicopter parenting' which creates an expectation that adults will 'serve' their needs. I am in the process of developing a strategy for teachers to help combat these views but it will take time. Part of what I am saying is that we need to be explicit in language and processes, that what is valued is deep learning, and the attitude that 'it is not what I teach that counts, but what you do with the learning'. We are heading for interesting times.
We use the Flipped Classroom approach for two courses in the first year of an undergraduate computer science program (for the introductory programming courses). In my opinion it works better than the traditional approach, and also the students like it. Unfortunately, there's no significant improvement in the final results. So I assume that just flipping the classroom is not enough, but (of course) it still needs to be set up in a good didactical way.
We'll start with mining educational design patterns for the flipped classroom approach soon with the goal of describing what works well and why. Of course we will validate and share this knowledge...
It too me a while to understand what was meant by Flipping the classroom... and then it dawned on me that it is a new term for what many people have been doing for years, it's not revolutionary after all! (Assuming that I have understood it correctly!)
At the UK OU our main teaching is done through correspondence materials which are presented in a mix of media. 40 years ago it was text and late night TV and radio, we then went through providing video and audio cassettes and gradually moved into eLearning and mLearning in more recent years.
The focus of our face to face provision has always been on supplementing the core teaching in order to address student identified issues and broaden their understanding. With the developments in eLearning we have been able to introduce elements of group space back into the individual learning experience - so forums etc can be used to put interaction into learning which is done in geographical isolation.
One of the key things for making a flipped model work effectively is helping the student learn how to use it. Students form an understanding of how education works from their years at school, and so expect the same model as they move through the education system.
If you are going to ask them to work/study in a different way they need help to understand how to achieve the learning and time/experience to be able to adapt to the new methods and environment.
I have been using homework activities to support student learning. By this, I am not talking about practice exercises but rather activities involving various types of media, paper, video, internet, audio etc. I teach English and use the homework activities to prepare students for spoken activities in class. I think you could call this a flipped classroom?
The advantage to this is that students have time and resources to complete these activities which I have based on Task-Based Learning. They have time to work out the strategies they want to use, or figure out how they can use the language. This takes away a lot of the pressure of suddenly being asked to perform a new task.
The advantage is that students have the time to think and process new information in their own way. Students that engage with the program make huge gains in confidence and ability. They also appreciate the novelty and challenge that the homework activities provide.
The downsides are the preparation required. Also some students will not do the homework at all.
Hi, everyone!
I found this article that explains what all of this flipping is about :)
It seems that the terms "flip learning" and "flip classroom" is not interchangeable. What you and Christian are doing seems to be consistent with the flip classroom definition, Robert. Linda's evaluation that "If you are going to ask them to work/study in a different way they need help to understand how to achieve the learning and time/experience to be able to adapt to the new methods and environment." seems to line up with flip learning - which is introducing a new way of learning
I have used flipped classroom without realising it for years!. So I tend to agree with Linda. I find the earlier years struggle with the concept because they are still in secondary school mode. But as they become more 'adult' in their learning I find in the later years using the flipped classroom allows me to concentrate on helping students apply their knowledge during a teaching session rather than simply absorbing it.
I am currently teaching senior high school chemistry to tail end Gen Y students. Like Penny and Linda, I have been teaching a (type of) flipped teaching for years. My model is to teach for conceptual understanding and expect them to fill in the content and detail gaps outside class. It has generally been successful, as I get a good proportion of outstanding results (peer moderated). Naturally I have to adequately scaffold those who are less able, BUT this year I have had considerable trouble teaching because my better students have complained that I am not teaching them properly, to me and to their parents. Apparently what they mean is that I expect them to do too much outside of class, and be self motivated. It is possible that this method, which I like, may be jeopardised by the different social approach of the upcoming generations. A psychologist suggests that this may be due to their facility with IT which leads them to believe that success is easy and based on superficial collection of information, and also with the parenting style called 'helicopter parenting' which creates an expectation that adults will 'serve' their needs. I am in the process of developing a strategy for teachers to help combat these views but it will take time. Part of what I am saying is that we need to be explicit in language and processes, that what is valued is deep learning, and the attitude that 'it is not what I teach that counts, but what you do with the learning'. We are heading for interesting times.
Hi, Mark ~
Although I have only been a teaching Assistant, I find that I have been developing a teaching philosophy that has not only been informed by theory, but also by my own observations of classroom management styles, and by my own experiential learning. One area that I have found lacking has to do with what you said; that is, "we need to be explicit in language and processes, that what is valued is deep learning, and the attitude that 'it is not what I teach that counts, but what you do with the learning'. That is about managing expectations, which is something that we learned in Project Management. Consequently, I have developed a document that schools generally refer to as "Faculty Expectations", and I keep refining it for when I actually start teaching as a full-fledged instructor. I think that your vision and approach is the right one for clarifying and managing expectations.
Penny - do you think that there is a distinction between "flipped learning" and "flipped classroom"?
Ruth- After reading your suggested article i find that I agree with the authors that flipping the classroom does not mean that the learning is automatically flipped. I have had experience with students who have not done the work needed before the class and so their learning has only occurred in the teaching session. I would argue they have been given a flipped classroom but they have not undergone flipped learning.
This is also relevant to Mark's observation that students are often not fans of doing work outside of class. One way I tried to combat this is to ensure there is protected time in the curriculum for the students to do the preparation work. When they comment on having extra work to do outside of the class I am than able to point out if they did not have a flipped classroom the protected time would be used for face to face to face teaching.
The flipped learning article highlights some of the requirements for flipped learning but does not mention a problem that students have recently feedback to me. Sometimes they are given pre reading to do, followed by a session to solve problems using the readings. But when the students turn up the pre reading isn't needed for the problems of the tutor goes over it all before presenting the problem. Has anyone else encountered this?
I teach ESL. Most of my students are fluent, but lack certain skills that are necessary for success in college: analysis of data, presentation of an argument, skills in how to talk while presenting a PowerPoint, writing skills and the complex grammar that goes with writing a research paper. I find with my students that I want them in the flipped classroom model to study the information prior to coming to class and then in the classroom setting we fill in the conceptual aspects. With grammar, for example, they need to go to online sites to study and then we discuss the actual usage of the grammar and use authentic contexts as our examples--contexts in oral communication and written communication. So, for example, the free PowerPoints that the Pearson site offers for its grammar series by Betty Azar is very helpful. At www.azargrammar.com click on Classroom materials, then one of the 3 books, then on the PowerPoints to see what I mean--this is the materials students study prior to coming to class.
A couple of colleagues and I are just starting to write up a paper on flipping an engineering course. We still have lots to examine but the raw data seems to suggest:
- It was hard work for the lecturer but they felt it was worthwhile and they would do it again
- students really liked the format - learning at home through podcasts etc and then applying knowledge in the classroom
- It made no difference to final grades
- We also found that there was a correlation between attending class and exam grades - which we had establish in the standard classroom but did not expect to be so obvious in the flipped format.
Still early days but, so far, I would suggest that lecturers don't flip unless they personally are keen to do so - as the results (grades) are not really worth the effort that it takes to facilitate the flipped classroom. But, if you are not so focused on grades then you may wish to flip just to enhance the learning experience in itself.
@ Erik Blair
This concept makes sense to me because the Internet has really in a way released us from the time constraints that have been traditional to learning. I remember spending hours in the school library - now I access knowledge online. School pod casts, YouTube, and other learning outlets have greatly expanded my out of the traditional classroom learning. Good luck, Erik. I know that Trinidad and Tobago is an extremely progressive nation, having been blessed with Dr. Eric Williams as the first Prime Minister after colonization. His great emphasis was on educating the nation and that tradition of learning and innovation in learning seems to be as strong as ever.
@Ruth, I appreciate your comments and agree that the various ways that we can now access information have really changed education. Whilst there is continued focus on education here in Trinidad and Tobago, we do have another hurdle to flipping the classroom - since this is a developing nation, access to technology has not always been easy. This is the first generation to take IT for granted, which means many teaching staff are still working in the world of paper, books and traditional lectures. I think this will change soon, but it is worth considering the abilities that nations have to flip or not flip a classroom.
@Erik - you make a good point about the willingness of a nation to advance education and the constraints that a paucity of technology imposes on that ambition. Have you thought about a marketing strategy aimed at locals and expats who are living abroad to join in the effort to help the nation's children to have access to technology? For example, the idea came to me that you and your colleagues, with the help of businesses and the Ministry of Education, can start an "Adopt a School" campaign in which the whole nation AND expats can be engaged in a patriotic effort that helps in the country's effort to bring technology to the schools and the children that need it. It might be an ambitious effort; however, if you model the concept after the ChildFund.org concept it can be successful.
I know that Trinidad has 2nd world nation status and is well on its way to achieving its goal of 1st world nation status by 2020; a program such as the one I described possibly can help to hasten the achievement of this goal. You would need to identify the key stakeholders in such an effort and build a team of educators, members of the business community, government officials, parents, and student representatives to develop and launch an “Invest in Our Children – Invest in Our Nation” campaign. Your goal could be to ensure that a computer and/or access to the Internet be available to every school child. In rural areas access might be concentrated in after school programs that are based in schools or libraries. Necessarily, this might involve considerations such as discounted access rates; thus, your Internet service providers will have to be involved.
Clarify the vision, set goals, craft and hone a compelling message, tie it to patriotism and use every type of media (social, etc) to disseminate the message… If equal access to this technology is not available throughout the country you will have one part of the country progressing and equipped for 21st Century challenges, and other parts that are not. Just a thought…
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