The Flipped Classroom

Teaching & Learning Process
Vishwajeet Borate1,531 Comments on The Flipped Classroom

The Flipped Classroom (by Vishwajeet Borate)

[Part 2 of ‘Making our students self-learners' published on 17th May]

The Flipped Classroom

In my previous article Making Our Students Self-Learners, I had stressed on the need to change our approach to classroom teaching and make our students self-learners. When the world is changing dynamically and becoming more challenging for our students, our goal should be to make our students self-learners, who are motivated and curious to acquire knowledge by themselves and become lifelong learners. Self-Directed Learning is the new learning!

One of the ways teachers can achieve this is by implementing the flipped classroom concept.

The simplest way to introduce you to flipped classroom is this:
The classwork becomes the home-work and the home-work becomes the class-work.

What this means is that the sequence of events is reversed from that of the traditional classroom. The teacher will introduce a topic in the class and will inspire and guide the students to acquire knowledge about it through online lecture videos, YouTube videos, documentaries, online notes, even books from library etc. as homework prior to coming to the next class.

During the next class, there will be interactive discussions, doubts clearing, in class assignments (individual or teamwork) all performed under the guidance of the teacher.

The main goal of a flipped classroom is to enhance student learning and achievement by focusing class time on student understanding rather than on explanation. Class time can now be devoted to reinforcing the knowledge acquired at home through individual or team learning discussions, activities, assignments, and projects.

The Flipped Classroom model (it is also known as the “blended learning model”) is based on a very simple belief that students in this digital age are good at decoding information via electronic media. Videos and pictures on the screen are to them what textbooks were to us.

The concept was pioneered by Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams in 2007 and has been gaining popularity among teachers across the world since then.

The benefits of flipped classroom are many:

  • Students can acquire knowledge and grasp the lessons at their own pace, viewing the video or content again and again until they get the concept or fast forward it if they find the information obvious.
  • Doing homework during the class time gives the teacher insight into which concepts (if any) are the students struggling with and guide them accordingly. The teacher is present while the student applies new knowledge. The teacher gets more one-on-one time with the students.
  • The teaching-learning process becomes more active rather than passive. The teacher is now in the role of a facilitator and coach of her class.
  • Students will experience the joy of learning and discovering when the teacher leaves aside her traditional role of an instructor and takes on the role of a learner with curiosity and playfulness.
  • The communication skills of students will improve as they have to participate in the classroom discussions to share what knowledge they have acquired.
  • Students will learn to make constructive use of digital devices and screen time for acquiring knowledge rather than just for entertainment.
The Flipped Classroom

While there are many pros to the flipped classroom model, there are some cons also:

  • Many people argue that flipped classroom will divide students digitally, meaning that students who do not have proper access to internet and digital devices will be at an obvious disadvantage. This is especially a reality for students coming from low income families.
  • Another argument resisting the idea of flipped classroom is that it may not work for all students. Some students (and even parents) may not be comfortable with this new model of learning. So, what works for some students may not work for all students.
The Flipped Classroom

However, the benefits will far outweigh the resistance you may hear from students and parents. Teachers implementing this new approach have observed that there is substantial growth in their students’ abilities since switching to the new model. Their students have become more independent and motivated learners. They have become more responsible for their work. They have, in short, become more active learners.

I would like to give some suggestions before you actually start implementing the flipped classroom model:

  • Before starting with this new approach, do spend some days teaching the students how to effectively and efficiently look for any information online. You may train the students about what type of key words to use, which websites to go to, how to take notes from a video and so on. This may happen in the school’s computer lab.
  • YouTube is not the only source of good videos for students. Some good online content for students is also available at Khan Academy, Lynda.com, BrainPop, Annenberg Learner.
  • Students should also be taught to downgrade or back-track the content if they do not understand something. Downgrading or backtracking means, if they do not understand a particular concept or module during online exploration, they should first understand it and then come back to the main module.
  • You may start slowly with just one chapter, see the response, fine-tune, and gradually switch over to the new approach as the students adjust to the new method.
  • Parents should be first taken into confidence about the new method of teaching. It should be made clear to them that self-learning at home does not mean lack of teaching in the school! It means a more pro-active approach to teaching and learning.

I will end with a thought provoking quote by J Krishnamurty:

“A teacher is one who makes himself/herself progressively unnecessary”

The Flipped Classroom

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