Traditional and flipped teaching models: in a flipped classroom, class-time and self-study activities are reversed or "flipped". (Adapted from: University of Washington, USA)

The proliferation and diversification of technologies is changing the way people teach and learn the world over. Internet and computer accessibility has created a myriad of educational opportunities that were not available even a few short years ago. Technology is changing how students learn, as well as how educators teach, and this evolution has made new educational models such as the flipped classroom possible. A flipped classroom is where lectures are viewed outside of class and the application of material takes place during class sessions; a reverse or flip of traditional educational models.

 

In practice activities in a flipped classroom can take many forms, but generally involve learners preparing for courses by watching a prerecorded lecture or undertaking assigned reading and eLearning activities, followed by class time being used for interactive discussion, problem-solving, and other activities with the faculty. The flipped classroom puts more responsibility of learning on the learner and allows the teacher/educator more time to work one-on-one with learners.

 

Developed in the US

Two high school chemistry teachers from Colorado first popularized the flipped classroom model in 2007. Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann were initially seeking a solution for students who had to miss class due to sports or other activities. When they began using screen capture software to record their lectures and Power Point presentations and post them online they realized that they could then use valuable class time to focus more on the application of the content learned in the video lectures. Flipping the classroom also allowed Sams and Bergmann to track individual students more closely and create more individualized lessons or problem sets for students.

The first large-scale test of the flipped classroom model came just three years after Sams and Bergmann first flipped their chemistry classes. Clintondale High School in Michigan was struggling with high failure rates for students in all disciplines for years before they decided to test the flipped classroom model. They began in 2010 by flipping courses for incoming freshman students.

 

Decreased failure rates

This proved so successful that they decided to flip the entire school starting the next year and the results were dramatic. In one year, the student failure rate in English went from 52% to 19%, in math from 44% to 13%, in science from 41% to 19%, and in social studies from 28% to 9%. Clintondale was able to decrease the average student failure rate by over 25% with very little extra resources and almost no additional expenditures.

 

Benefits for all parties

Advantages of the flipped classroom approach are centered around the change of time used during class sessions and include:

• An increase in interaction between learners and teachers

• A shift in the responsibility for learning on to participants

• The ability for learners to prepare at a time that suits them, and as many times as meets their needs

• Lessons and content are most accessible and archived

• Promotes student-centered learning and collaboration between students

• An increase in learner engagement and a shift from passive listening to active learning

 

Wide-range of online resources

The explosion of YouTube and development of online video educational resources, such as Khan Academy, have greatly facilitated the expansion of the flipped classroom model. Instead of having to prerecord all their lectures, teachers and instructors are able to choose from a variety of video lectures on a wide range of subjects to use for their courses. Enabling the teacher to act as a curator of lecture material (as opposed to the primary author) aids in the transition from the "sage on the stage" to the "guide at the side."

 

Used by post-secondary institutions

The flipped classroom model is now gaining popularity in higher education. A number of universities offer courses using the flipped classroom model and are examining the approach for various disciplines. At the University of British Columbia in Canada, two sections of a large enrollment introductory physics class were compared. One section used the flipped classroom model for one week, while the control section maintained traditional lecture-based format.

 

The researchers found that students in the flipped classroom section performed better on an end of week test (scores of a mean of 74% versus 41% for the control section), had higher rates of attendance (75% vs 53%), and higher levels of engagement (85% vs 45%).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Positive student feedback

Utilization of the flipped classroom model in an integrated pharmaceutical care and science course showed that students both performed better on tests and had more positive perceptions about the model compared to students taught in previous years using a traditional lecture-based teaching model.

 

Pharmacology students performed significantly better on the final exam (average score of 81,6% vs 77,7%) when taught using the flipped classroom model. Students who experienced the flipped classroom model generally liked it and over half of the students expressed a desire to have more instructors flip their courses.

 

Some criticism

Critics of the flipped classroom model assert that simply rearranging what part of learning is done where does not necessarily change learning outcomes. The potential need to invest time to develop courses (or redesign course format) and resources for technological investment are two frequently cited reasons why teachers are hesitant to adopt the flipped classroom model. Key to the success of this approach is that participants take responsibility for their learning and come to class prepared.

 

 

References

[1] Deslauriers L, Schelew E, Wiesman C (2011) Improved Learning in a Large-Enrollment Physics Class. Science. 13;332(6031):862–4.

[2] Pierce R, Fox J (2012) Vodcasts and Active-Learning Exercises in a “Flipped Classroom” Model of a Renal Pharmacotherapy Module. Am J Pharm Edu V 76(10) Article 196.

 

Online resources

• Flipped Learning Network

• Ning

• Flipped Classroom Guide

• Flipped Learning Experts