If we teach today’s students as we taught yesterday, we rob them of tomorrow.
– John Dewey
There was a time when printed books had just begun, and a lecturer would dictate the notes. Fast forward the enhancements in education to the present day, we find that learning has never been so easily accessible. With modern technology, knowledge is available everywhere in just a few clicks.
Now here comes the challenge!
Teaching isn’t only about transferring knowledge or delivering content to the students(The old way). It is also equally important to make sure the students have understood and have an active learning experience.
With technology peaking day by day, Old ways don’t work anymore. It’s quite a task for you, modern-day teachers, to make your students pay attention and to make their learning more effective.
Well, it’s no more a problem with “Flipped classroom.”
Now more than ever, the flipped classroom has become one of the emerging technologies in education.
What is Flipped Classroom?
Flipped classroom is a method where technology is exercised to turn classrooms into an engaging place to learn. Both learning and teaching would happen through online videos. Students would watch video lectures outside the class and have an engaging hands-on interaction in the class. Flipped classroom enables students to involve and play an active role in their class activities. While teachers motivate, guide, and provide feedback on students’ performance
How is it different from traditional teaching?
Flipped learning approach works both in and out of the classroom. It allows teachers to make students’ learning both meaningful and memorable.
For instance:
When students can’t attend physical lectures, the flipped classroom approach helps them cover the loss with recorded video lectures. Online video lectures enable students to recreate the same environment they get being in the classroom. Students watch and learn from video lectures at their own pace. This way, flipped classroom helps students not spend so much time listening to long lectures in the classroom, but will have more time to apply their knowledge gained watching video lectures.
How does a Flipped Classroom Look Like?
A proper flipped classroom works this way:
Students would watch and learn from the videos created by teachers. Flipped learning approach creates an environment where students would use their innovative skills, reflect the knowledge and ask questions.
A student’s progress should be measured in terms of the questions they are asking, not merely by the answers that they are reciting.
– Robert John Meehan
Teachers will keep their students updated by providing course materials before they attend the lecture. This way classes become more enjoyable, engaging, and productive for students. Also, teachers would have time to guide students throughout their whole learning process.
How including videos in students learning process is beneficial?
If you are a teacher, who is looking to flip your classroom, you needn’t worry about how your students will absorb the lectures when videos are included. Videos enable students to be completely attentive. What more do you want from your students?
You can simply capture your screen, webcam, and audio to explain complex concepts. Through visual learning, students will be able to grasp and understand complex concepts easily. Also, videos provide students with the ability to pause, understand, and reflect the concepts grasped. A single video lecture can do everything that you couldn’t achieve with multiple stand-in-front lectures.
However, flipped classrooms are not limited to lecturing through videos. As an alternative, you can create voice-recorded lectures and include them as podcasts. However, podcasts can’t beat videos in lecturing. A single video consists of all the elements of a podcast, an article, text, images or infographics which no other alternative has.
How do students and teachers benefit from the flipped classroom?
Switching from the stand-in-front lecture before the classroom to learn-anywhere with flipped learning can bring out many benefits to both students and teachers.
Teacher benefits:
It’s a bit difficult to balance a full-time teaching career and family on the other side. Flipped classroom approach can be a ‘shoulder’ that helps you balance your career and your family at the same time. You can save a lot of time when classrooms are flipped.
For instance:
When students learn from your video lectures, they get familiar with the material already. This way it’s faster for you to make them understand what you’re trying to teach. The remaining time can be utilized to give personalized instructions for each student.
The same time can be utilized for discussions about the courses the students are learning, time to collect students’ queries, and clarify doubts. When all the activities can be done within the school limits, you can entirely focus on your family once you step out of the school.
“9 out of 10 teachers noticed a positive change in student engagement since flipping their classroom”
Student benefits:
Flipped learning gives students the time to reflect on the material learned.
Since the flipped environment is interactive and effective as mentioned before, it helps students learn quicker with proper understanding. Students have control over their learning. Lectures are accessible, and students tend to apply their knowledge.
“71% of teachers indicated that graded of their students have improved since implementing a flipped classroom strategy”
Role of teachers to make Flipped Classroom successful
As a teacher, you have a compelling role in making your students learning effective.
Encourage student-centered learning
Step outside of your comfort to encourage individual student learning. Not every student learns or works at the same speed. To help the slower ones, convert your homework into video assignments.
Video assignments allow students to go through their material at their own pace and get a more in-depth understanding of the concepts they are learning. Students then jot-down their knowledge into assignments.
This is best done outside the classroom. It benefits students who think they are lagging compared to their friends and improves their confidence.
Homework into next class preparation
Next class preparation is a must for your students to get the best out of your lecture. Teachers always come prepared for the class by warming up key points or lecture.
The same way, ask your students to be prepared for the next class by watching videos you create. This way students get a good snapshot of what they are going to learn and get an idea of what to expect for their future classes.
Create a collaborative learning environment
Collaborative student activities can be planned within class time to improve students communication and innovative skills. You can assign students a challenging project that helps them research, think, discuss, and identify the problem.
Students always benefit from group projects and activities; they learn how to work in a team and share knowledge.
Personalized student feedback
Student feedback helps in building good student-teacher bond. The teacher can utilize the class more appropriately to guide the students progress followed by immediate feedback to overcome their drawbacks.
The bottom line?
Through flipped classroom, teachers can create a meaningful learning experience for students in the very time spent outside the classroom. Students learn with more enthusiasm and encourage themselves to dig deep into the concepts without being dependent.
Here are some tweets from your fellow teachers on flipped learning:
Let’s keep the conversation going. How did you flip your class? How do you engage your students? Especially during these challenging times, where everyone has to stay at home.
Share your thoughts and experience to help other teachers who are planning to flip their classroom.
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I wanted to thank you and Aaron for turning me on to the flipped classroom. I was observed by one of the assistant principals and he loved the idea so much he went to the principal later that day and told him everything I was doing. He said that every administrator should see this model and I seem to be the only one implementing all aspects of the philosophy of the school. He wants me to conduct a professional development workshop on it for next year so more teachers can start doing this.
That’s great! Glad to know this article helped you switch to flipped classroom.
This article is great! With flipped classroom approach, you can make any child learn effectively.