Friday, December 31, 2021

Revisit The Flipped Classroom

empty classroom upside down

Educators teaching in face-to-face classrooms move beyond passive learning with more active and collaborative approaches to teaching with flipped classroom usage (Bergmann & Sams, 2014). Utilizing a flipped classroom allows student engagement and learning goes beyond just watching videos. Before class, students prepare to participate in class activities. During class, students are actively involved with other students and the instructor through a variety of approaches such as problem-based activities, brainstorming, or group/pair work. After class, students check their understanding and extend their learning. A flipped classroom looks different based on the instructor, students, classroom environment, content, and learning outcomes. According to Bergmann and Sams (2014, p. 18) “A flipped classroom really starts with one simple question: What is the best use of your face-to-face class time?”


In traditional face-to-face business courses taught by three different instructors, students identified the courses as difficult and hard to pass. Students were commuter students, who sometimes had multiple jobs, family responsibilities, and other commitments. Sometimes, students were unable to attend class and when they did attend, they came unprepared. Students were diverse from varied ethnic and cultural backgrounds. In addition, the instructors observed that students were disinterested and disengaged in the class. So, the instructors redesigned four traditional courses to a flipped course and studied the effectiveness of the flipped courses as compared with the traditional courses. The courses were taught as both traditional and flipped courses over eight semesters from spring 2015 to fall 2018. Instruction happened outside the classroom, and if students encountered learning issues or had questions, they could contact the instructor or use a discussion forum in the learning management system. Prior to coming to the next class, students completed a short online quiz or low-level skills worksheet that helped the instructors assess student understanding of the material. The instructors found evidence of academic improvement by students in flipped courses compared with traditional courses, a general positive attitude toward flipped courses, and lower withdrawal rates of students from flipped courses without having to compromise on course content (Sarkar, Ford & Manzo, 2019).

Malik, Khan, and Maqsood (2018) found similar results in which the flipped approach improved physical and cognitive engagement of students. Physical engagement referred to active participation and the application of vigor and effort focused toward the completion of a task. Cognitive engagement was the amount of attention, concentration, and focus toward an activity or a task. The researchers used a mixed method approach to compare and contrast the qualitative data and the results of quantitative data. The participants included undergraduate students in an engineering class. From the beginning of the semester until the second exam, students were taught using the traditional mode of instruction. Then, the flipped classroom approach was implemented after the second exam until final exams. Using the flipped classroom approach, the instructors provided students with video lectures, research articles, reference books, and PowerPoint slides a week before the class session. Students brought lecture notes (graded activity), which included key points of the topic and questions to ask during the question and answer session. During the face-to-face class, there was a 25-minute question and answer session based on the lecture notes of students. Group activities included case studies, historical software issues, and real-life scenarios. Each group shared the findings of the activity with the entire class. As a result, the traditional lecture moved from the classroom (group space) into individual space. The face-to-face class time was best used for student interaction and engagement.

In conclusion, the flipped classroom changed the way the instructors mentioned above taught their face-to-face courses. Whether you flip an entire course or portions of a course, students benefit from the active learning and collaborative approach. Higher order thinking is done in the class in the presence of the instructor and the instructor can interact one-on-one or in small groups with students. Learning rather than teaching becomes the goal and students begin to take more ownership of their own learning. Learners are no longer passive recipients of knowledge but active learners.

References:
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2014). Flipped learning. Learning & Leading with Technology, 41(7), 18–23.

Malik, Z. A., Khan, S. S., & Maqsood, M. (2018). Exploring the relationship between student engagement and new pedagogical approaches. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 47(2), 170-192. doi:10.1177/0047239518788281

Sarkar, N., Ford, W. & Manzo, C. (2019). To flip or not to flip: What the evidence suggests, Journal of Education for Business, doi:10.1080/08832323.2019.1606771


Cite this blog: Washington, G. (2021, December 31). Revisit The flipped classroom [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://pedagogybeforetechnology.blogspot.com/

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