Focus on
your Learners
by
Involving them
Involving them
in the Process
- Barbi Honeycutt
Flipped
classroom learning is increasingly used in university teaching and seems like a
useful approach to make learning interesting and effective.
However, there appear to be certain issues with implementing flipped classrooms. It is difficult to give personal attention to a large number of students, 80 in the case of Dr Alex Escobar, making flipped classrooms challenging in terms of availability of resources and costs involved. Prior-recorded video lectures, though beneficial for students in terms of more flexibility and time to reflect on the content, would affect the spontaneity of classroom teaching. Also, not every student can allocate that much time in advance to familiarise themselves with the learning resources. I feel this approach would be very useful for undergraduate students towards the beginning of their program, for whom taking notes during lectures (and attending lectures itself) is a relatively new experience.
Apart from the fact that his classroom activities are so clear and well-structured, I like how Dr Steven Toaddy records them so that he can later give students reflections on their performance. This would enrich the students' overall learning experience and make learning a two-way road. Also, having a possible incentive to be a 'model student' for future learning through the semester would better motivate the students to perform well in class. Shorter lectures, in addition to saving time, would be better in terms of holding students' attention, which has been attested by Illysa Izenberg and other academics. With regards to Steven's comment that availability of Q and A time at the end of the class is a benefit of having a flipped classroom approach, I feel this should be a given in any type of learning scenario. Also, incorporating feedback from students should be an ongoing process for evaluation and revision of educational design.
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| Bloom's Taxonomy |
My understanding of flipped learning from the above resources and lively Q & A session with Elizabeth and Sebastian from the UNSW School of Physics is that the process of designing and implementing a flipped classroom program is more complex than structuring conventional lectures or tutorials. But from what they've mentioned, once set up and running, such programs are very effective and need little restructuring over time. This approach seems daunting to me most probably because it is a relatively new concept and also because I am quite a novice in terms of university teaching. The sense of community and belonging that Sebastian mentioned, and enhanced interaction between students and teachers which happens with active learning are great incentives for embracing the flipped learning approach. Other potential benefits of flipped learning are increased lecture attendance and class participation leading to better performance in assessments and grasp of the eventual learning outcomes.
There are many models of student-centred learning, Toohey's and RASE for example, to draw constructs for designing flipped learning lessons. Irrespective of the framework used and content of the course, learning objectives and teaching methods must be clear for students to gain the most out of flipped learning. Eventually, the purpose of flipping classrooms is to enable students to move up the levels of learning, from the factual to meta-cognitive. To quote the terms furnished by Jens in the face-to-face session, the ultimate aim of teaching is to facilitate navigation from pedagogy to heutagogy.
Self-evaluation of this post using Criterion 2 of the e-portfolio feedback rubric: Very good
Update:
My revised flipped classroom lesson plan following Module 5.
Image source: Twitter
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