Flipped Classroom

“The flipped classroom is…essentially reversing the traditional order…this approach fits adult education’s values of active learner engagement and self-direction.”

Objective:

The flipped classroom of having students learn material on their own in a self-directed manor, while incorporating collaborative activities during classroom time reflect andragogy more than the typical approach of the common classroom/homework relationship.

“The value of a flipped class is in the repurposing of class time into a workshop where students can inquire about lecture content, test their skills in applying knowledge, and interact with one another in hands-on activities”(EDUCAUSE).

Students must adapt to self-directed learning, where they can learn at their own pace, and focus on certain topics longer than others if need be. When returning to the classroom, students are more prepared to engage in group activities and continue to share information.

There are some concerns around the accuracy of information available, the student and the teacher’s technological literacy as well as student’s motivation being maintained so they do not fall behind.

Reflective:

For teachers, this is an excellent model to encourage self-directed learning, and to keep students engaged though active learning. The idea of this concept sounds great on paper but to actually implement a Flipped Classroom will take much longer to prepare and maintain than the current notion of delivery. “Out-of-class and in-class elements must be carefully integrated for students to understand the model and be motivated to prepare for class (EDUCAUSE). Over time we will find out whether this new idea is worth the extra effort and if the benefits outweigh the costs.

Interpretive:

Adult Education is overall based on student-focused principals, the opposite of pedagogy. If learning facilitators are here to support the student’s experience, the flipped classroom is an excellent method to do this. Students take the learning into their own hands to review all material on their own time, and come to class to share that learning with their peers and ensure what they learned or perceived from reviewing materials was accurate. “Immediate quiz feedback and the ability to rerun lecture segments may help clarify points of confusion” (EDUCAUSE).

The teacher acts as a facilitator and students are given the opportunity to reach their full potential by taking their learning into their own hands to be self-directed. If the focus for andragogy is flipped from pedagogy, why not flip the whole notion of the classroom as well. “The flipped model puts more of the responsibility for learning on the shoulders of students while giving them greater impetus to experiment” (EDUCAUSE).

Decisional:

This quote has encouraged me to explore using the flipped classroom approach on my own classroom. I plan to incorporate the idea of the flipped classroom into my lesson plan by having students conduct E-Learning courses on their own time prior to coming to class, where we can then maximize the time spent utilizing and putting into practice what was previously learned through E-Learning. The E-Learning courses have already been created, initially intended to use in class to supplement software demonstrations, but they could easily be completed by students prior to attending class. Since the students can only access our software’s practice environments in the classroom, it is crucial to maximize the time they get to practice using the software.

7 Things you should know about Flipped Classrooms. (2012, February 1). Retrieved from https://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/eli7081.pdf

Merriam, Sharan, and Laura Bierema. "Adult Learning in the Digital Age." Adult Learning Linking Theory and Practice. First ed. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 2014. 207 - 208. Print.