Flipped! Turning Learning on its Head

By Violet Dickson 
Cluster Specialist for Arts, AV, Technology, & Communications 

On a recent flight, I reached for a copy of Spirit, Southwest Airlines’ publication available to airline passengers for their in-flight reading pleasure. I found it interesting that the August issue was entitled, “New School: How the digital revolution is turning learning upside down”. The cover story, “Flipped Out”, by Jennifer Miller, was all about a new paradigm for classroom learning that’s been getting lots of buzz lately. It’s called different names, but primarily it’s being referred to as flipped learning. 

 

The term “flipped” refers to the concept of switching the work completed at home with work typically done in the classroom. In a flipped classroom, the teacher uses technology to screencast instructional videos (aka vodcasting) to students at home. So some of what used to be done in class (lecture/direct instruction) is now done at home via the Internet, and what used to be assigned for homework is now done in class, with a greater focus on project-based activities and more student/teacher interaction. 

 

Flipped learning is the brainchild of Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, who are credited with pioneering the use of screencasting in education. According to Bergmann and Sams, flipped learning is more than simply video-taping teacher instruction for students to watch at home. It’s more about determining the best use of in-class time and the best way to engage students in the learning process, whether in-class or at home.

 

Flipped learning offers lots of promise for bringing 21st century skills into the classroom and also for creating a more student-centered approach to learning. However, in discussing flipped learning with teachers, I’ve discovered there are many opinions on the subject, and at times, even a heated debate over whether to flip or not to flip. Some teachers even tell me they’ve shared the concept with their students and gotten a negative response. What I’m finding, however, is that many of these teachers do not have a clear understanding of what flipped learning is and is not. 

 

When people hear the term, flipped learning, most think that it’s all about video-taping every lesson for students to watch at home and providing no instruction or structure in the classroom. Teachers who have tried this method have found that the “new” wears off rather quickly, and students eventually become just as bored watching videos as they did with traditional homework. 

 

Teachers who have embraced the concepts of flipped learning agree that there are many misconceptions, and it takes time to make changes in instructional strategies. Many of these teachers admit to making mistakes along the way when it comes to creating a flipped classroom. Fortunately for us, some of these “forerunner” teachers are now providing valuable pointers, like sign posts along the route, for those of us who are just now setting out on this journey. Below is a brief synopsis of what successful “flipped” teachers have to say about what is and is not flipped learning and their suggestions for the best way to create a flipped classroom.

 

What Flipped Learning is NOT:  

1. It is not a synonym for videos or for replacing teachers with videos.
2. It is not creating an online course.
3. It is not unstructured.
4. It is not about students spending all of their time working at computers in isolation.

 

What a Flipped Classroom IS: 

1. A blending of direct instruction with constructivist learning. 
2. A way to increase personal interaction between teachers and students. 
3. A place where students take responsibility for their own learning. 
4. A place where all lessons can be archived for future reference or reteaching.

 

Suggestions for making the change to flipped learning: 

1. The term, “video” does not mean you should set-up a video camera and record every lesson. Instead, make a short screencast that simply captures your computer screen (for slide presentations, websites, etc). Include your voice and a small webcam of your face. (Directions for making a screencast are in the book by Bergmann and Sams and also in an article from Educational Leadership – see below.) 
2. Start small. Don’t try to screencast every lesson. Start with 1 lesson per week and work up. By the end of the school year, you’ll have a library of 30-50 archived lessons. 
3. Make them short. 7 – 15 minute screencasts are usually adequate. Try not to make any screencasts longer than 15 minutes. 
4. Include activities or assignments for students to complete. This connects instruction with application and also provides a way to check that the student completed the video.  For example: An instructional video on the Pythagorean theory might include an assignment where students walk around their bedroom and snap pictures of right angles. Back in the classroom, they would use those images, along with their textbooks, to solve for the hypotenuse.
5. Use materials you already have on hand, such as slide presentations that go with particular lessons.
6. You do not have to create all of your own videos. You can also incorporate the use of online instructional videos that are available on nearly every subject as well as online virtual tours of famous places.
7.  Allow students to work at their own pace, but keep a record of progress and set a final deadline for all work from that unit to be completed. This allows students time to go back and review previous screencasts and resubmit work if necessary.
8. Allow students without Internet access at home to watch the screencasts at school and complete any “pre-class” assignments before beginning any “in-class” projects. This is easily accomplished since screencasts are short and students work at their own pace.

In addition to the above suggestions, there are also many great resources available to help teachers make the switch to flipped learning (see below). 

 

Flipped learning is not a silver bullet. But teachers who are paving the way in this new instructional design are finding that, with a flipped classroom, they have greater flexibility, students have more time to complete projects, teachers are better able to meet the needs of all of their students, and there is more face-to-face class time to focus on the important stuff. 

 

For more information on flipped learning: 

• Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2012). Flip your classroom: Reach every student in every class every day. Washington, DC: International Society for Technology in Education.
• Bergmann, J., Overmyer, J., & Wilie, B. (2012). The flipped class: Myth vs. reality. The Daily Riff. Retrieved from http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php
• Educational Vodcasting: Flipping the Classroom. Retrieved from http://www.flippedclassroom.com/
• Flipped Learning Network. Retrieved from http://flippedlearning.org/FLN
• Miller, J. (2013). Flipped out. Spirit: Southwest Airlines (August), 72-81. Sams, A., & Bergmann, J. (2013). Flip your students’ learning. Educational leadership, 70 (6), 16-20.