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“Flipping” the digital or face-to-face classroom allows students to feel more connected to the courses because they know the topics for the class earlier, which has several benefits.
Let’s imagine that just like in movies or a series, your students can see a preview of what will happen in class. What knowledge do you want to give your audience before the show? The good news is that it depends entirely on the learning goals or objectives you want your students to achieve, for example, learning a concept, solving an exercise, or even researching a topic.
The pandemic made the distance separating us from the students feel farther because we were not with them physically in the classroom or because our time in front of the class was drastically reduced, provoking a technical and even emotional disconnection. Almost two years after turning to virtual education because of COVID-19, now teachers must adapt our classes to the so-called new normal. How can we best leverage the time we share with students virtually or face-to-face? What can we do to motivate them to engage in their learning? The answer to these questions may lie in the inverted or flipped classroom trend.
“The intention is that learning begins before class so that during class time knowledge is strengthened, doubts are resolved, and time is better used with active learning dynamics, challenges, teamwork, among others.”
“Inverting” (“flipping”) the digital or face-to-face classroom allows students to feel more connected to the courses because they know in advance the topics that will be addressed in the class, which provides several benefits. For example, before the class, students can gain an overview of a specific topic, learn about a concept, and make a reflection that they can share later in the class session. Also, they can generate concerns and questions that they will analyze with their classmates the teacher in class. We can use the flipped classroom to combat students’ demotivation and discouragement in online or face-to-face learning, making better use of the synchronous time we share with them through the screen or in the classroom.
Flipped classroom and virtual classes
Virtual classes are a perfect scenario to implement a flipped classroom, as long as we can access digital platforms. Studying from home allows additional time, which generates the optimal conditions for its implementation. In 2007, the United States’ chemistry professors Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams noticed a high level of absenteeism in their classes which hindered their curricular progress and produced a significant educational lag. Therefore, they began to record their presentations and placed them on the internet for easy access, giving life to what would become known as a flipped classroom. More than a decade later, most of us teachers find ourselves in a scenario similar to the one Bergman and Sams faced. Class hours reduced drastically, using technology in class became a challenge, and the fatigue of the pandemic’s confinements was not long in coming. The scenario changed for everyone, so class dynamics also had to change.
The flipped classroom method is an excellent strategy for the times we experience because it encourages self-learning and self-management in our students. At the same time, it provides order in knowledge through a digital model, which helps make the time spent in front of the screen more effective and meaningful.
Flipped classroom vs. flipped learning
The flipped classroom per se consists of assigning students texts, videos, or content to review outside of class, usually before the session. The concept did not necessarily imply a change in class dynamics, so the term flipped learning soon emerged.
Flipped learning is a pedagogical approach in which part of the class (instructions, explanations, advance assignments, etc.) is conducted outside the classroom. Face-to-face time is used for more dynamic activities with personalized attention to the students. To better identify these activities, we can rely on Bloom’s taxonomy. To take advantage of the time outside of class, I suggest the first two levels of activities from the taxonomy: remembering and understanding. For example: memorize, classify, interpret, or summarize. If you work with exact science subjects, I also recommend attaining the third level (applying) and assigning practical exercises to solve. In this way, the class time can be used to attain the levels of analyzing, evaluating, and creating through activities that involve reviewing, arguing, and adapting the knowledge acquired to new challenges.
The online society FlippedLearning offers extensive training on the subject and indicates that many teachers may have already changed their classes by having students read texts outside of class, watch supporting videos, or solve additional problems. However, to apply inverted learning, teachers must incorporate the four FLIP pillars (Flexible environment, Learning culture, Intentional content, and Professional educator) into their teaching practice. “F,” for a flexible environment, facilitates access to content; “L” is for a learning culture centered on the learner rather than the teacher; “I” is for intentional content that has been appropriately designed or selected, and “P” signifies a professional educator with relevant teacher training and innovative thinking. You can consult each of these pillars here.
Considerations for implementing flipped learning in class
In 2020, the pandemic forced us to move into the virtual realm. After finishing the first semester online with all the technical problems that could be experienced, I convinced myself that I had to make some changes for the second half of the year. Therefore, I implemented inverted learning in my Calculus I class at Prepa Tec Campus Sinaloa. I wanted to support my students more in those difficult times we were going through, and above all, to make the most of the “face to face” time (actually, screen-to-screen time) to ensure that the learning experience was optimal and neither the quality nor the students’ spirits deteriorated.
When implementing a flipped classroom, we must address the crucial aspect that the students do not perceive “they are assigning us extra work” or “the teachers do not want to explain in the class.” Instead, we must send the message that we are changing the dynamics to favor their learning experience. The primary premise is that, for some students, progress can feel very slow because, in class, the teacher covers content that they already had reviewed previously. In contrast, the class might seem very fast to others because they may lack the previous knowledge necessary to understand the concepts.
One of the most used resources by teachers implementing reverse learning is video, but it is important to note that it is not the only one. Other electronic resources such as infographics, readings, simulations
, practice quizzes, and others can provide value. Whatever the resource, it is vitally important that the teacher supervises its selection to ensure that it is the best choice for the course. According to Goodwin and Miller (2013), several studies have indicated that students prefer materials created by the same teacher because they perceive the material as personalized to their needs.
In addition to the considerations mentioned above, I share the basic steps to follow to implement reverse learning in a class:
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Selection and creación of the materials. After redesigning the subject for the virtual model, I recorded seven videos corresponding to each of the course topics. The videos averaged 5-10 minutes long and contained basic concepts and a practice exercise. They were original and placed on the Canvas course platform.
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Before each session, assign the video corresponding to the topic. You do not always have to review a video before class, as the class does not always start with a new topic. Nevertheless, you can send a reminder to the group on Remind and Canvas when this is the case.
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Plan the dynamics of each class. I try to answer questions at the beginning of the class about the videos or the practice exercise. Then I proceed to do more exercises, collaborative activities, games, etc. It depends a lot on how many sessions of the topic advance.
Because it was my third time teaching this Calculus course, I decided to analyze the grades from previous semesters to see if I noticed any differences. I should clarify that the online teaching wrought by the pandemic resulted in a significant change. However, we can’t conclude the impact of inverted learning because many factors were at play, but I could form a basic notion when comparing the grades with the previous course.
Figure 1 shows the distribution of the final average of each semester’s student grades. In the August-December 2020 semester, more students achieved higher scores than the previous semester in the two grading segments above 80.
Image 1. Comparison of the final averages of the students in August to December 2020 with the same semester the prior year.
I plan to continue using flipped classroom in my teaching practice to ensure that the classroom experience is always the best possible. According to the satisfaction survey conducted at the end of the course with a sample of 45 students, 63.2% expressed that they would like to see the inverted learning applied in other mathematics subjects. In addition, 61.5% stated that the methodology helped them improve their performance during classes and, therefore, their performance in the course. Also, some specific comments indicated that they appreciated having extra support for the classes because it felt like a backing of their learning.
Flipped classroom is an excellent option if your subject has a lot of theoretical content or the classwork has become heavy and tedious. In this way, your students will always feel close despite the distance.
As they say, “practice makes the teacher,” and great things happen when the teacher practices to improve. A flipped classroom not only improves the experience of the student but also that of the teacher. Do not hesitate to share your results and experiences with the Observatory of the Institute for the Future of Education community at Tecnologico de Monterrey!
About the Author
Luckey Beltrán is a math and science professor at PrepaTec Campus Sinaloa. She is an Industrial and Systems Engineer with a Master’s Degree in Educational Technology. She is passionate about new educational trends with the use of technology. Her students say that she “solves integrals in her free time.”
References
Flipped Learning Network (2019, 18 January). Definition of Flipped Learning. Accessed from: https://flippedlearning.org/definition-of-flipped-learning/
Observatorio de Innovación Educativa (2014). EduTrends Aprendizaje Invertido. Accessed from: https://observatorio.tec.mx/edutrendsaprendizajeinvertido
Goodwin, B., & Miller, K. (2013). Evidence on Flipped Classrooms Is Still Coming In. Educational Leadership. Accessed from: http://www1.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/Evidence-on-Flipped-Classrooms-Is-Still-Coming-In.aspx
Noer, M. (2015, 15 May). One Man, One Computer, 10 Million Students: How Khan Academy Is Reinventing Education. Forbes. Accessed from:
Edited by Rubí Román (rubi.roman@tec.mx) – Observatory of Educational Innovation.
Translation by Daniel Wetta.
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