ARTICLE BY CATLIN TUCKER

Flipped Classroom: Beyond the Videos

Posted on April 30, 2012 by Catlin Tucker

Last week, I read an interesting blog post by Shelley Blake-Plock titled ”The Problem with TED ed.” It got me thinking about the flipped classroom model and how it is being defined.

As a blended learning enthusiast, I have played with the flipped classroom model, seen presentations by inspiring educators who flip their classrooms, and even have a chapter dedicated to this topic in my book. However, I am disheartened to hear so many people describe the flipped classroom as a model where teachers must record videos or podcasts for students to view at home.

There are many teachers who do not want to record videos either because they don’t have the necessary skills or equipment, their classes don’t include a lot of lecture that can be captured in recordings, or they are camera shy.

Too often the conversation surrounding the flipped classroom focuses on the videos- creating them, hosting them, and assessing student understanding of the content via simple questions or summary assignments.

I wish the conversation focused more on what actually happens in a flipped classroom. If we move lecture or the transfer of knowledge online to create time and space in the physical classroom, how are we using that time to improve learning for students? What is our role as the teacher in the flipped classroom? How are we maximizing the potential of the group when students are together to design collaborative, creative, student-centered activities and assignments? This is the part I want to hear more about!

For me, the beauty of the flipped classroom lies in the simple realization that instruction can take place in different mediums. We are no longer limited to a class period or a physical classroom. We have the opportunity to match the instructional activity with the environment that makes the most sense. Ramsey Musallam, defines “flip teaching” as “leveraging technology to appropriately pair the learning activity with the learning environment.” This flexibility is why technology has the potential to be so transformative in education.

The goal of the flipped classroom should be to shift lessons from “consumables” to “produceables.” (Okay, I realize I just made that word up, but I hope my meaning is clear.) Students today must be generators and producers. They must be able to question, problem solve, think outside of the box, and create innovative solutions to be competitive and successful in our rapidly changing global economy.

Blake-Plock makes a strong point when he says we learn by “doing.” He points out that many of the lessons students are given are “consumables” and this is my concern about the current language being used to describe the flipped classroom. Too often the flipped classroom requires students to watch videos, which is passive learning, but what are they asked to do with this information?

Often the homework described in the flipped classroom model only engages the lower level thinking skills described in Bloom’s Taxonomy – remembering and understanding. The application, analysis, evaluation and creation are rarely engaged at home. There is an opportunity to get students thinking at a higher level at home if we pair content with extension activities that require that they think critically about what they have viewed. The important element is to connect students online outside of class so they have a support network of peers to ask questions, bounce ideas around with and learn from. This is why I am such a big supporter of integrating online discussions into the traditional curriculum.

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WSQ

What does a “WSQ” look like??

Watch- When and where did you watch this video?

Summary - Write a brief summary telling me about the video and what you learned and what the main idea was.

Question - Write a question that you have about the video. If you don’t have a question, write down a question you think someone else in the class may have OR create a word problem to go along with the video.