Perhaps the greatest challenge administrators will face in the coming years is the challenge of gaining acceptance for changes in the way the classroom will look and function in the 21st century. This challenge will be a tall order because it will shake the very foundations upon which most public schools have been established. Yet these changes will be vital to providing our students with the skills and experiences necessary to prepare them for their future role in society.
“Flipped” classrooms are but one of the advances that become possible because of the advent of Web 2.0 technologies. In a flipped classroom, the teacher’s role is changed from the“sage on the stage” to the “guide on the side”. By this I mean that in a flipped classroom, what we have traditionally thought of as classroom instruction - primarily the lecture - is “flipped.” That is, it still exists, but in this case the lecture is delivered via video and is watched at home for homework. Then, the next day, the classroom session becomes a hand-on session where the students put what they learned into practice. The teacher, therefore, is there to answer questions and reinforce the learning, and to provide greater challenges to those that are ready for them while also providing more detailed assistance to those that need more support.
A “flipped” classroom is probably the most extreme example of differentiated instruction in that all of the students are exposed to the exact same information, yet those that can move ahead, do, while those that need the support, get it. In this way, the teacher no longer has the challenge of teaching, basically, to the “middle” and then trying to figure out how to group the class and how to divide their time between those that need more help and those that need more challenges.
Technically speaking, “flipping” a classroom isn’t particularly hard. A relatively inexpensive Flip-camera can be used to record the lectures and they are easily uploaded to YouTube for your students to view. But there will be challenges nonetheless, such as convincing teachers that putting in the extra time to videotape their lectures will actually help them be more productive in the classroom, not to mention the challenges of ensuring that students have the proper technology to access the lectures at home or some other convenient place.
As an administrator, I think it is important to remind your teachers that this type of transition will not happen overnight. And, in fact, it shouldn’t. It’s impossible to completely abandon a way of teaching, especially if it’s been effective, and adopt a completely different style for all subjects. But to ignore the possibility of it is also foolhardy, because the reality is that today’s students are so plugged in that the proper use of technology will become a prerequisite to reaching these students.
Starting small, perhaps with one unit, or even one week’s worth of a unit, is probably the best way for teachers and students to become familiar with this way of teaching and learning. And while the teacher and students are experimenting with this, they will also probably be experimenting with other changes in the way they approach learning, which means that both the students and the teacher will begin to see the benefits of becoming lifelong learners.
The great thing about experimenting with this style of teaching now is that, with so many others trying it as well, finding resources for how to do it, or even videos to use as you experiment with this, is as easy as doing a search in Google. As an example, I have included several suggested videos at the end of this paper for teachers and administrators who might be interested in exploring this.
Winning over teachers to trying a new style of classroom instruction will be only one of the challenges that administrators will face, however. There are probably going to be at least two other parties that may have their concerns as well. First are the parents, for whom this will be just as foreign as it is to the teachers. Parents need to be brought on board early, and this method needs to be explained in a way that makes it clear that it isn’t just reversing the flow of the day (lecture at home, “homework” in class) but that it will ultimately benefit the student, who can now watch and take notes at their own pace, with a front-row seat to the lecture (no more complaints about bad seats in class), and who can now share their learning with their parents.
The other constituency that may be concerned are local school board members, who may suddenly question the investment in advanced technologies, as many school districts are barely functional in a 20th century model. They may also question the effectiveness of this type of teaching. Board members will need to see the tangible benefits of such teaching, which will require administrators to be diligent in their use of data to justify the changeover. However, once the case can be made, an investment in technology will seem small compared to the benefits that can be gained.
Flipped classrooms are but another example of tailoring learning to the student. Much like Daniel Pink outlined in his discussion on what motivates people, to the challenges outlined by Steve Jobs in his commencement speech, to the goals of Project Based learning, flipped classrooms are but one more way that we are going to tailor education so that our students are more motivated to learn, in a style that suits them, and that properly prepares them for a 21st century existence.
For more information on flipped classrooms, I suggest you visit the following sites:
Flipped Classroom Video Resources:
Alabama Educational Technology Professional Development Series (good overview and part 3 has a great number of resources)
Excellent Example of an entire classroom module (including information on the benefits of flipping your classroom):