8 Flipped Classroom Benefits For Students And Teachers

4 Flipped Classroom Benefits For Students

The classical setting of a classroom is all about the teacher and the teacher's needs. All the tools are the teacher's to use, for the best delivery of instruction. The students are merely passive receivers of information.

But whoever entered a classroom knows that students are anything but passive. Their natural curiosity makes them actively seek new knowledge, and when they're passionate about a subject they try to learn all there is to be learned about it.

A student-centered approach to teaching shifts the focus from the teacher's needs to the student's. And this is what the flipped classroom model supports:

1. When students watch or listen to lectures at home, and then solve problems and apply the new knowledge in the classroom, they get less frustration with their homework.
2. When they don't understand a new concept, they can ask questions and get immediate targeted answers.
3. The time spent in the classroom becomes not enough for all the conversations and collaboration that inevitably spur from exploring subjects in a deeper manner.
4. Last but not least, students who are absent due to illness, too long a commute, or any other reason, can catch up with their peers faster and easier with the flipped classroom model than with the standard one.

4 Flipped Classroom Benefits For Teachers

With a ton of information available at the fingertips of whoever cares to search for it, teachers are no longer the only source of knowledge for students. But don’t get me wrong; they aren't obsolete either. In fact, they are more important than ever.

A flipped classroom is more demanding than the traditional one. Teachers need to identify the individual learning needs of students, making sure they all use the class time engaged with the learning process. And this can be harder than the traditional teaching model. At the same time, it comes with a set of rewards:

1. When students come prepared to class, there's little to no need for teachers to address content related questions. Instead, they can support students in better understanding the concepts through practical application.
2. Once a lecture is done, it can be reused as many times as the teacher wants, until the content becomes outdated. But H2O will always be the symbol of water, the same as Alaska will always be the biggest US state in terms of area.
3. The flipped classroom gives more freedom to teachers to decide upon how much time to spend with each student. Struggling students, great performers, introverted kids, and extroverted ones can get the attention each of them needs.
4. Last but not least, it offers more transparency for parents, who will know exactly what their kids are preparing for at school. This can also improve the communication between parents and teachers.

The flipped classroom inspires teachers to offer a versatile and engaging way to share learning content, while putting more control into students' hands regarding their own learning processes.