One pedagogical idea making the rounds over the past several months involves the notion of a "flipped" class. The basic concept is that the lecture, or class presentation, is given as homework, via "lecture-capture" and other technological tools now available. Students view the presentation outside of class, rewinding as often as necessary. It's a natural for review and remediation. Obviously the lecture can also include videos and other graphic displays, not just a talking head.
Then, when students come to class, the time is used for discussion and working through problems individually and collectively.
Supporters emphasize that a flipped class is NOT:
- A synonym for online videos. When most people hear about the flipped class all they think about are the videos. It is the the interaction and the meaningful learning activities that occur during the face-to-face time that is most important.
- About replacing teachers with videos.
- An online course.
- Students working without structure.
- Students spending the entire class staring at a computer screen.
- Students working in isolation.
The above information is taken from this post on the Daily Riff. The site provides a three part introduction, with links and samples. It's very interesting.
Some proponents are from K-12, but others are in higher education. Here's an example of the latter.
The concept has a number of enthusiastic supporters, who generally recommend that it probably works better with some subjects (math and science are mentioned a lot) than others. Presumably, for example, a literature or history course designed to require a great deal of reading could prove problematic, as the homework, or at least much of it, would be devoted to online instruction.
The classroom part may necessitate some logistical shifting. Obviously the larger the group, the less opportunity for individual attention during the class period, but this is true currently as well.
Those who say teachers must learn to be the "guide on the side" rather than the "sage on the stage" (which must be one of the oldest cliches in educational history) are likely pleased by this development. Plus, based on the links provided above, the movement is driven by faculty.
But it is also important not to mess with skilled teachers who call on students, probe interesting ideas, and make classroom presentations engaging for everyone, using a non-flipped pedagogy.
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