Flipped Classroom

This term might generate images in your head of a student prank where all the desks are turned upside down. While that IS a flipped classroom, that is not what this term actually refers to.

The flipped classroom model began when two teachers from Colorado, Jonathan Bergmann, and Aaron Sams, struggled to find the time to re-teach chemistry lessons to absent students. The teachers invested in software that allowed them to record their PowerPoint lessons and post them for students. Bergmann and Sams realized they were on to a unique idea when even students who weren’t absent were accessing the online lessons. Soon they realized that there was an opportunity to use class time in a radically different way. Instead of using class time for lecturing, they began to use class time for activities that reinforced the lectures. Lectures were then assigned as homework. The flipped classroom concept was born.

Applying the Flipped Classroom Model

There is no one right way to flip a classroom, but most definitions involve learners accessing instruction that used to occur in class, at home from an online learning platform. Class time then is a place to work through ideas, complicated concepts, problem-solving, and practice.

To apply the flipped classroom model, instructors have to be willing to spend the time to record their lectures and post them. Using an online learning platform, the lessons can quickly be posted and accessible for all learners.

Benefits of the Flipped Classroom

While the flipped classroom model may be slightly more work for the instructor, for learners, there are immense benefits. First, learners do not have to struggle to take notes and capture every word of the instructor’s lecture. By watching the lecture on video, learners can pause, replay, and spend time reflecting on the lecture. Also, they can listen to the lecture at their leisure.

The second benefit is that during classroom time, learners can spend more time asking questions and clarifying concepts. Often the practice portion of a lesson is sent home with learners as homework. This is incontinent for learners who may get stuck on a section or may need extra help. They will need to wait until the next class session to get their answers instead of being able to work through it completely.

Collaboration enhances the retention of information, and this is another benefit of the flipped classroom. Because learners are not restricted to sitting in a seat and listening, they can spend more time working together. This promotes a student-centered classroom, which encourages student autonomy.

The flipped classroom is often used as a blended learning approach -part online, part classroom- model of instruction. To create a blended or flipped classroom model for training and development, there must be a place to host the content.

Trakstar Learn is a learning management system that has integrated content development software as well as easy to use tracking and reporting features. To learn more about how Learn can help you flip your classroom, request a demonstration of the Learn platform.