Week 5- Flipped Classroom

 

   This week we learned about Flipped Classrooms. We read a few articles and watched a video on the topic. Essentially, a Flipped Classroom is when you use class time instead for more in-depth learning, teacher and peer communication, and more hands-on activities, while the students watch lessons on a device at home prior to the class. This is pretty much "flipping" the traditional model of the classroom, which is lectures during class time and homework outside of class. With the flipped classroom method, "homework" is done before class time in the form of a "pre-lesson," and class time is used for more engagement and understanding as a class. With the growing of technology in the world as a whole and also in classrooms, this style of teaching has increased. There are both positives and negatives of this style of teaching, and really it depends on the teacher and the class for that year to determine if it's the best approach.

    Flipped Classrooms are put in place when students watch short video lectures at home before class and then during class time the teacher engages with the entire class to further strengthen the knowledge of the topic. This leaves class time for questions, partner or group work, and activities and leaves the students with the responsibility of "getting their feet wet" in the topic beforehand. This ends up being more after-school free time for students as not much after-class homework is distributed in this style of learning. This method has become increasingly popular with the growing age of technology and electronic devices. Many teachers integrate it and find many benefits associated, but depending on the district, the students, and the teacher, it may or may not be the most efficient approach.

    There are many positives to a Flipped Classroom. For one reason, designated class time is saved for enhanced learning on the topic instead of just a traditional lecture overview. Students can ask questions and teachers can integrate group work. More one-on-one time can be established because the entire class is not spent on a lecture. Overall its purpose is to be more hands-on, interactive, and engaging. Another Pro is the significantly less homework given to students, which leaves more time for outside activities and eliminates stress. With this model, students would watch a short video or have small at-home computer activities to complete before coming into class and further learning about the topic. Essentially the "homework" is done before and even during the class, which frees up evenings. In addition, students are able to learn more at their own pace instead of having to speed-run through a not-so-entertaining lecture. With the videos, students can rewind as much as needed and take their time on it. Designated class time is also not left to be "boring" with the use of a long lecture. This makes learning more flexible. 

    There are, however, detriments to this method. Student-centered learning can lead to procrastination in some, which causes them to fall behind or not gain as much out of the lesson. There is indeed a good amount of trust and responsibility placed on the students to "learn" some material before class. This also revolves around a lot of out-of-class device use which may be problematic for those who do not have device or internet access. For lower-income schools this may not be the best approach as not everyone can get the same benefits out of it because of lack of access. For those who do have access to devices, this method definitely increases screen time which can overall be detrimental. Indeed we live in a world where technological devices are growing and growing, but having this decreases traditional screenless paper-pencil approaches that some students learn better with. What if technological issues arise for those who do have access? A power outage, no internet for the time given to watch the lesson, or malfunctions. Those and other things can place barriers on learning that aren't even the fault of the student or teacher. In this case, its always good to have backups. Also mentioned is how Flipped Classrooms do not "teach to the standardized tests" like traditional lectures would more closely follow. This could lead kids to be less prepared come state test time, since they test knowledge on subjects over active participation and learning.

    All in all, Flipped Classrooms are definitely a good idea to implement, but one must also be aware of the potential detriments. Depending on the district and the students, it may or may not be a good idea to fully transition to "The Flipped Side" of teaching. Lower-income neighborhoods would not benefit from this approach, but school systems in which most have good access to technology would definitely find benefits from this. Overall, I think that even with this, it's important to incorporate many different styles and methods of teaching to satisfy all student learning needs. A mixture of paper-pencil and technology would overall be the best approach. Too much of anything, whether that be long "boring" lectures or too much reliance in devices can be detrimental to some degree, so its important to mix and match, try different things out, and see what works best for the class of that year. Being adaptable is key.