WHAT IS A FLIPPED CLASSROOM?
“Inverting the classroom means that events that have traditionally taken place inside the classroom now take place outside the classroom and vice versa.”
The flipped-classroom model prepares students for the class, so that you can zoom during the contact time on the application and deeper processing of the essential content. Students can also process the subject matter afterwards using, for instance, videos. This is the reverse (hence the name 'flipped') of the traditional model , in which the first introduction to the subject matter occurs during the contact hours and the processing takes place afterwards. There are various concrete interpretations of the flipped classroom model (see 'Getting started: concrete implementation of your flipped classroom').
WHY USE A FLIPPED CLASSROOM?
- The flipped class model can lead to a (more) efficient and effective use of the contact time.
- You can respond more to the prior knowledge of your students, because you have more insight into and control over this prior knowledge (after all, this prior knowledge is the result of your chosen preparation).
- You can quickly identify misconceptions and point this out to the students during the contact moment.
- You can give students better and timely targeted feedback .
- You can use working methods that stimulate higher order learning activities. In this way you focus on learning objectives such as applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating.
This model has received increasing attention in higher education in recent years. The model is not new, but the possibilities of recent technologies are breathing new life into the model. Moreover, the model seems to be an appropriate answer to the oversupply of 'classical lectures'. These are valuable for learning objectives such as memorization and understanding, but appear to be less effective for, among other things, long retention of knowledge, the application of knowledge to new contexts, the development of higher-order thought processes and motivation.
GETTING STARTED: THE CONCRETE INTERPRETATION OF YOUR FLIPPED CLASSROOM
The 'Quick Start Guide' from the University of Texas (UT) in Austin helps you to make your flipped classroom a reality. Five steps are included. You will find guiding questions and concrete options per step. We list the five steps (briefly) and complete them. For further information we refer to the guide.
1. Identify where the flipped classroom model makes the most sense for your course
The UT guide gives some questions that can help you with this. When looking at where the flipped classroom model makes the most sense for your OPO, generally consider these aspects:
- Make the learning objectives and goals of the contact moments more concrete : Does the flipped class model match the learning objectives of your OPO? What do you expect from your students during the contact moment: that they can apply, analyze, evaluate theories or start working on them yourself?
- Know your target audience: What are the metacognitive skills of your students? For example, master students are more experienced in working independently, while bachelor students often need more guidance (support).
- Know your OPO: Teachers who switch to the flipped class model indicate that you need to know the content of your OPO before you can make the switch. You must be able to select relevant topics to make your instruction and contact time as relevant as possible.
2. Spend class time engaging students in application activities with feedback ('homework')
If students have already processed (part of) the course material outside of the contact moments, the details of your contact moment will change. The UT guide makes a distinction between the (general) working methods, evaluation strategies and technologies that you can use for this.
- The UT guide describes the following working methods: Peer Instruction, Team-based Learning (TBL), Case-based Learning and Process-oriented Guided Inquiry Learning. Other options include organizing group discussions, using a concept map or having students do a presentation themselves. In all these work forms, the focus is on the student's activity.
- Group discussion: Have students discuss a specific topic in small groups and present their main findings in a plenary session.
- Concept map: have students create a concept map and present it to each other or plenary.
- Student presentations: let students introduce certain parts to each other (you can focus on both understanding and application / critical reflection), use a system where students can give each other feedback after the presentation.
- The UT guide mentions the use of evaluation strategies during the contact moment because of these benefits;
- Students gain insight into what they are not yet fully aware of or capable of.
- During the contact moment, lecturers gain insight into the thoroughness of the preparation / the effect of the instruction.
- It stimulates students to come prepared and to participate.
- You can evaluate students during the contact moment by, for example, using the technology clickers or a bring-your-own device system. This technology allows (large groups of) students to vote. Other examples of technology during your contact moment are student videos : let students produce a video or knowledge clip about a certain subject during several contact moments. They can use the multimedia lending service for this .
Tip: Use the contact time to give feedback.
3. Clarify connections between inside and outside of class learning
The UT guide describes three phases in the flipped classroom model: the activities before the contact moment, during the contact moment and after the contact moment. Try to get as clear as possible the focus of each of these moments.
What do you want your students to know or be able to do after the preparation (that they were unable to do before)? The answer to this question is your concrete learning objectives of the preparation. Check to what extent these are linked to the learning objectives of your contact moment. Watch the video below for the experiences of the UT teachers.
4. Adapt your materials for students to acquire course content in preparation of class ('lecture')
The supporting learning material plays an important role in a flipped classroom. What you ask for in preparation can take various forms. Make a distinction between the content (what: an article, a video, a chapter from the handbook) and the preparatory activity and the level you expect from students (how: screening, reading comprehension, studying, looking up something yourself ...).
For example:
- Provide a specific reading instruction for an article / manual. This can be a preparation for group work or a discussion about that article.
- Have students submit questions about the material they need to prepare [6]. Indicate which questions you expect (e.g. knowledge questions, insight questions, application questions).
- Give students a schedule / outline and ask them to read that section in the textbook that describes the concepts in this schedule (and the relationships between them).
- Give students some core concepts that are described in a supporting text. Ask them to master the meaning of the concepts.
- Ask students to describe the core of a selected text / chapter of the textbook in ten sentences .
- Give students the task itself a schedule / overview of the selected text / to chapter.
- Ask students to find in current events / daily life an example of what is described in the selected text / article.
- Give students exercises they are expected to be able to do. Consider whether you provide them with the solution key (for example, this can also be done just before or after the contact moment).
- Make use of existing audiovisual material, such as expert interviews, documentaries or knowledge clips from colleagues. You can find such materials via YouTube, Vimeo, TED, or Creative Commons. It is best to give a viewing instruction, for example a series of reflection questions in preparation for a (group) discussion.
- Make your own (series) knowledge clip (s) about the theories or concepts to be discussed.
- Use lesson recordings that explain certain concepts and theories.
- Create a foreknowledge test that gives you insight into how far students are.
Tips:
- State clearly how students should prepare: are they expected to screen the text, or read it in detail, or already master it, ...?
- Consider how you can spend your time efficiently: will you mainly invest time in creating new material (eg video material) or in looking up and structuring existing (online) material?
- Take into account the study skills of your target group [5]. For example, remember that first year bachelor students are not yet accustomed to independently processing a scientific text, or to formulating questions of insight about the subject matter.
- Familiarize students with the material. It is crucial that it is clear to them what is expected, how the material is related, where the priorities lie. This can be done, for example, by:
+ making a study guide , in which it is clearly indicated for each contact moment what is expected of students, which material they must study in preparation, and which material needs to be deepened, but also why the study material is important for the next contact moment.
+ making one or more knowledge clips, in which certain study materials (for example scientific articles) are placed in the context of the OPO, or where it is explained what students should focus on.
5. Extend learning beyond class through individual and collaborative practice
During the contact moments, students are given space to apply new contents, but they may still need practice (and feedback) after the contact moments. This last step in the UT guide would like to dwell on how you can monitor this as a lecturer. For example, provide extra exercises or offer in-depth material, maintain a discussion forum.
CONDITIONS AND POINTS FOR ATTENTION FOR A SUCCESSFUL IMPLEMENTATION
- Do not add, but integrate! A fallacy in the transition to the flipped classroom model is that you just have to decide what preparation you ask from students. However, it is necessary to adjust the entire setup (preparation and interpretation of your contact moment).
- Motivate your students! Communicate clearly about the how, what and why of the preparation you expect from students. In this video, teachers testify about the roles and expectations that change in a flipped classroom. Students must be able to estimate that the preparation is important - and that it is indeed necessary for the contact moments. So make a clear link between the nature of the preparation and the use of the contact time. Options to increase motivation include working with bonus points or an online test after each preparation.
- Provide regular and sufficient feedback. In addition to the fact that feedback is important for the learning process, it is also an important factor in the perception of students about the relevance of the details of the contact moment. Discussing assignments is especially crucial in this regard. Read more about the general principles of feedback, and specifically about giving feedback to large groups.
- Make use of course description in your communication with your students.
- Do the students have enough time for your approach? Most teachers reduce the number of contact hours when they require more preparatory work from students. In addition, it is also advisable to check which other course units students are required to take. Coordination between course units about interim deadlines and time investment is crucial.
- Match your model to the evaluation. Make sure that the work you request from students during the semester translates into better chances of passing the exam. When students see this link clearly, they will be more motivated to do the preparation. Consider whether you reward the students with bonus points or continuous evaluation.
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