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The Flipped Classroom: No Homework?

You’re at home. Your homework is to watch a Youtube video, on your computer or iPad, on how to solve some mathematical equations.

At school the next day, you then ask the teacher any questions you may have, do exercises on your own or with friends, and hone your math skills further.

Sounds intriguing? This is called the ‘Flipped Classroom’ model, and it has been tried out for the last few years in some classes and schools in the United States. Experiments are new, and pilot projects are aplenty, but it has steadily been gaining fans.

There is now even an American school – Detroit’s Clintondale High School - that is the United States’ first completely ‘flipped’ school. Not just some of its classes are flipped, all of its school’s lessons now follow the blended learning model that has been pushed forward and inspired by education innovators like the Khan Academy.

Clipped photo from ‘What a ‘Flipped’ Classroom Looks Like’, PBS NewsHour.

The idea is to turn the conventional model of teaching upside down – lessons are delivered like mini lectures via videos in the comforts of their own home, delivered using technology that students love to utilise anyway.

They are thus able to play the lessons back if they do not understand something, and do this until they are able to grasp the concepts.

Class times at school are better used for practical exercises and any help required from the teacher. With this method, the teacher gets to tutor many students effectively and give greater attention to those needing guidance.

Teachers using this model have reported that their students are getting better test scores, and say they feel thrilled that they can help more of their students in class. Students are saying they like the idea, and are enthused about being able to use their electronics in a meaningful way.

Some pilot flipping programmes have also shown that their weaker students have flourished with this model, education reporter Allie Bidwell wrote recently.

She wrote about Scott Freeman, a principal lecturer at the University of Washington, who flipped his introductory biology class when he wanted to improve a 17 per cent failure rate.

“In the end, the course’s failure rate dropped to about 4 percent, and the number of students earning A’s increased to about 24 percent from 14 percent,” she wrote in her article.

I have personally had an experience with some aspects of the flipped model recently. I had to do mathematics revisions for a professional skills test and wanted to refresh my memory on concepts and do exercises.

To my delight there were tonnes of online resources for me to do this, and I spent quite some time learning maths from videos a British maths teacher had put up on his Youtube page.

Later on I would practise maths questions with my husband, who is infinitely better at maths than me. As a person who has always been a bit nervous with numbers, I found a new confidence with those videos. I could pause and practise, rewind and repeat, until I knew exactly what I was doing. In fact, I wanted to do more lessons once I got a hang of it, and that is quite a shocker in my book!

If the flipped classroom sounds like a great way to learn, then why aren’t more schools doing this?

  • Proven success – This model is still relatively new and has its detractors, plus the research and evidence about its efficacy is still being gathered. Expect them to keep coming in as more schools use this model and more educators talk about the trend.

  • Access – Some challenges remain with this model, and may prove difficult with children who do not have computers, the technology, or the Internet connection required at home. Some teachers in the States have resorted to burning DVDs or using flash drives for their students.

  • Role of Teachers – The flipped model does not mean the teacher loses his or her role, in fact it becomes even more important. Some people point out the fact that this model will only work if teachers diligently plan and record the videos for their classes, and are up for the one-on-one interactions with their students in class. This shouldn’t be a problem for dedicated teachers!

Ultimately, the main reason why you probably won’t be seeing the flipped classroom model in your vicinity soon is that it is so incredibly different. It completely defies what we think as normal, and challenges the dominant format of education systems around the world.

I guess that, as always, it will be up to the teachers and schools that are willing to take a chance and innovate.

Formerly a journalist in Malaysia, Laych Koh currently lives in London. On the path towards becoming a teacher, she hopes to write about exciting and inspiring education initiatives all over the world on The Dilated Pupil every Friday. Write to her at: im@laych.com