In an elementary school, an experiment was conducted. The students were divided into 2 groups - experimental and control – to teach within a one (1) hour schedule. The experimental group was asked to watch at-home videos that teach basic science process skills. In class, they deepened their understanding of the skills through varied activities. The control group was taught using the traditional method. When they were tested in the end, a statistically significant difference was observed between their performances (Camiling, 2017, pp.2). The experimental group did much better. Why?
The experimental group followed what is called the flipped learning approach. This is an active learning approach where lessons are available to the students well in advance of the class (Camiling, 2017, pp.3). Instruction moves between the group learning space and the individual learning space. This changes the group space into a dynamic environment where the educator guides students. (Flipped Learning Network, n.d, pp.1).
There are 4 pillars of flipped learning (Camiling, 2017, pp.4)
1.
Flexible Environment
Usually, classrooms run on a tight and rigid schedule with furniture that rarely, if ever, shifts. The flipped classroom, being a space where the regular teacher authority structure breaks down, is a flexible space. This may result from having the students seat themselves as per their groups or a set of flexible formative assignments that the teacher may use. For example, a teacher may use the 3-2-1 way of gathering evidence at the end of a discussion session (Wees, n.d.). 3 points I understood, 2 points I did not understand, and 1 question that I have.
2.
Culture Shift
As against the teacher in charge of the learning, the student becomes in charge of the learning. Learning becomes truly learner-centric as the pace is set by the learner. In my observation, this is where teachers get very threatened as most teachers are unable to give up control of the class. A major shift in thinking about the culture of the class is when the teacher relinquishes control of the class and the space becomes collaborative.
3.
Intentional Content
The students would be exploring the content on their own, in the absence of a teacher guiding them. Hence careful planning and thought go into creating the content that would help a student self-learn the content. When one thinks and plans, the work takes on the quality of a clear intention.
4.
Professionalism
The world is changing. Technology-enabled classrooms are the norm now. Instead of analyzing the pros and cons of the same, a true professional would learn to harness the best it can give to turn students into enablers of their own learning. Flipping the class through technology affords us a chance to personalize learning as the student can move at his or her own pace.
For STEM content areas.
STEM calls on parents and educators to give children chances to investigate an idea in a variety of settings, for what educators call cross-contextual learning. (Becker & Park, 2011, para.5). Unfortunately, in most academic instruction, children are in a passive or receptive mode instead of a more active, or even interactive, mode. Early childhood education should tap into children’s natural curiosity and give them ample opportunities to be active participants in their own learning. Natural settings offer children almost unlimited opportunities to explore and investigate, helping them build STEM skills that create a solid foundation for future learning.( Becker & Park, 2011, para. 9)
An example of a flipped learning lesson
My example is from middle school to showcase the work. I would like to try something similar for the elementary students also.
In order to teach Pi (ratio of circumference to diameter) to a group of 8th graders, I created a lesson that followed the four pillars of flipped learning (Camiling, 2017, pp.4) in the following way: (1) Students work alone at home and search for information under Pi on the internet using probing questions such as (a) what is pi? (b) who invented it? (c) what is the use of it? (d) how does it relate to circles and (e) what more do I know about it? Following the groups' research, the students write a one-page summary and mail it to me. (2) In The next class, students work in groups and discuss the summary they had mailed. Each group collates the summary and presents the gist in 3 minutes to the class followed by a question and answer session. (3) I observed to confirm that all of them had understood the concept well enough to be able to connect it to measure the circumference and area of a circle. When confirmed, I moved to problem-solving. (4) I discovered that the students were more enthusiastic, knowledge was deeper and the content moved faster than before through this method.
The setup was flexible, as the students worked in a group and adjusted furniture accordingly; students took over the learning as they explored for information; knowledge was made intentional using the probing questions and I learned as a teacher to step back as the authority in the class. Hence the 4 pillars are evident here.
Provide a rationale
For the teacher, there can be nothing better as professional development than to learn to flip the class! Students in my class, used to having being taught, often resist learning on their own at home. I need to think carefully about how to curate material for them that retains their interest. The material is available online, but learning to be a good researcher and curate content has brought me in touch with resources online that are world-class. From the little cocoon of my classroom, I now explore the world teachers’ material!
For the student, with the aid of technology, learning moves from large groups to individuals. It also moves from single pace for all to student pace, which leads to better retention of content (Camiling, 2017, p.p.2). Learning responsibility is transferred to the learner (Camiling, 2017, pp. 3). This is easy for some and hard for some. It has brought into focus the differences in learners sharply. I find that I am helping the students as much to pick up some good life skills as I am teaching maths. This is very fulfilling to me as an educator! Maybe they may not need so much math in life but the life skills would stand them in good stead!
For our society, what more can we do as educators expect to be a catalyst in the creation of future citizens that are self-directed and responsible for their learning through their lives. Flipped Learning transfers the learning responsibility to the students, learners may tend to resist the new method (Camiling, 2017, pp.5).
But as they continue to grow into taking responsibility, it becomes a way of life for them. In my school, I slowly notice a shift in my students as they come to class with requests such as, ‘Hey Miss, give me a website to study from as I missed the classes’.
References
- Becker, K., & Park, K. (2011). Effects of integrative approaches among science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects on students’ learning: A preliminary meta-analysis. Journal of STEM Education, 12(5), 23-37. https://www.jstem.org/jstem/index.php/JSTEM/article/download/1509/1394
- Camiling, M.K. (2017). The flipped classroom: Teaching the basic science process skills to high-performing 2nd-grade students of Miriam College Lower School. IAFOR Journal of Education, 5, 213-227. https://iafor.org/journal/iafor-journal-of-education/volume-5-special-issue/article-10/
- Flipped Learning Network (n.d.). Flip learning. https://flippedlearning.org/category/how_to/
- Kelly, D., & Denson, C. (2017). STEM teacher efficacy in flipped classrooms. Journal of STEM Education, 18(4), 43-50. Retrieved from https://jstem.org/index.php/JSTEM/article/view/2188/1884
- Wees, D., (n.d.) 56 different ways to gather evidence of student achievement. Licensed under Creative Commons Share-alike. https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1nzhdnyMQmio5lNT75ITB45rHyLISHEEHZlHTWJRqLmQ/pub?slide=id.p
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