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Turning Learning Upside Down: A Flipped Classroom Approach
Flipped Classroom style lessons are a growing trend in higher education. Many instructors focus on the pre-class recordings, putting little thought into why to use this strategy or how to plan and design the lesson. This project will focus on developing the following student capabilities (these ideas may be changed throughout the process):
- Describe a flipped classroom approach
- List the advantages of using flipped learning
- Select appropriate content for flipped learning
- Identify characteristics of an engaging pre-class assignment
- Integrate higher order learning activities during class time
- Design a lesson using a flipped classroom approach
Needs Assessment
Step 1: Describe your Intent
Instructional Problem: With technological advances in society, such as the internet, social media, and mobile devices; the way students process information has changed. “Today’s students are no longer the people our educational system was designed to teach.” (Prensky, 2001) Learners are now constantly engaged in actively searching for, filtering, composing, and sharing information. Traditional lectures involve instructors speaking about the content throughout a class period. This style is less effective with the current generation of students. Yet many instructors have been trained in this traditional model, and are not equipped with the knowledge or skills to change their teaching style, to accommodate the need for greater student engagement, active learning strategies, and learner centered environments.
Nature of Learning: Flipped Classroom is an approach that allows instructors to take advantage of new technologies that enable media rich, interactive, pre-class lectures. With the "lecture" moved to before class, class time is restructured to provide opportunities for students to practice skills and apply information. Instructors (students of this mini course) will learn:
- Basic format of flipped classroom (verbal information)
- Advantages of using this format (attitudes)
- How to select appropriate content (intellectual skills)
- Techniques to engage students in pre-class lectures (intellectual skills)
- Techniques to engage and support learning during in class activities (intellectual skills)
Step 2: Gather Information
Learner Analysis: The learners for this course will most likely be faculty in higher education, who have attained a masters degree or Ph.D. Many of the learners may have little training or knowledge about pedagogy. Affective factors include intrinsic motivation to become more effective teachers, extrinsic motivation to achieve higher student scores and better course evaluations, and potentially both positive and negative attitudes to this strategy. Some learners may feel eager to learn more about flipped learning, while others may be skeptical and reluctant to learn or try this. I anticipate learning styles to be varied among the faculty. Prerequisite knowledge and skills include:
- Knowledge of traditional lecture format
- Familiarity with utilizing current instructional technology (internet, screen casting, video)
- Basic understanding of constructivism
Context Analysis: This mini course will be conducted online as a self paced module. The format of the course will include instructional video, media, activities, collaboration with peers, and reflection.
Instructional Solution: This mini course will help higher education instructors to learn the flipped classroom strategy in order to better engage their students.
Step 3: Identify Goals
Goals:
- Educate learners about flipped learning
- Motivate learners to try the flipped classroom approach
- Educate learners about features of flipped learning that can engage students and facilitate effective learning
- Deliver lesson in a similar format to a flipped classroom
Performance Objectives
When asked to explain a flipped classroom model, the learner classifies the flipped classroom approach by writing a definition that includes the necessary components.
When asked “Why should you use a flipped classroom model?”, the learner will state the advantages of utilizing a flipped classroom by composing a written list of at least three beneficial characteristics.
Given a set of lessons, the learner will demonstrate selecting appropriate content by choosing a lesson from their teaching experience.
When asked to try a new teaching method, the learner will choose to implement a flipped classroom lesson in their teaching.
When asked to flip a classroom, the learner will generate a plan for a flipped classroom style lesson by designing a pre-class lecture and in class activity.
Task Analysis
Mini Course Target Objective:
When asked to flip a classroom, the learner will generate a plan for a flipped classroom style lesson by designing a pre-class lecture and in class activity.
Lesson 1 Target Objective:
Given a set of lessons, the learner will demonstrate selecting appropriate content by choosing a lesson from their teaching experience.
- Enabling Objectives:
- When asked to explain a flipped classroom model, the learner classifies the flipped classroom approach by writing a definition that includes the necessary components.
- When asked “Why should you use a flipped classroom model?”, the learner will state the advantages of utilizing a flipped classroom by composing a written list of at least three beneficial characteristics.
- Prerequisites:
- Knowledge of traditional lecture as an instructional method
- Knowledge of project based learning
- Knowledge of a subject area and experience teaching the topic
Lesson 2 Target Objective:
Given a traditional lesson, the learner will generate a plan for a pre class lecture by developing a storyboard, script, and reflection questions.
- Enabling Objectives:
- When asked “How is a pre class lecture is beneficial?”, the learner will state characteristics to engage students through the pre class video and reflection questions by selecting them from a list.
- When asked to plan a pre class lecture video, the learner will generate a storyboard, by composing a set of slides that includes text, images, and multimedia elements.
- When asked to plan a pre class lecture video, the learner will generate a script, by listing the important talking points for the lecture.
- When asked to compose a knowledge check, the learner will generate questions in writing, to promote student self reflection.
- Prerequisites:
- Knowledge of creating a storyboard, or PowerPoint slides for a lecture
- Ability to search and find appropriate media for topic
- Ability to write assessment questions based on a topic
Lesson 3 Target Objective:
Given a set of activities, the learner will demonstrate identifying an appropriate activity by selecting an activity that will engage students and encourage development of higher order skills.
- Enabling Objectives:
- Given a set of lesson concepts, the learner will demonstrate identifying appropriate content for an in class activity by choosing concepts from the lesson for students to practice.
- When asked to how to create an engaging in class activity, the learner will state characteristics of activities that encourage student engagement.
- When asked “What are higher order learning skills?”, the learner classifies higher order skills by writing a definition that includes examples of the types of skills.
- Prerequisites:
- Knowledge of constructivism
- Knowledge of Bloom’s Taxonomy
Supportive Objectives:
When asked to try a new teaching method, the learner will choose to implement a flipped classroom lesson in their teaching.
Curriculum Map
Course Outline
Introduction
Description and scope of course Unit Objectives Link to Unit 1
Unit 1: Using a Flipped Classroom Approach
Graphic of Bored Students with Tagline to capture attention List of Unit Goals Student reflection of traditional vs real world learning What is a Flipped Classroom?
Graphic of the model Textual explanation Supplemental video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H4RkudFzlc
How is a Flipped Classroom beneficial? What type of lesson should you be used for a Flipped Classroom approach?
Chunking of content Images and Multimedia Open Learning Content Materials Concepts where students need to practice or apply information to reach a deeper understanding
Test Your Understanding and Feedback Apply your Knowledge Putting it all together
References and Resources
Prensky, Marc. "Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1." On the Horizon 9.5 (2001): 1 - 6. Online.
Khan, Salman. “Let's use video to reinvent education.” March 2011. TED. Online Video Clip. 6 October 2012.
