What Is The Flipped Classroom Model And Why Is It Amazing? (With Infographic) by Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry I have learned a little more about the flipped classroom model. First I have to say that the article by Gobry was less like an article and more like a "infographic" like the title suggests. When reading this what came to mind was how ridiculous some of the arguments against the flipped classroom model were. I by far prefer the article by Educase because it was more informative and had some sense about it. I used this article to understand the model itself. The understanding I came out with is that the model consists of an opposite approach to today's lessons where originally the students attend lectures and then do homework and practice with the concept at home. A flipped classroom would have short lectures or podcasts of the teacher teaching the material. The students would watch these at home and then the students come into class to actively work with the material., answer questions, and do group discussions on the topic.
One of the more valid points for the model were that students are able to stop the lecture and rewind if they missed something or needed more clarification. There was also the point that this extra time with the lectures would help the second language student or that the recorded lectures could have captions to help the auditory disabled student. Another point for this model is that students can spend more time in the classroom asking questions, learning and discussing the information with peers and physically practicing with the information. Gone would be the days where the students gets frustrated at home with homework, running to their parent saying "I don't get this!" The Educase article says, "The flipped classroom is an easy model to get wrong." I agree, I could see this going terribly wrong. Students not coming to class, students coming to class unprepared because they didn't bother to view the lecture, parents claiming that student do nothing in class. I think this is why there are so many ridiculous arguments against it in the infographic by Gobry. If meticulous planning was done for the lesson and parents were educated on the process then this might just be a valid alternative for the classroom. There are only two arguments against the flipped classroom that hold and weight with me. One, that students would need universal access to the internet in order to make the lectures available to everyone equally. Until this is possible I don't see how this flipped classroom can work. I have seen schools that rent or lease computers to students that they are able to take home. If these computers had internet access then I could see this flipped classroom having a benefit for students and teachers. The other problem I see with this is the students that feel that they have already learned the material so they do not need to attend class. The teacher would have to carefully plan the lesson so that students were inclined to attend class and actually get something more out of the class time.
If the above two conditions were met, I could see this working for me in my science classes. If the students watch lessons at home they could come to class ready to do the hands on labs and dissections that are so important in the science classroom. From what I have been learning about pedagogy, the way teachers teach is evolving. We are living in an age where students can educate themselves online. In my head, when I am envisioning my classrooms, I see myself stepping farther and farther away from the typical lecture and rote way of teaching anyway, so flipped classrooms speak to me. I really love the group learning aspect of this model as well and since collaborative learning works within the parameters of common core so that is a plus. Students are given time to discuss the material together, allowing students to teach each other, they are able to see the material through other examples and perspectives than that of the teacher. These classroom discussions and having online quizzing can help the me so see where my class needs the extra help and instruction. Project based learning is a goal for me, so I would love to use certain aspects of this flipped classroom for my future classes because it would allow more time for the students to work on project under my supervision. Just as a cherry on top, I've never been a fan of the traditional worksheet or problems out of the book homework!
I think one of the biggest problems I see with the Flipped Classroom was that students would not view the lessons and then come to class unprepared. I am not really sure if you agreed or disagreed with this idea. I think students have other priorities and watching a video of their teacher while they are at home is probably not very high on their list of priorities. To me it sounds too much like online training and I have a little experience with this idea. I know very few adults ever complete online training so I especially would not trust students to regularly complete tasks online.
ReplyDeleteMegan- A very thorough analysis of the articles and the Flipped classroom. I agree that one of the major benefits of the Flipped classroom is the ability to spend as much time as it takes to learn the subject matter. But you also make a good point that if the students do not spend the time before the class time they will have nothing to contribute and they would find themselves farther and farther behind. This is a relevant topic for EDUC 422 and I like how you thought about pros and cons of the subject and how it would apply to your future classroom.
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