A ‘flipped’ classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical content delivery by lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed.  

In a 'flipped classroom' model teachers take didactic lecture content, where students are normally passively sitting and watching in a lecture theatre and put that online - thus a common approach to blended learning. Class time is then used for interactivity related to that content. The below video that outlines how it works:

What is a flipped class? on Vimeo.

There are various benefits for staff and students in using the flipped classroom model:

• Students learn more deeply.  As a result of students taking responsibility, interacting meaningfully and often with their instructor and peers, and getting and giving frequent feedback, they acquire a deeper understanding of the content and how to use it.
• Students are more active participants in learning. The student role shifts from passive recipient to active constructor of knowledge, giving them opportunities to practice using the intellectual tools of the discipline.
• Interaction increases and students learn from one another. Students work together applying course concepts with guidance from the instructor.  This increased interaction helps to create a learning community that encourages them to build knowledge together inside and outside the classroom.
• Teachers and students get more feedback. With more opportunities for students to apply their knowledge and therefore demonstrate their ability to use it, gaps in their understanding become visible to both themselves and the instructor.
• Maximises time. Students are provided with the flexibility to access the online content in their own time. If this content is presented as a video, students can pause and repeat as required and focus on problem areas, working through the material in a self-paced manner.  And it frees up valuable face-to-face classroom time for more active learning, which moves away from the students having to focus on taking notes during class.

How do you ‘flip’ a class?

Visit a website developed by the Faculty Innovation Centre at the University of Texas that provides practical strategies and videos to support the move towards a flipped model of teaching and learning:

• Step 1: Identify where the flipped classroom model makes the most sense in your course
• Step 2: Spend class time engaging students in application activities with feedback
• Step 3: Clarify connections between inside and outside class learning
• Step 4: Adapt your materials for students to acquire course content in preparation of class
• Step 5: Extend learning beyond class through individual and collaborative practice

Approaches to ‘flipping’

‘Flipping’ is the most commonly used approach to blending online and face-to-face learning for individual classes. Consider additional ways that you could adapt this across your course to enhance the learning experience:

• Flipping weeks – One week online, followed by what they have learnt, created, designed, and built in class the following week.
• Fluidity of learning and teaching – The flipped approach allows learning and teaching to be more fluid, with the interaction with content, peers and teachers no longer siloed into a lecture and tutorial time. Consider the following:
• Allocate 3 hours of work online prior to a 2 hours face-to-face class
• Allocate 2 hours of online work prior to a 2 hour face-to-face class followed by a 1 hour online reflective activity
• Engaging online materials – Placing information online instead of in a lecture space, provides more innovative opportunities for delivery. Don’t just record a lecture – transform that information to include video, quizzes, searching for resources, providing a case study, podcast interview with industry experts, and so on.
• Promote active preparation – A common challenge to the flipped classroom is that students may not engage with the online materials prior to class. Be innovative in what you want them to prepare for and let students know why.  Ask them to apply what they have learnt to create, design or build something they are bringing to class.

Resources, strategies or assistance

Resources – Websites

• Educase: Flipped classroom
• Gerstein, J. (2012) Flipped Classroom: The full picture for higher education. User Generated Education.

Strategies

• University of Texas: Flipped Classroom

Assistance

• Contact your Institute Learning Designer for clarification or assistance