Flipped Classrooms: The difficult but very effective learning trend
The flipped classroom is not a pandemic trend. It was around before that because it actually enhanced students’ learning experiences. But it gained ground like never before during the lockdown years of 2020 and 2021. Now with students getting back to school, the flipped classroom continues to be in vogue. But exactly what is it?
What is a flipped classroom?
Flipped classroom is a teaching method. Educational institutes distribute syllabi well in advance and plan lesson progression at the beginning of the semester in it. Students then run through the study material and come to class with some concept sin place, some questions around grey areas, and ready to work on the lesson. The teachers address the lesson from the other end now. That’s why it’s ‘flipped’, or turned in the opposite direction of the traditional lesson plan where students come to class blank and teachers start the lesson from scratch.
How does a flipped classroom work?
In a flipped classroom, lectures are shared outside class hours with students for review and initial homework, and classroom time is kept for discussion, questions and interactive projects. This model emphasises the following teaching goals:
- The classroom becomes a more active learning space
- Students can learn at their own pace
- Teachers have the chance to give more individual attention instead of addressing the class as a whole
- Lecture material can be read at home, so when the students enter the class, they are more ready to enter interactive modules
- Classroom time can be optimised for group work, tests, practical sessions and individual assignments
The advantage is obvious – students learn better – and teachers can also manage lessons better.
Why did it become so popular?
The pandemic caused a surge in the flipped classroom model, since it does not require teachers and students to meet in person. Flipped classrooms also turned out to be better for collaborative projects, and worked well both with online and hybrid models. Given that it continues trending, it seems that flipped classrooms are geared for becoming more popular in future.