Overview

In a normal class, the teacher lectures (easy part) and you do the homework at home (hard part). If you get stuck at home, you are screwed. The Flipped Classroom flips this. You watch the lecture at home (video), and you do the “homework” in class where the teacher can help you.

Core Idea

The core idea is Active Class Time. Don’t waste precious class time on a monologue. Use it for discussion, projects, and help.

Formal Definition

An instructional strategy where students complete readings/videos at home and work on live problem-solving during class time.

Intuition

  • Old Way: Teacher talks -> Students listen -> Students go home and struggle.
  • Flipped Way: Students watch video -> Students come to class -> Teacher walks around helping them solve problems.

Examples

  • Khan Academy: Sal Khan popularized this. Teachers assign his videos as homework.
  • Science Labs: Watch the safety video and theory at home. Spend the entire class time actually doing the experiment.

Common Misconceptions

  • The teacher is replaced by video: No. The teacher is more important. They spend their time tutoring individual students instead of lecturing to the whole group.
  • It’s just more homework: It should take the same amount of time. 15 min video at home + 45 min work in class = 1 hour.
  • Blended Learning: Mixing online and face-to-face learning.
  • Mastery Learning: Students can re-watch the video 10 times if they don’t get it. They can pause and rewind the teacher.

Applications

  • University: Large lecture halls are dying. Professors are putting lectures online and using class time for seminars.

Criticism / Limitations

  • Digital Divide: If a kid doesn’t have internet at home, they can’t do the “homework.”
  • Motivation: If kids don’t watch the video, they come to class completely lost.

Further Reading

  • Bergmann, Jonathan and Sams, Aaron. Flip Your Classroom.