Education is an ever moving critter. At the same time, some of that movement is simply a shiny new wrapper for an old idea. The trick is to be able to deal with the shiny new wrapper, and take what's good and use it.
Classroom flipping. Flipping the classroom. One thing is for certain: Education is always awash in neologism's.
The principle here is relatively simple. Students study the next days lessons at home. The studying is largely done electronically.
At the middle school to high school level, teachers electronically record the lesson or lecture, and students access the material from home, either by computer, tablet, or smart phone.
The following day, when they show up in class, the day is spent digesting that material, figuring out what it means, how to use it, in short, extending the learning from the podcast/videocast/video they watched the previous afternoon/evening at home.
Wait. Isn't this homework? Not really. Homework is working with the material that was presented that day in class. Extending it would be bonus issues that one might, or might not, get to.
While that may be splitting hairs, that's the reality of it.
What this approach does, perhaps, is gives students the time in class to apply the knowledge they perused the night before rather than spending their class time sitting through a lecture or lesson.
It allows students the freedom, and the responsibility, to "attend" the lesson(s) when it's best for them to do so.
They are able to take breaks when they want, and to collaborate with classmates however they wish. No one is telling them to pay attention, and they are able to go over the material how ever many times they need to.
The after school hours are still taken up with study though.
It's a useful, though not entirely new, approach. The biggest bump in the road of course is each students ability to access the recorded material once they get home. Not everyone has high speed internet, or a computer, or a tablet, or a smart phone.
Flipping has not transformed education any more than any other approach. For some, it is transformative. For others, not so much.
That's the reality of education. One size does not fit all.
As always, assume nothing, verify everything.
Comments