What is the "Flipped Classroom?"

Many of you have no doubt heard about the Flipped Classroom as being some kind of new development in the device-rich environment we now teach in.  But basically it's just another iteration of the flexible learning and flexible delivery we have been pushed to embrace for so many years now.  "Flipped" just means that if you have a lot of information that must be given to students, via a lecture or class discussion, in today's world there are more effective ways of students accessing this information, and the class time can be freed up for more in-depth work.  So many teachers and trainers are "flipping" their delivery - in class spend time doing practical tasks together, applying the learning, working in groups and pairs in a deeply engaged way, and get students to obtain the required information through on-line lectures or other on-line resources outside the classroom, or at home.

For a normal secondary school classroom, for example, many teachers are recording screencasts of a lecture in a subject area and the students are expected to watch this for homework.  The students then come to class to apply the knowledge, do experiments and complete projects.  Students become more engaged with their learning in this way - they learn the new material independently, outside the classroom. In the classroom they get excited about using this new information to create and discover more.

The principles of flipping the classroom apply equally in the adult learning environment of VET.  It is possible to explain and demonstrate a skill and go through any knowledge elements using video and screen casts, then make these available online, or on a usb drive,  for students to access before they meet up in your class.  It can be a required part of your course that students obtain this information and come to class prepared to take part in a quiz followed by engagement with practical tasks using the knowledge, for example. 

One of the main advantages of a flipped classroom is that students do the work that often requires support, applying the knowledge, in the classroom and can get support from the teacher and peers, whereas in the old model, they would get a talk or demonstration and often have to complete projects or tasks for homework outside the classroom, where they did not have any support.

There are many different ways of conducting flipped classrooms.  Much of it will depend on the needs of your students, their context and the type of training or learning being undertaken.

Here are some links on the Flipped Classroom that you may find interesting or useful. 

Maybe we should call it the shifted classroom - Blog

University of New Hampshire - Flipped Classroom

University of Wisconsin-Stout - staff resources on mobile technology and flipped classrooms

University of Washington Centre for Teaching and Learning

Academic Technology

Please feel free to contribute to the discussion and share any resources you know of in the comments below.