WITHIN A DECADE, technology has so completely transformed the lives of people worldwide that it’s hard to imagine life without it. It has changed the way we communicate, socialise, cook, shop, entertain ourselves, store and use information. Inevitably, technology is also changing the way children learn. Driven by technology, educators are exploring innovative ways in which ICT (information and communication technologies) can make teaching-learning learner-centric. The flipped classroom model is a high-potential innovation which has turned traditional classroom pedagogy upside down.
American high school teachers Jonathan Bregman and Aaron Sams of Woodland Park High School, Colorado, are credited with the development of the flipped classroom model in 2007. During their many years in the school’s classrooms, they discovered they were spending considerable time conducting backup classes for students who had missed classes. This prompted them to record their live lectures and post them online for reference. Soon they discovered their online lectures were also being accessed by students who had not missed class, for reinforcement and review. This led to the idea of the ‘flipped classroom’ model in which students view lectures and instructional videos at home, and utilise classroom periods to discuss the lectures, raise questions, and engage in collaborative activities which promote higher order thinking.
In traditional pedagogy, the role of a teacher is of a sage on stage. She spends most of her classroom time lecturing, with students listening and taking notes. The comprehension of students is tested by prescribing homework and projects.
On the other hand, in the flipped classroom, the teacher is not a dispenser of facts (sage on stage) but a designer of learning environments. Students ‘attend’ pre-recorded lectures or interactive videos at home. In-class time is used to develop higher order cognitive skills including analysis, synthesis, and problem-solving. Classroom sessions are utilised to field queries, encourage peer-to-peer learning, promote critical thinking and application of theory.
The flipped classroom model which is becoming increasingly popular in the US, UK, and Australia among other countries, not only results in better student learning outcomes but also frees up teachers’ time to improve the quality of teaching. The advantages of switching to the flipped classroom model are:
Self-paced learning. Every student learns at her own pace. The availability of online lectures and supportive material enables every student to pace the learning process according to her need. Students can choose to pause, rewind, or replay an instructional video — which they can’t do in a conventional classroom. This helps them understand concepts, compile queries, and make time for in-classroom clarifications.
Multiple ways of learning. Since the teaching-learning process is not restricted to classrooms, teachers can prescribe enabling supplementary content — interactive animations, simulations, informative websites and other content which can help students grasp theory and concepts.
Better time utilisation. As students listen to lectures at home and note queries and questions in advance, during classroom periods teachers have time to entertain questions, encourage discussion, and provide additional inputs.
Student-centred learning. Classroom time can be used by teachers to promote active and deeper learning through problem-solving, collaborative learning and focus on developing and honing cognitive and critical thinking skills.
Better learning outcomes. Under the flipped classroom model, students resolve problems in the classroom with the assistance of teachers. This improves their problem-solving skills and boosts confidence.
However, while the flipped classroom model undoubtedly enables focused attention, encourages the spirit of enquiry, and develops higher order thinking, analysis and problem-solving skills, it has its disadvantages. Under this model, students need to have access to computers and the internet. The majority of Indian children don’t have access to these resources making it a huge challenge to adopt and roll out this model.
Moreover, student cooperation is critical to the success of the flipped classroom model. Unless students listen to lectures and study supportive material at home, in-class interaction cannot be productive. And thirdly, the model won’t achieve its objectives if online lectures are not of high quality, and in-class activities aren’t well-designed and planned.
Yet given the proven validity of the basic proposition that all teaching should be learner rather than teacher-centred, despite these downsides the flipped classroom model offers a great opportunity to educators to improve the quality of education and benefit learning outcomes. Even though there’s little data to substantiate the success of this model as yet, it would be worthwhile to experiment with it.
(Shyam Sunder is the director, learning design, Tata ClassEdge)