A flipped classroom is an instructional strategy that aims to increase student engagement and learning by having students complete readings or watch pre-recorded lectures at home and work on live problem-solving during class time. The traditional model of teaching involves introducing new content via lecture during class time and leaving students to practice and apply that content by themselves in homework exercises. In contrast, a flipped classroom inverts this model by introducing new content outside of class time, freeing up in-class time for activities that involve higher-order thinking, such as analyzing or synthesizing information through discussion, hands-on work, and collaboration.
Key features of a flipped classroom include:
- Lectures or direct instruction are not the best use of class time.
- Students encounter information before class, freeing class time for activities that involve higher-order thinking.
- Students take responsibility for their learning.
- The course is primarily aimed at contributing to the students overall success in obtaining a proper, effective education.
- It encourages students to understand the underlying rationale behind the information provided to them.
The potential benefits of a flipped classroom include:
- Students can learn at their own pace.
- Students engage in self-paced learning, as well as think critically and collaborate with classmates.
- Students take responsibility for their learning.
- Students may show better learning outcomes.
- Classroom activities can be intentionally designed to teach students valuable intra- and interpersonal skills.
However, the potential performance increase from flipped classrooms varies greatly on a classroom-by-classroom basis, and the potential benefits may be affected by the method of conducting the classroom and the level of intensity of the course. Currently, the amount of research available is not enough to create rigorous practical guidelines for all teachers to use, so some teachers may conduct the flipped classroom more effectively than others.
