Picture this: it’s the Monday after an eventful weekend, and you can’t pay attention in class. You have no idea what your professor is lecturing about, so you spend all of class doing the Wordle or reading an article about Texas’ latest football win. As a result, you leave class with no more knowledge than what you entered with.
Now, consider the same situation but in an alternate universe where you’ve been assigned to watch lecture videos before class. You may be tired, but you already know the content and can use pre-loaded knowledge to further engage with it. As a result, you’re more prepared to apply your knowledge to assignments and ask higher-level questions successfully. In this instance, you leave class knowing and truly understanding the content.
The flipped classroom model attempts to help students better grasp what they need to learn while doing it at their own pace. Having students complete an assignment or have discussions in class after they have already watched the lecture is designed to maximize student learning without assigning more work than the traditional structure.
Because flipped classrooms allow students to access the content independently, it accommodates many learning styles. Traditional lectures limit the success of students who are not visual or auditory learners, while flipped classrooms allow students to take notes and process the new material at their own rate, whenever and wherever they want. Students can formulate advanced questions and discussion points about the content rather than common clarifying questions resulting from the speed of an in-person lecture.
Neuroscience sophomore Isabella Nations believes that the format of her flipped class allows her to be more accountable for her work and unlock a deeper understanding of the topics.
“I didn’t expect to be able to learn in the way I’m learning,” said Nations. “(The flipped classroom has) forced me to have a deep understanding of the concepts … so that way I can come to class with questions.”
Opponents of flipped classrooms often argue that the model requires students to dedicate more time outside of class than the traditional classroom structure. As a result, students would be required to spend a greater amount of time studying for flipped classes to keep their grades up. However, a recent study reported that flipped classrooms do not, on average, require a significant increase in study time for the class. This is because a flipped classroom simply shifts around the workload rather than inserting any new assignments for students.
Min Liu, a professor of learning technologies in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, believes that the flipped classroom model has a bright future due to its ability to prepare students for future endeavors.
“When students go to the real world, (they) are all supposed to be independent, self-directed (and) motivated, and this type of teaching approach will help develop these (skills),” Liu said. “It (will) become a second nature … (and) more and more people will incorporate this kind of method to some extent in their teaching.”
The flipped classroom model is becoming increasingly popular throughout the teaching world because of its ability to be a great equalizer of learning between students of all backgrounds and learning styles. Although it may be difficult to reject tradition, professors should give flipped classrooms a chance to allow their students to engage with the content in a way that maximizes their understanding and, accordingly, their academic performance.
Herman is a Plan II and psychology sophomore from Southlake, Texas.
