Week 2: Flipped Teaching

Flipped teaching has both pros and cons.  Some of the pros are that it allows the teacher more time to interact with students, as opposed to just lecturing all period.  Students also have opportunities to ask questions and get help working through problems while the teacher is present. A student’s parents may not be willing or able to help them with homework, but the teacher being present gives them a better chance of completing it and learning in the process.  Also, students get to hear other classmates’ questions and concerns about the material and may feel more comfortable asking questions if they know others are struggling with the same issues.

Some cons are that not all students may be interested or responsible enough to complete the assigned material outside of class.  Some students may ‘check out’ once they leave the classroom and therefore not complete the assignment on their own time.  If the teacher is not present to monitor them or encourage them to participate, they may not do the work.  If several of the students do not complete out-of-class activities, it will slow down learning for everyone else, because they will not be on track and ready to participate at the start of the class period. 

I believe flipped teaching enhances student learning, but that not every student is going to benefit from it 100% of the time.  Since students learn in different ways and at different paces, there will be students who jump ahead and get bored where other students are struggle and become frustrated.  Even if all students complete the assigned material, they may not all be on the same track when they return to class.  For example, one student may interpret what they read differently or may not understand something that all other students understood.  The teacher will need to closely monitor all students’ progress and offer additional help when needed.

Flipped teaching can definitely create a global learning environment in that it presents opportunities for students to interact with each other and with other students around the world.  For example, they can watch videos made by someone in a different country and interact with students they would never otherwise meet.  The teacher may have his/her own website and the students could post questions and talk back and forth with each other.

I hope to one day teach English/language arts at the middle school or high school level.  That being said, I could use flipped teaching in my classroom by having students read outside of class and then engage in interactive activities in the classroom, such as role playing or group discussion.  For example, they could read Romeo and Juliet at home and come to class ready to discuss what they read and possibly act out the different scenes, as opposed to sitting and reading in silence all class period.

I think flipped teaching can be very beneficial, but that it is an ongoing learning process.  A lot of it boils down to students’ desire to participate and take charge of their own learning.  It places a great deal of responsibility in the students’ hands.  If students see a benefit, they will be more likely to want to participate and be excited about it.