Flipped Classrooms

             A flipped classroom is a classroom which the students learn away from school and put the learning into practice in the classroom. The teacher plans lessons for the students to complete at home. This may be a video of the teacher instructing, an interactive program, or a workbook to follow. The students are responsible for completing this at home and the next class day, they will practice what they have learned at school. This is flipped because it moves the learning to home and the practice to school. The purpose is for the teacher to be able to monitor the practice of the students. This allows her to monitor the students and see where they are growing and handle misconceptions. The teacher is able to be more hands on with the students as they practice the skill they have learned on their own. Students are also held accountable for their learning. They will not be able to do the classwork had they not done the learning at home. It will only take one or two times of being unprepared for them to realize that it is important.

            A flipped classroom setting takes creativity on the teacher’s part. She must come up with a lesson that is accessible to all students and that each student is capable of doing on their own. The lesson must be created with the student in mind and creatively put together. While planning, the teacher may have to create a video of her teaching the lesson, working problems, and going through an interactive program. This is challenging for the teacher to complete, forcing them to be creative.

            Students must collaborate with one another outside of class in order to understand things they are having trouble with. The teacher will facilitate that by encouraging the students to participate in a chat with one another about the lessons as they are learning them. They will also collaborate in class as they work the problems.

            Critical thinking is facilitated in the flipped classroom by asking the students to think through the lessons on their own. They are being asked to work on their own to figure out and think through the lessons. They must come up with methods that work for them while learning. They will adapt to the lessons but are being challenged to critically think about it on their own.

            The students and teacher must communicate in the flipped classroom. If the student is not understanding something, the teacher must be aware of it. The student should feel like there is an open line of communication between the teacher and the student. If there are misconceptions or problems, communication is the key to success in a flipped classroom.