A Story of Flipped Learning (Part 5) – group space and individual space

Planning for flipped classrooms is a little bit different from planning for traditional classrooms.

You must understand the key structures/concepts of a flipped classroom.

What is a flipped classroom? First let’s look at a definition of Flipped Learning.

Jon Bergmann believes that the most useful and enlightening definition of Flipped Learning is as follows: “Flipped Learning is a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group space to the individual space and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and creatively engage in the subject matter.

So for Bergmann a flipped classroom has at its core the concept of:

• Group space 
• Individual space.

Both are crucial to running a sound flipped classroom.

The group space for a student is typically the classroom working with other students and the teacher. The individual space is the student working by themselves typically, but not always, at home. Be clear, the individual space can be in a variety of locations, but it is characterised by the student working alone.

Traditional Classroom

In the group space of a traditional classroom, direct instruction (a lecture to the whole group) is followed by a few activities to cement learning. In the individual space of a traditional classroom, homework is set which usually involves more complex activities involving application, analysis, evaluation and creativity. Students complete this homework alone at home without the help of a teacher, but because of the often complex nature of the homework they may need assistance. Where is the teacher when they are truly needed?

Note that in a traditional classroom the group space happens first where new content is introduced usually via the lecture and the individual space happens second.

Flipped Classroom

In a flipped classroom it is the other way round. The individual space comes first and the group space second. In the individual space the student is introduced to new content which usually takes the form of a micro video. They are doing this by themselves with some sort of device without much need of any help. When they come to class, that is when they meet in the group space the next day, they get to ask their questions, apply, analyse, evaluate and create and be generally involved in a whole lot of active learning, with the teacher available to guide them – as it should be!

Where do you sit in relation to classroom style? More traditional or more flipped?

To find out more about Flipped Learning and its possibilities meet Jon Bergmann, in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017.

Here is a snapshot of sessions in the pedagogy and best practices track:

For more information about FlipCon Australia and to register go to: www.ereg.me/flipconaus

You may also be interested in a certification program that Jon Bergmann is running. Find out more and preview some free training samples @ http://flglobal.org/certificationiwbnet/ - The cost of this course is US $70.00.

Is Flipped Learning for Primary School Students?

Yes it is!

Do you set homework for your primary students?

Does the homework get done? (It would be fairly typical for most to get it done and some not).

Who does the homework? The student? The student and the parents? The parents?

Does the homework call for higher order thinking and learning skills that students could struggle with, forcing them to rely on significant input from parents to get the work completed and turned in?

Arguably all of the above questions are “real” questions for primary school teachers and primary school students. They also resonate with very frustrated parents of primary school students.

We know that parents of primary school students often do the homework or a significant part of it.

What if you could turn this situation right around?

What if you could flip it?

Flipping the homework looks like this. 

Homework is made easier.

Homework takes less time.

Homework is where a student engages with the content that a teacher would have delivered to the whole class during precious class time. (In flipped learning homework, this content is typically provided on a video for the student to watch and interact with at home in preparation for the next day’s class). That’s all – much easier than those complex homework problems that Mum and Dad often do. And yes you will need to learn how to make videos!

In the next day’s classroom the teacher no longer gives the “lesson/lecture” to the whole class. The student attended to that by watching the video for homework the night before.

The teacher has freed up time to work with students one on one, assisting all students to apply, analyse, evaluate and create – using all the professional teaching skills that they trained for.

Flipped learning is ideal for primary students, so why not give it a go?

Of course there is a lot more to it. However, delving deeper into flipped learning is worthwhile, satisfying and very smart professional learning.

To find out more about Flipped Learning and its possibilities for primary school students, meet Jon Bergmann one of the pioneers of flipped learning in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017.

Here is a snapshot of a few of the exciting sessions, ideal for primary school teachers:

For more information about FlipCon Australia, to see many more sessions and to register go to: www.ereg.me/flipconaus

A Story of Flipped Learning (Part 4) – what students think

One of the biggest criticisms of digital technology is that it greatly increases the amount of time students sit in front of a screen (screen time) whether it be a computer, phone, other mobile device or game console.

Appreciating that Flipped Learning does rely on digital technology for its complete success, Jon Bergmann (one of the pioneers of Flipped Learning) decided to canvas students to understand what they thought about screen time by asking the question: How does Flipped Video affect your total amount of screen time?

Eighty – five percent of students surveyed, claimed that Flipped Videos added little or no time to their screen time. Of the 85%, 30% of students reported that Flipped Video screen time replaces other screen time, not adds to it. In short, Flipped Videos add quality educational content to a student’s screen time. That is huge!

Another exciting finding came as a result of asking students the question: How do Flipped Videos help you understand the class content? 

• 68% said easier to much easier
• 23% said about the same
• 9% said harder to much harder.

The 9% of students claiming "harder to much harder" cannot be ignored. However the 68% of students claiming it made it "easier to much easier" for them is a truly amazing result according to Bergmann.

When it comes to time spent in the Flipped Learning model students reported two very significant things:

• Flipped Videos are typically short, much shorter than the “lectures” they replace
• Flipped Homework takes less time than traditional homework.

These findings about “time”, coupled with the finding that most students feel they learn better in a Flipped Classroom, is exactly the kind of thing we want to see in education according to Bergmann – less time, better outcomes.

For further information about what students think about Flipped Learning we recommend Jon Bergmann’s Solving the Homework Problem by Flipping the Learning (2017).

To find out more about Flipped Learning and its possibilities meet Jon Bergmann, in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017. 

Here is a snapshot of the exciting program tracks on offer:

For more information about FlipCon Australia and to register go to: www.ereg.me/flipconaus

A Story of Flipped Learning (Part 3) – Robert Marzano and Benjamin Bloom

The essence of Flipped Learning is simple. In Part 1 of this series we explained Flipped Learning as:

• Learning environments that have steered the focus of the classroom away from “the lecture”
• Learning environments that have replaced “the lecture” with increased hours working with students one on one, assisting them with higher order learning challenges and personalising their learning (Active Learning): AND
• Learning environments that deliver critical content to students through technology (often video) outside and inside of class time.

Let’s focus on how to change our instructional style from one of “Lecture” to one of “Active Learning”, for that’s what flipped classrooms seek to do.

To do this we can learn from both Dr Robert Marzano and Bloom’s Taxonomy.

In Part 2 of this series we saw how Marzano’s research demonstrates that only a small percentage of classrooms in the USA spent time on cognitively complex tasks involving generating and testing hypotheses (Active Learning). Flipped Learning seeks to improve this situation. Flipped Learning seeks to expose students to more Active Learning.

How do we do it? Where can we get some help with this?

Bloom’s Taxonomy one of the better known education theories provides some useful insights.

In thinking about the importance of Active Learning in the Flipped Learning paradigm, Jon Bergmann one of the pioneers of Flipped Learning, suggests that we flip the Bloom’s Taxonomy diagram and then change its shape as follows:

Figure 1: Bloom’s Taxonomy – Original

In traditional teaching, a teacher spends more time at the bottom of Bloom’s Taxonomy than they do at the top (Figure 1). Often the higher order active skills of Bloom’s (creating, evaluating and analysing) are left for homework projects with the teacher in class time focussing on the more passive skills of (remembering, understanding). Is this the best use of the teacher’s time? No!

Figure 2: Bloom’s Taxonomy – Flipped

Flip Bloom’s Taxonomy (Figure 2) and we get closer to the essence of Flipped Learning.

Here the focus for the teacher in class time is more at the top (creating, evaluating, analysing). Less at the bottom (remembering and understanding). That can be catered for through technology. This is better teaching, but is it realistic? Not quite!

Figure 3: Bloom’s Taxonomy – Diamond

A diamond shaped Bloom’s (Figure 3) is arguably an even better explanation of the best use of a teacher’s time. Here the teacher spends more time in the middle of Bloom’s (analysing, applying). This is where a student needs a teacher to help them the most. Technology can help with the other skills. Now we are getting close to the essence of a flipped classroom with Active Learning a very significant component at the centre.

To find out more about Flipped Learning and its possibilities meet Jon Bergmann, in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017.

If you are interested in drilling right down to implementing Active Learning in your classroom you may wish to consider the Masterclass option available at the conference. Here is a snapshot of the program run by Jon Bergmann:

For more information about the Masterclass option and to register for FlipCon Australia go to: www.ereg.me/flipconaus

A Story of Flipped Learning (Part 2) – you have freed up some time

In Part 1 of this series we talked about freeing up and changing the nature of class time by decreasing the amount of time spent on “lecturing to the whole class” and instead increasing the hours working with students one on one, assisting them with higher order learning challenges and personalising their learning.

This is a critical part of the flipped classroom – freeing up a lot of time!

But what you do with that time is equally critical.

In a study of 2,000,000 classrooms in the USA, Dr Robert Marzano asked the key question: what instructional strategy is being used? His research results are outlined below:

In a flipped learning paradigm, with a lot of time freed up, we seek to change these percentages. We seek to decrease the emphasis on interacting with new content and practising and deepening new content, to significantly increasing the amount of time spent on cognitively complex tasks involving generating and testing hypotheses. This is one of the hallmarks of a flipped classroom.

In a Flipped Learning model, interacting with new content, as important as it is, is not overdone in class time. New content is delivered to the students via some form of technology (often videos). Students study this content usually outside of class, and return to the class the next day ready to work with the teacher to get stuck into deep understanding and complex tasks that depend on having interacted with it.

To find out more about Flipped Learning and its possibilities meet Jon Bergmann, one of the pioneers of Flipped Learning, in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017.

If you are interested in delving into the pedagogy and best practices of Flipped Learning here is a snapshot of just a few of the sessions on offer:

For more information and to register for FlipCon Australia go to: www.ereg.me/flipconaus

A Story of Flipped Learning (Part 1) – somewhere near the beginning

It all started with dedicated, passionate, skilled teachers who knew that the best use of their time with students was NOT to lecture at them from the front of the classroom.

They believed that 2 things were critical:

• Free up and change the nature of class time by decreasing the amount of time they “lectured to the whole class” and instead increasing the hours they worked with students one on one, assisting them with higher order learning challenges and personalising their learning

• Find an alternative to the lecture for delivering critical content to their students. Delivering content was still very important in the teaching/learning process. They knew they were on a winner, because this is where tech tools had developed sufficiently to meet this need (more later).

Why has the Flipped Learning movement placed so much importance on the need to change the nature of class time? Put simply, because it works!

Increased one on one tuition and personalised learning strengthens the teacher-student relationship. Teachers get to know their students better cognitively, and perhaps even more importantly, affectively. As Jon Bergmann (one of the pioneers of Flipped Learning) often says: “Kids don’t care what you know until they know that you care”. Relationships is the top reason why Flipped Learning works. Students engage when you know them and when you care.

Even though Flipped Learning has moved on from these simple and elegant ideas to a very sophisticated model of teaching and learning (Flipped Learning 3.0), as it was then and still is now, the one big question in the Flipped Learning paradigm is: “What is the best use of face to face class time?”

We know it is not “yakking” at the front of the class day in, day out. It is something else altogether and it is powerful. For some teachers it is 50% more experiments, 50% more project based learning, 50% more active learning, or 50% more inquiry learning. 

What would it be for you?

To find out more about Flipped Learning and its possibilities meet Jon Bergmann in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017. 

If you are just starting out on the Flipped Learning road the conference has much to offer. Here is a snapshot of just a few of the sessions on offer:

For more information and to register for FlipCon Australia go to: www.ereg.me/flipconaus

All education sectors embrace Flipped Learning

The nature of Flipped Learning is such that all of its principles and practices are equally applicable to primary, secondary and tertiary sectors.

For the primary sector the benefit of Flipped Learning is that the student-centred approach it brings, shifts the focus from the teacher's needs to the student's, capturing the attention of, and engaging many more students in their learning.

When secondary students come prepared to a flipped classroom, there's little to no need for teachers to address content related questions, this is generally left for “homework”. Instead, in the time that is freed up from “teaching the content”, teachers can support students in better understanding the concepts through practical application and one to one interventions.

There is something for the tertiary sector too. Active learning is central to the flipped classroom and is supported by research that indicates students can experience significant learning gains when compared to the passive lecture format. The lecture still plays a critical role, however the emphasis in Flipped Learning is on providing opportunities for students to explore applications and content that challenges their higher order thinking.

Flipped Learning evolves into Flipped Learning 3.0

Advancing digital technologies are challenging the traditional didactic teaching seen for decades and at the same time offering dynamic and innovative opportunities for student learning.

Don’t be caught out! Flipped Learning has fundamentally changed.

The static view of Flipped Learning (record lectures on video so students can watch them outside of the classroom), has given way to Flipped Learning 3.0 a dynamic movement that is rapidly changing. Three big factors - research, classroom innovation and advances in technology are driving the change.

Classroom innovation is bringing some of the most exciting changes to Flipped Learning. These include:

• Expanding the group space – the walls of the classroom are nearly down
• Innovating with student created flipped videos
• Innovating the teacher - student relationship – more time to create
• Redesigning the group space for Flipped Learning
• Gamification of the individual space
• Peer to peer instruction in the group space
• Evolving ways to use the group space.

Perhaps the most exciting recent discovery about Flipped Learning is: 

Flipped Learning is not just another teaching tactic, but a meta-teaching strategy that supports all others

FLGI Webinar Series Flipped Learning 3.0

Let’s take this finding very seriously for it offers the answer to many critical issues in education today and has the potential of consolidating all good teaching practices.

To find out more about this exciting new phase in Flipped Learning feel free to connect with Jon Bergmann, one of the pioneers of Flipped Learning, on Twitter @jonbergmann or email jon@flglobal.org

You can also meet Jon in person @ FlipCon Australia at the Inaburra School in Sydney on Friday 20 and Saturday 21 October 2017.

For more information and to register for FlipCon Australia go to www.ereg.me/ehome/index.php?eventid=207135&