Flipped Teaching: How does it benefit students?

Flipped Teaching: How does it benefit students?

At home, a 7^th grade student, Michael, watches his teacher’s lecture about photosynthesis online and takes notes. In class the next day, Michael’s class gets into small groups to read an assigned text on photosynthesis and to take more notes. The groups work together to create a storyboard that shows the process of photosynthesis. Michael’s teacher checks students’ understanding through questioning and observation. As discussed in a previous post, flipped teaching is an effective way to transition to a more facilitative learning environment. There are many articles, how-tos, and opinions regarding flipped teaching, but in the end, the question is: how does it benefit students?

1. Flipping the classroom can be a more efficient way to teach. One study showed that high school students spend an average of 38 hours per week on homework. The flipped learning method reduces work being done at home, allowing learning to occur more efficiently. Flipped teaching also gives students more time with the teacher, allowing them to not only be taught through their lectures, but to have them available to answer questions during the practice part of their learning.
2. Flipping the classroom can produce significant learning gains. When a flipped model was implemented at Clintondale High School in Clinton Township, Michigan, the entire 9th grade failure rate went down 33% in one year, the English class failure rate decreased from 52% to 19%, and the Math class failure rate decreased from 44% to 13%.
3. Flipping the classroom can fill in learning gaps. Every school year, students who miss class lose valuable instruction. If it’s the teacher that needs to miss school, entire classes can fall behind while a substitute fills in. However, teachers who use flipped classroom technology can easily upload their lectures for students to learn the material at home, allowing the learning process to continue seamlessly. Parents can also access class material and can more easily explain concepts to their children and help them to understand better.
4. Flipping the classroom promotes student collaboration and student-centered learning. In a flipped classroom setting, students are not passively soaking in information by simply listening to a lecture. At home, students have the freedom of replaying parts of the lecture they didn’t understand, allowing them to understand the lesson even better. Class time is used more efficiently as teachers answer questions from their students, who had to actively seek to understand the material before arriving in class. While in class, students can take control over their own learning by working with other students to master the lessons they learned at home. This route empowers each student to take an active role in their own education.

Flipped teaching, with time and preparation, can benefit your students in many ways. Its goal, just like many other teaching methods, is to improve student learning and achievement and help students reach their highest potential. Have you tried implementing flipped learning into your classroom?