Hybridize Lecture and Flipped Classrooms

Flipped classrooms have been a hot bead for debate the past few years. To create a Hybrid Education Vehicle (HEV) between the flip concept and traditional lecture, I will focus on a particular argument within this debate: the teacher loses control of content delivery by student acquisition outside the classroom.

At its core, the flipped concept is designed to deliver content to students outside of class via video, freeing class time for group work and increased teacher support of hands-on work. Traditional lecture is not student-teacher interaction. It is the teacher up front and students listening, sometimes. By students watching videos outside class time, they gain the same information but with the opportunity to rewind, pause, or restart as needed. Class time can then be used for true student-teacher interaction where students work in groups to accomplish tasks with teacher as facilitator.

A gripe with this design is the inability for the teacher to react to student understanding as they experience the lecture via video. In traditional lecture, students can raise their hands when they have questions. This can be seen as an advantage (answer the question on the spot) and as a distraction (derail the delivery of new material). So, how can components of the flipped design combine with in-class delivery for a positive HEV?

I propose taking the video delivery method of flipped classrooms and inserting them into the time allotted for in-class lecture. Provide students, or have students provide their own, Internet access for video playing. Individuals, partners, or small groups can work with one device to watch the same video a flipped class would watch at home. A necessary alteration is the mission of the video lecture. It cannot simply be information delivery. For this hybrid to work, students should be told to pause the video at checkpoints to complete an activity, have a discussion, or take notes. A positive of the flipped classroom is the increased teacher-student interaction at the individual level. During the in-class video lecture, the teacher can roam the room, answering quick questions, facilitating discussions, and offering corrections to activities. Further, the questions students are asked to note at home in the flipped model can be immediately discussed with a partner, group, or whole class.

Lecturers will appreciate the ability to monitor the consumption of material; flipped lovers will be satisfied that the videos can be archived for review outside of class, absent students can be caught up, and continued individualized learning (Bergman, Overmyer, & Willie, 2012). Of course, as with any good pedagogy, this process needs to be explicitly taught. Students need to be trained on behavior expectations. The structure can be modified for various levels of technology access and learning styles present in the classroom. I have the luxury of a 104 minute block class period to utilize this model early in the period and have plenty of class time for workshop or project based learning. Teachers with less time can video lecture once for several days of group work.

References

           

Bergman, J., Overmyer, J., & Willie, B. (2012, April 14). The Flipped Class: Myths vs. Reality. Retrieved from http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/the-flipped-class-conversation-689.php

psutlt. (2012, February 18). Flipping the Classroom- Simply Speaking [Video file]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=26pxh_qMppE