What is it?
In a flipped classroom students engage with lectures or other materials outside of class to prepare for an active learning experience in the classroom so that:
- students gain necessary knowledge before class, and
- instructors guide students to actively and interactively clarify and apply that knowledge during class.
Like the best classes have always done, this approach supports instructors playing their most important role of guiding their students to deeper thinking and higher levels of application. A flipped class keeps student learning at the center of teaching.
Why are instructors flipping their class?
- In a lecture, the attention of most students starts to decrease after ten or fifteen minutes, so flipping the class can help keep students focused and learning for the whole period.
- Flipping the classroom means that students have time to process and reflect on concepts and increase their knowledge base before coming to class to apply their learning.
Students can control the time, pace and place of learning with the online materials. Many students find it useful to repeat segments of an online presentation when they are having difficulty with a particular concept or when they are studying for the final exam. For some students the ability to rewind and listen to a presentation or explanation again can help them make more meaningful notes or overcome language fluency difficulties.
- Flipping some classes can add some variety and change of pace to classes and make the course more interesting for both students and instructor.
- There is evidence that having students engage in active learning and peer learning in class leads to deeper understanding and greater retention of concepts than traditional lecture information transfer in class.
Instructors can get a sense of where students are having difficulty with the course material or have questions or misconceptions about concepts (possibly through an online assessment or discussion forum) before they come to class. Instructors can then adjust what will be done in class depending on this feedback. This is often called “just-in-time teaching” (JITT).
How do I flip my class?
This guide is designed to walk you through the steps of flipping a single class; the process is scalable for flipping portions of each unit or an entire course. One of the major factors in course redesign is the time it takes to do it well. We recommend pilot testing the flipped model with a single class before engaging in a complete redesign.
Flip Quick-start Guide (PDF, 116MB)
Whether you want to flip one class session or an entire course, the Quick-Start Guide will help you through the essentials.
The following questions may help you identify a good place to start, whether you have designed your course around learning outcomes or by units:
- Do you currently have an in-class activity that you rarely have time to complete that requires students to apply their knowledge and skills?
- What concepts or topics do students struggle the most to understand, based on exam scores and/or assignment grades?
- What topics would students benefit from the opportunity to apply concepts for under your guidance in the classroom?
The crux of the issue is figuring out for your class how class time could be repurposed in ways that provide students with an appropriate level of challenge while leveraging your expertise as a coach or guide. There are many possibilities for infusing a class with collaborative learning experiences. Ultimately, it comes down to finding an approach that works best for your students and your course content. Learn more about Active Learning strategies.
The point of the Flipped Learning model is to move the application-oriented "homework" into the classroom and to move the "lecture" to before class. Here are a few questions to get you started in this process:
- What do I want my students to know and be able to do as result of completing this sequence of the course? How does it fit into the bigger picture of the unit and course?
- What part of the current "homework assignment" could be moved inside of class to help students practice applying the content? What in-class learning activity is being rushed because there is currently not enough time to do it well?
- What practice do students need inside of class to prepare them for the larger assignment that will be completed after class? Will students make the connection between what is happening inside of class and the assignment they are working on after class?
- What content do students need to know before class to successfully engage in the learning activity during class?
The after-class portion may consist of a wide variety of activities including completing the work started in class or reading deeper about the topic or working together on a larger assignment that extends several class periods or practicing on one's own. Keep in mind that the after-class portion from the last class occurs at the same time as the before-class portion of the next class, so helping students manage the workload is important.
The dynamic and active environment that is created within the flipped classroom, means that it is essential for students to come prepared for class. Once you have a clear idea of how students will be asked to apply their knowledge and skills during class, begin considering what students will need to read or view in advance. While online video content is associated with the Flipped classroom model, one can flip a class by repurposing traditional materials. Some common ways students prepare for class include:
- Reading materials (e.g., textbook chapters or relevant articles)
- Online video and audio content (e.g., podcasts, videos, online micro-lectures, simulations, or demonstrations)
Keep it simple at first by either relying on your current resources or using existing online content rather than creating your own. If you have time, explore what content currently exists online that may help you supplement your resources. Whatever path you take, make sure that you:
- Hold students accountable for completing the pre-class assignment, and
- Provide students a way to pose questions about the content they are learning outside of class.
How will the content and skills learned before and during this class prepare students for extending their learning after class (e.g. finishing the problem set, starting work on a project or a portion of an assignment, building upon what was begun in class to delve deeper into the topic, practicing alone or collaborating with peers, etc.)?
Students gain experience applying course content during class time, but they may also need additional practice after class. Extending what happens inside the class to outside the class is a crucial step for students to gain mastery and meet the learning outcome. Some ideas for deepening student understanding include:
- Use discussion boards or academic social media to elaborate on ideas developed inside class.
- Present additional problems (onQ, course website, or from the textbook) for students to gain further practice on their own outside of class. Online assessment systems can be used to provide immediate feedback to students.
- Create assignments that require students to take the skills and knowledge developed in class and apply it in a new way or to a new situation not covered in class.
- Assign additional readings that further expands upon the concepts discussed in class.
- Encourage students to create informal learning groups.
- Develop a peer-led undergraduate study where students come together once a week to work additional problems that expand upon the concepts being learned in class.
Resources
- : An online resource from the Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo
- : Educause Learning Initiative white paper
- : an online resource from the Faculty Innovation Centre, University of Texas at Austin
Bates, J.E., Almekdash, H., & Gilchrest-Dunnam, M.J. (2017). The flipped classroom: A brief, brief history. In: Santos Green, L., Banas, J., Perkins, R. (eds) The Flipped College Classroom. Educational Communications and Technology: Issues and Innovations. Springer, Cham.
Gorbet, M. [Centre for Teaching Excellence, University of Waterloo]. (2016, September 28). Flipped classroom experience in engineering [Video]. YouTube.
Honeycutt, B. (2013, March 25). Looking for 'flippable' moments in your class. Faculty Focus.
Kachka, P. (2012, October 23). Understanding the flipped classroom: Part 1. Faculty Focus.
Lee, M.W., & Butler, A.C. (2022). The Flipped Classroom: A Guide to Making Evidence-Based Decisions About Implementation. In: Witchel, H.J., Lee, M.W. (eds) Technologies in Biomedical and Life Sciences Education. Methods in Physiology. Springer, Cham.
Talbert, R. (2017, September 25). Myths and facts about flipped learning. EDUCASE.
This resource was remixed from resources at the and the and adapted to Queen’s University context under a .