Flipped Learning in K-12 Classrooms

Purva Nagarakar for LT8000 (Fall 2019)

What is flipped learning?

Flipped learning is a pedagogical approach in which conventional classroom instruction is inverted and where the teacher delivers the lectures before the class through online videos to free-up in-class learning time for active learning and problem-solving activities. The importance of flipped learning is that students learn through study material before coming to the class as per their convenience and at their own pace. The classroom time is used for deeper understanding through peer interaction and other problem-solving activities planned by the teacher.

History of flipped learning

In the 1990s Harvard professor developed a model called ‘just in time teaching’ (peer instruction) where he provided course material to the students before the class for study and understanding and then used the class time for deeper cognitive thinking via peer interaction and challenging activities designed by him. This model was later further developed with the addition of technology and then in 2000, it was presented at the International Conference on College Teaching and Learning. It was developed with the role of the learning management system with the concept of delivering the instructions before the class. It came in general use in early-mid-2000s. It was popularized by chemistry teachers Jon Bergman and Aaron Sams and the founder of Khan Academy, Salman Khan.

Relevance

Universities and schools in the U.S adopted flipped model initially and now it’s been popular in Europe as well. One of the biggest benefits is, it moves students from passive learning to active learning. It provides an opportunity for students of all ages to bridge the gap in knowledge. It is more popularly used in middle schools, high schools, and higher education than in elementary schools. The flipped classroom approach (FCA) or flipped classroom model (FCM) has shown many benefits over the traditional classroom instructions.

Paper overview

This short paper contains some implications based on the study of the flipped classroom method done over the last three decades. This paper is based on four articles.

Lo and Hew’s article gives a critical review of flipped classroom challenges in K-12 education. It also suggests possible solutions and recommendations for future research. Abeysekera and Dawson’s article mentions their findings have from motivation and cognitive load point of view. Kadry and Hami have listed their findings of flipped learning when it was applied to a Calculus II course over one semester. Katsa, Sergis, and Sampson discuss the potential of the flipped classroom method in the K-12 math classroom.

These articles give insight into the benefits and uses of the flipped classroom method as well as challenges faced. Most of the literature mentions flipped classroom is boon of blended learning which aims to facilitate teachers make better use of the face to face sessions through minimizing teacher lecture and increasing student active learning, collaboration, and scaffolding.

Key Implication

The instructional design implications from each article are summarized below.

Key Observations

• The practice of flipped is usually common among 9^th to 12th-grade students. It is very rare in elementary-age students.
• The Pre-class activities include reading text material, taking notes and online exercise.
• The In-class activities include individual practices, brief review, small-group activities.
• Student attitude- K-12 students were generally satisfied with the flipped classroom approach. They mentioned watching video was easier than reading the text, they felt more prepared for the classroom activities, self-pacing was very useful for better understanding.
• Increased interaction between classmates and teachers. Also, a greater opportunity to apply new knowledge in solving problems, PBL, real-world applications.
• Evidence shows flipped classroom support teachers for better use of teaching time which included increased teacher interaction, student-student collaboration, ‘hands-on’ competence building activity and assessment activity.
• Flipped learning was studied for two pedagogical theories SDT (self-determination theory) and CLT (cognitive load theory). SDT distinguishes between intrinsic motivation and extrinsic motivation. There are three pedagogical approaches in the flipped classroom, teaching out of class, use of class time for learning activities and completing pre-class and/or post-class activities to fully benefit in-class work. The students’ level of motivation can either promote or impede the satisfaction of their basic cognitive needs. In traditional lectures, teachers have a sense of autonomy and competence and students have passive transmission experience which eliminates a sense of autonomy and competence. In flipped learning students watch the video before going to the class which gives them a sense of autonomy and that enhances their competence and in turn, creates intrinsic motivation. Flipped learning helps to boost the intrinsic motivation in students which is seen decreasing when students move from elementary school age to high school and college-age. The grades in the class and sense of competition among the students bring a sense of satisfaction and act as extrinsic motivation. The flipped learning satisfies the need for competence. This was backed by the results of the study by Kasta, Sergis, and Sampson. Their experiment shows that all dimensions of motivation such as attention, relevance, confidence, and satisfaction were higher in flipped classroom students than traditional classroom students. We have limited working memory and there are many techniques used to manipulate the cognitive load and thus improving learning. In the flipped classroom, the instructions are divided into pre-class, in-class and post-class activities and it can help in managing cognitive load. Self-pacing and pre-recorded lectures can elevate the cognitive load. It also lets high-achievers and low-achievers adjust their pace based on their comfort. If in-class activities are planned for both types of learners (high and low) the class can accommodate the mixed group. Pre-class quizzes can help identify the student levels. Not only the cognitive learning outcomes are better than the traditional classrooms, but low performers improved a lot compared to the medium performers and high performers. Medium performers improved a lot compared to high performers.

Advantages

Teachers get more time in the classroom for student-centered instructions such as group discussions and teacher’s individual attention.

As students watch the video before going to the class, it improves their independent learning skills and other group activities in the class improve their communication skills. The other advantaged seen are increased self-efficacy, a high level of student engagement and satisfaction. Flipped learning is based on Piaget’s theory as students do not just copy the idea, they act on it. One-one instructions are good for active participation. The results of application to Calculus II class show that students performed better on quizzes when they were in the flipped classroom than traditional. At the end of the semester, it was noted that more syllabus was covered in a flipped classroom than traditional.

Challenges

There was initial resistance from the students as watching videos increased their study time. This may create a negative impact and students may skip pre-class activities. Some students reported the videos were very long. It also overwhelmed them as it also consumed their time at home or due to ‘extra’ homework. The students reported they couldn’t ask questions during the video lectures.

Due to the limited availability of ready material teachers must create the content on their own. It adds to the workload. A video of 3-4 minutes may take a couple of hours of production time.

The students need to have internet access to view the content at home or the videos can be stored on DVDs or flash drives as another option. An LMS (learning management system) needs to monitor and collect the data on whether students are watching the video and how fast they are moving through the content to monitor their activity. The schools need to agree to invest in instructional support such as computer resources, video production set up.

How to overcome the challenges and how to make flipped learning a success?

There should be communication with students before flipping the classroom to explain to them the advantages of it. This helps them accept the new system of learning with a positive outlook. The students need to be introduced with some cognitive skills such as note-taking to make pre-class activities more successful. There should be in-class activities for well-performing and under-performing students. The duration of the presentation should not be more than ten minutes. There should be personalization through informal conversation than just text or number. The important content needs to be highlighted. There should be step-by-step instructions to take the notes. An online discussion forum should be in place to ask the questions to other students or teachers after watching the video. The teachers should have support from the school to implement this in the classroom. The use of gamification or rewards can encourage and produce positive effects.

Case Study

FMSP Wales (http://furthermaths.org.uk/wales -Further Mathematics Support Programme in Wales) wrote a resourced Scheme of Work (SoW) for the new WJEC Mathematics and Further Mathematics A-levels, underpinned by the philosophy that it is important to teach mathematics rather than teaching to the exam; build with connection in mind; focus on mastery; put proof at the heart of the syllabus. Following this, they offered Continuing Professional Development (CPD) about SoW across North Wales. At this event, many teachers expressed their concern of lack of time to deliver the specifications in a deep way. To overcome this problem solution of the ‘flipped classroom’ approach was suggested which would free up some valuable class time.

  In March 2018 four teachers and their classes chose to participate in the trial of the flipped classroom. The duration of the study was one-month October 2019 to November 2019. Andy Davies was one of the teachers who participated. Andy is head of Mathematics at Ysgol Eirias (https://eirias.co.uk/ ) which is a large North Wales Secondary School with sixth form college. He had two groups of students in Year 12 and 13 with approximately 20 students in each. Andy had to tech WJEC A2 Mathematics to both. To reduce the repetition, he decided to use the flipped classroom.

Application of implications to the case

The videos were created by Andy using Apple pencil, the ‘Notability’ application, and the screen record function of the iPad. The videos were uploaded to his YouTube channel. Each video was approximately 3-4 mins in duration, and it was uploaded a week advance. The key implications are as follows-

• The video duration was 3-4 minutes which was very ideal for the students because longer videos would have required a longer duration to review and to take notes. This increased the acceptance of additional homework.
• The content was posted a week ahead. It gave time to the students to read and study well the content. Students took notes by screenshots or by using markers. These notes were useful for review during in-class activities.
• Before starting a new topic there was a short review of previous topics. In classroom activities, questions were based on the content of the video to make sure videos were watched before and understood very well. This motivated students to watch the videos before the class. The success of in-class activities improved their confidence also.
• After completing the review sheet students moved on to the difficult problems. The student moved through the curriculum at a higher pace than before. There was an increase in self-efficacy.
• The teacher could monitor the activities such as if the video is watched, how long video was watched, was it paused? Or replayed? This gave him who is watching, how much they are struggling. This provided data of the students who need extra support or scaffolding in the class for better understanding.
• There was dedicated time for Q&As during the class to make sure all concerns about the contents are answered.

Findings

There are two kinds of findings, findings from the teacher’s perspective and findings from the student perspective. These findings are based on three criteria- preparation, homework and lesson changes.

      In terms of preparation making videos was time-consuming and tiresome. Teachers had to think a lot about the contents of it. There were many technical difficulties that were resolved eventually but put a lot of pressure initially.

      The homework problem was due to the student’s attitude than the actual video. They had to watch the video as a part of the homework to be able to participate in in-class activities. Some students liked the video concept since they were able to pause and rewind the video to make sure proper understanding.

The teachers mentioned the disadvantage due to changed lesson plans was their inability to interact while teaching to gauge their understanding. Students also mentioned their inability to ask questions while watching the video. But it was taken care of in the form of dedicated Q& A time in class. The advantage of changed lesson plans was students started thinking in depth.

Summary

The insights from action research provide promising evidence of the potential of the flipped classroom model (FCM). Based on pieces of evidence in all four articles and the case study results flipped classroom model has many advantages over the traditional classroom. There are some challenges as well but there are ways to overcome them too. Now technology-based learning has a major role in education and that makes it easier to accommodate this new way of teaching and learning. An increasing number of flipped classrooms over the world tells that flipped learning is the future in education.

Glossary

FCM- Flipped classroom model

FCA- Flipped Classroom Approach

SDT- Self-determination theory

CLT- Cognitive load theory

References

1. Case Study-

Oakes, D., Davies, A., Joubert, M., & Lyakhova, S. (2018). Exploring teachers’ and students’ responses to the use of a Flipped Classroom teaching approach in mathematics. Proceedings of the British Society for Research into Learning Mathematics 38 (3) November 2018 Retrieved from https://bsrlm.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/BSRLM-CP-38-3-14.pdf

2. Lo, C.K., Hew, K.F. A critical review of flipped classroom challenges in K-12 education: possible solutions and recommendations for future research. RPTEL 12, 4 (2017) doi:10.1186/s41039-016-0044-2

Retrieved from https://telrp.springeropen.com/articles/10.1186/s41039-016-0044-2

3. Reiser, R.A. & Dempsey, J.V. (Eds.) (2017). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
4. Kadry, S., Hami, A. E. (2014). Flipped Classroom Model in Calculus II. Education 2014, 4(4): 103-107 DOI: 10.5923/j.edu.20140404.04

Retrieved from http://article.sapub.org/pdf/10.5923.j.edu.20140404.04.pdf

5. Lakmal, A., & Phillip, D. (2015) Motivation and cognitive load in the flipped classroom: definition, rationale and a call for research, Higher Education Research & Development, 34:1, 1-14, DOI: 10.1080/07294360.2014.934336

Retrieved from https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/07294360.2014.934336

6. Khatsa, M., Sergis, S., & Sampson, D. G. (2016) Investing the Potential of the Flipped Classroom Model in K-12 Mathematics Teaching and Learning. 210-218.

Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED571429.pdf