the short answer: no
Robert Talbot, PhD, author of Flipped Learning, A guide for higher Education Faculty, says that flipped learning is
"a pedagogical approach in which first contact with new concepts moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space in the form of a structured activity, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter. "
by this definition alone, it's clear that the learning that happens ahead of time does not have to be a video. The author asserts that the misconception that flipped classrooms are intricately tied to videos has to do with the popularity , but also misunderstanding of the book, Flip Your Classroom, Reach every student every day, by Aaron Sams and Jonathan Bergmann. This is the book on which most of my blog posts have been based, and is an excellent resource for flipped classrooms. Both of the authors primarily used videos in their flipped classrooms but nowhere in the book did they say that videos HAD to be used. Another reason for the general educator's confusion on this issue lies with the Khan Academy. This is a very well known method for teaching Math- utilizing videos to front load the information.
So, what are the alternatives?
1. Text + Structured Activity- Some students learn better by reading either online or in paper form. The key here is to add a structured activity, rather than just assigning reading and telling students to come ready to discuss.
2. Audio + Structured Activity- this could be a podcast or some other form of audio.
3. Text + social annotation + structured Activity- this is reading with notes and social interaction
4. Games + structured activity- some students learn best through games and it can spark their curiousity.
5. Simulations + structured Activity- this allows students to play around with interactive models that will pique their interest later.
So, clearly flipped classrooms do not have to be videos. I still have a lot to learn and try to implement this school year.
Let me know what you think in the comments!
Resource:
http://rtalbert.org/flipped-learning-without-video/
I love this post. I am not the most creative person and I am guilty of simply thinking that videos are the way to implement a flipped classroom. I love the idea of using games and also text with a social interaction. Your post has sparked some ideas for me.
ReplyDeleteThank you, thank you, thank you for this post. I love seeing the other possible ideas besides videos to be able to use flipped classroom.
ReplyDeleteKim, I wanted to let you know ( I think I may have mentioned it in an earlier comment) I was really looking foreword to reading your blog throughout the summer and learning about flipped classroom. I was a huge skeptic of it at the beggining of the summer. While I don't know how much I will implement it next year, but you have convinced me to at least try it for one unit to see how it feels. I think it's going to be a Science Unit. Since we have a hard time finding the time to teach it in 4th grade. Using flipped classroom would let me spend a little less time front loading information in the class and more time to practice the learning through their experiments. :)
Kim: I have been following Jen Q's Blog on Blended Learning and after reading your posts, I can see that both Flipped Learning and Blended Learning share a lot of the same characteristics. I like that both you and Jen shared that the "front-loaded" learning that students do doesn't always have to be in the form of a video. I'm actually amazed at how many other options there are for providing the content, which can appeal to all students' different learning styles. Great Blog!!
ReplyDeleteThis is great! I too was under the impression that the only way to flip you classroom was through videos, but you have definitely provided lots of other ways. I have wanted to try flipping my classroom since I first heard about it and I will admit I thought it was daunting to create or find all those videos to really flip my room, but know I see others way some of which I already do, which makes me feel like flipping my room can actually be a possibility. Are you planning on flipping your classroom this year?
ReplyDeleteHi everyone! Thanks for the comments. I think I will definitely try to implement flipped classroom this year. I may not do it all year... like Nick, I'm still a bit skeptical but I'd like to at least try it out. Since I teach in a private school and this is only my second year there, I am still learning about how much students are allowed access to their technology at home. I appreciate you all reading and providing feedback.
ReplyDeleteI've done flipped learning in both Social Studies and Science the last two years and haven't made videos for either. For Social Studies, their homework always involved the textbooks for background building so we could do our Document Based Questions (required by my advanced academics curriculum) in class as they involve much deeper thought and guidance. In Science I used jason.org (also part of my advanced academics curriculum) to build background knowledge so we could focus on experiments in class. For SS, I had accountability with notes that got turned in and with Science I had short answer assignments although this year I'm looking to change both of those.
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