Lesson 5 – How to Implement the Flipped Classroom
Effectively ‘flipping’ your classroom requires all students to have a much more active role to engage in classroom-based activities. Students also need to come to class prepared and with the same level of foundational concepts (Karanicolas et al., 2016). Therefore, upfront planning of the asynchronous learning materials and activities is crucial to the effectiveness of implementing flipped learning and promoting the participation of students. However, with this flip, students become the drivers of their learning and are more likely to engage in higher-order thinking and learning. Further, when pre-class activities have clear due dates and interactive checkpoints, students are more motivated to complete the asynchronous components (Karanicolas et al., 2016).
Step 1: Review Learning Outcomes
- Look back to the learning outcomes for the course and consider what smaller ‘stepping stones’ to reach the learning outcome might be. What will students be able to do and/or know by the end of the lesson?
Step 2: Plan Strategy and Implementation
- Consider what content can more easily be understood independently and what in-class activities would support deeper learning. Will students have flexibility in content (e.g., between different articles, video, or audio? Or between activities?)? What work will need to be completed before in-class activity? How will the expectations be communicated with students?
Step 3: Develop Content and Activities
- Create or curate content as needed. Pre-class content should be short, interactive, and focused on foundational concepts. This may be online videos or podcasts, infographics, a narrated presentation, or interactive H5P activities within Brightspace.
- Clarify the connections between the asynchronous content and the in-class activities.
Step 4: Teach the Class
- Summarize and review key concepts from asynchronous content.
- Organize and facilitate in-class learning activities that move students through higher-order thinking skills, utilizing peer-to-peer and student-to-teacher engagement.
- Clarify any remaining concepts and make connection to later asynchronous learning or assessments.
Step 5: Reflect and Evaluate
- Assess student learning both in-class and online. Ensure there is a strong connection between online content and in-class activities and that they are both represented within formative assessments and summative evaluations.
- Invite student feedback throughout and make responsive and relevant changes.
- Reflect the success of your flipped classroom: What is working well? What is the level of participation? Are all students engaged? What improvements can be made? How will you change your approach for the next time?