Those Flippin' Guidelines

Well folks, I had planned on researching different video platforms that hosted lots of pre-recorded videos available to teachers, as well as recording software that could be used in creating videos, but alas, vacation happened.  Instead, I poured over four more articles looking for tidbits of information that might help me implement flipped classroom.  (Although, I can’t find one that explains how to do it in a COVID environment!)

I came across an informative paper that was trying to synthesize 15 other journal publications regarding FC.  The paper discusses the trouble in truly analyzing the numbers, especially for elementary classrooms, as there just aren’t many studies that have been done on that level.  I can appreciate the way the researchers hunted down information though.  (Peer-reviewed journals only, written in English, January 1994-September 2016, empirical research reporting, must satisfy a particular definition) Its overall findings suggest that there is a neutral or positive impact on student achievement when compared to traditional classrooms, but mixed results about student attitude toward FC.  The most important information I gleaned from the article regarded 10 guidelines to address challenges that kept popping up in these 15 other journal publications.  These guidelines are very much worth consideration before attempting the FC.

Guideline 1: Opening Up Teacher-Student Communication Before Flipping – teachers have to have discussions with students in advance of implementation so that students understand the reasoning behind the method and the role that they as students would play

Guideline 2: Demonstrating to Students How to Learn Through FC – teachers have to make sure to have demonstrational practice session about HOW to interact with the at home material to work “productively and maximize the benefits of this new learning model”.  Suggestions included viewing/working through videos together in class, incorporating note-taking strategies, etc.  Attention should also be paid to the in-class activities that will serve as more “making meaning” opportunities

Guideline 3: Using Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning to Guide Video Production – there were 12 design principles encapsulated here suggesting that teachers keep videos short (6 min), use a conversational style of talking, and highlighting essential materials.

Guideline 4: Retaining the Workload When Flipping a Course – keep the out-of-class time similar to the pre-FC time spent at home doing work, that is, make sure that just because you flip your classroom, that doesn’t mean to increase the amount of time needed at home to do work

Guideline 5: Providing Students with Communication Platforms Outside of the Classroom --  teachers need to create a forum for question asking since watching videos, etc at home does not intuitively provide that ability

Guideline 6:   Enriching Teachers’ Knowledge of FC Approach – schools that have teachers attempting FC need to provide support and collegial feedback in addition to technology support

Guideline 7:  Preparing Flipped Learning Materials Progressively – because this process can be so daunting, the suggestion is to take things slowly and to catalogue resources as you go so they can be reused; collaboration could be done thoughtfully

Guideline 8:  Supporting the Students who are Limited by Technology Resources – teachers need to consider the access that ALL of their students have and try to create unique opportunities if necessary to make the technology need available; flash drives and DVD’s we also suggested, but I find that out of date and TOO time consuming…some other alternative seems more manageable

Guideline 9:  Using LMS with Gamification to Monitor and Motivate Student Learning – in trying to address the idea that it is hard to prove students had actually watched the videos, etc, the authors suggest using follow-up quizzes.  To do this, they suggest a LMS to monitor and record the data.  Gamification was suggested as a way to motivate students, but little was offered in how to make that happen.

Guideline 10:  Providing Institutional Supports of Operating Flipped Classroom – IT staff may be needed and thus schools need to be willing to throw some extra manpower that direction; help from schedule coordinators could be used to create times for collaborative work for video production of teams or for a time to share/group students with similar abilities/understanding of materials.

Upon retrospection, I think that guidelines 1,2, and 5 will be the most difficult for me, but I look forward to thinking about how to properly put these guidelines into place as I see the value in addressing them.  What about you?  What guidelines do you feel you are most prepared to face?  The least?  What ideas do you have for combating these concerns?  I’d love to hear your flippin’ awesome ideas.

Article Used:

Lo, Chung Kwan, and Khe Foon Hew. “A Critical Review of Flipped Classroom Challenges in K-12 Education: Possible Solutions and Recommendations for Future Research.” Research and Practice in Technology Enhanced Learning, vol. 12, no. 1, 2017, doi:10.1186/s41039-016-0044-2.