A Beginner’s Guide to the Flipped Classroom

The flipped classroom is a blended learning model that “flips” traditional classroom activities and homework ideas. In this model, instructors have students interact with new material for homework first. Then, they use class time to discuss the latest information and put those ideas into practice.

But, to unlock all the benefits of flipped learning, teachers must go beyond just switching the order of homework and lecture. True flipped learning is about opening up class time and transforming it into hands-on, differentiated, and individualized learning experiences for students.

Here we provide an overview of the flipped classroom and what you need to know to incorporate it into your teaching and learning strategy effectively.

History of the Flipped Classroom

Although the flipped classroom is a popular pedagogical strategy, it is still relatively new compared to other educational methods.

The flipped classroom began in Colorado with two teachers, Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams, who realized how difficult it was to get materials to students who were out sick. In 2007, the two teachers began recording their lessons and lectures and turned them into videos. They began to use those videos in their classrooms and called it “pre-broadcasting.”

Jonathan and Aaron give credit to Maureen Lage, Glenn Platt, and Michael Treglia’s for theories in their paper on Inverting the Classroom published in 2000. In 2007, those concepts on creating an inclusive learning environment started to gain traction in Jonathan and Aaron’s flipped classroom.

Flipped Classroom vs. Flipped Learning: What’s the Difference?

A flipped classroom, sometimes referred to as an inverted classroom, is different from flipped learning. Authentic flipped learning turns classroom time into a more individualized experience. Instead of an instructor addressing all students as a group, learners move at their own pace or in small groups to apply their knowledge in hands-on ways, which allows for a more differentiated experience overall.

How Flipped Classrooms Compare to Other Instructional Approaches

According to a recent Global State of Digital Learning research study, the most frequently used instructional approaches are differentiated instruction (73.5%), blended learning (54.8%), and individualized learning (47.8%). While flipped learning, personalized learning, and gamification are prevalent in today’s educational conversations, this study demonstrates they aren’t practiced as much as other approaches. This trend makes a lot of sense—these approaches often require more time, planning, and resources than many others.

The Pros and Cons of a Flipped Classroom

At its best, a flipped classroom offers students greater control over their learning. Students are empowered to steer the class discussion and ask instructors for clarification—their needs guide class time. When conducting hands-on experiments and practicing new skills in class, students can have more autonomy in their learning process. They can also explore new concepts in their own way, at their own pace, in a controlled and supportive environment. These factors make flipped learning very effective since differentiation happens naturally, and students are engaged in their learning.

Another benefit of a flipped classroom is the flexibility it provides to educators. Educators don’t have to flip their entire class to benefit from this instructional approach. Instead, they can just flip a single lesson and see how it works out and use that experience to apply this approach when it’s most impactful.

On the other hand, there are potential drawbacks to flipped learning. This approach can heavily rely on technology, requiring students to access the internet. Although the pandemic has increased the number of school-provided devices, there is still a digital divide resulting in some students lacking easy access to technology.

The Four Pillars of F.L.I.P.

Planning lessons around the four pillars of flipped learning can help educators get the most out of this approach.

F: Flexible Learning Environment

Because this method doesn’t focus on the traditional lecture style, the static rows of student desks are no longer necessary, and teachers can prioritize more flexible arrangements. In an adaptable learning environment, educators can consider modular furniture or breakout rooms that allow for a variety of group and individual work. Similarly, the timing of lessons can also be flexible so students can fully explore and understand a topic at their own pace.

L: Learning Culture

Instead of more traditional teacher-centered learning, the flipped classroom changes the learning culture of the classroom with students at the center of the lesson. The students guide the pace and style of learning, and instructors play the role of the “guide on the side,” helping them through an experiment or practice set whenever they need assistance.

I: Intentional Content

The most impactful instructors that embrace the flipped learning model are always on the lookout for intentional, relevant content and ways to maximize classroom time so that students can meaningfully and effectively engage with the material. This approach requires identifying and prioritizing lesson content that works best in this model and figuring out what material is most engaging for students.

P: Professional Educator

In the flipped model, instructors consistently monitor students to identify who needs help with what. Compared to the traditional lecture style, the flipped classroom is a more active teaching style and will challenge educators to be more responsive and flexible. Although educators are less visible in a flipped classroom, this method still requires a deliberate and designed approach.

How to Flip Your Classroom

Building on the four pillars of a flipped classroom, here are five simple steps to use the flipped teaching model.

1. Determine Your Technology

Because flipped teaching relies on technology to create and share videos of lectures, choosing the technology that can best help you film, edit, and share your videos is a crucial first step. It’s also essential to select a hosting service and determine how your students will access all of your content. Additionally, you’ll need to track progress. A learning management system (LMS) can help you keep everything streamlined in one place as you launch your program.

2. Create Your Videos and Content

When it’s time to film, keep it short and sweet—you’ll be pleasantly surprised to learn that what used to take 15 minutes to cover in a lecture can usually fit into a five-minute video since classroom management isn’t a piece of the puzzle during this step. Here’s also where you can insert your personality and make the learning entertaining. If you need help getting the creative juices flowing, check out videos and other interactive content from quality open educational resource (OER) providers like CK-12 and MERLOT.

3. Be Transparent with Students and Families

Before you launch, it’s helpful to explain what flipped learning is and how it can benefit students and families. Making a significant change in your classroom culture can be difficult, so be prepared to address concerns and revisit the “how” and the “why” often.

4. Hold Your Students Accountable

The flipped learning model depends on student participation, so it’s necessary to implement a system that tracks and holds students accountable for watching videos and engaging with the material. One way to encourage student accountability is by using entry tickets, or short formative quizzes, at the beginning of a lesson. These can help you determine which students understood their homework and which students need more help. If you are using an LMS, you can get these results in real time and differentiate instruction accordingly.

5. Keep It Up

Lastly, find a schedule and system that works for you so that filming, lesson planning, and assessment all become routine and manageable. Leverage your system once it’s in place, so you can focus on your students instead of the nuts and bolts of developing your units.

 4 Tools for Flipped Classroom

There are many tools for the flipped classroom that help any educator incorporate this method into their instructional strategy, including:

• Khan Academy is a helpful resource for video lectures with over 3,000 videos covering K-12 subjects. Educators can also view how far a student has gotten in their lessons, giving them a better idea of what to expect when they get back in the physical classroom.
• Nearpod is a handy platform for teachers and students to engage with real-time interactive lessons, with options for gamification, activities, and more.
• Playposit is an interactive video tool that focuses on a seamless workflow, learner engagement, accessible authorship, and performance tracking. As mentioned on their website, interactive video is three times as effective as a standard video.
• BrainPOP is an animated educational site for students that can be used to help teach a variety of subjects with fun, entertaining animated movies.

Flipped Classroom Activities

Designing lessons that put students front and center is a significant paradigm shift for many instructors, so we’ve outlined creative and engaging flipped classroom activities to help you get started.

A Is for Assessment

The key to success in the flipped model is to make sure students come to class with the background information they need. In addition to making sure your homework materials are engaging enough to deliver the lesson content in an impactful way, plan to start class with a brief assessment to make sure everyone is ready. This assessment can be a single problem to solve individually, a smartphone or clicker survey, or a quick quiz that you review on the spot. If the class results suggest it’s necessary, you may need to do some re-teaching before moving on.

Question Generation

Give your students a chance to clear up confusion early in the lesson with an active question and answer session. Have students generate their own questions or collect the top five questions and vote for what they want to be answered. Then, go over the answer with the entire class and break students into groups to help each other fill in the gaps.

Fishbowl Practice

Have volunteers come to the front to solve a problem, engage in discussion, or perform a task while the rest of the class watches. Observers should take notes on the procedure, make suggestions for improvement, and discuss their comments. While this approach may not work best for every activity, it can be a great way to solve a math problem or work through sentence structure.

Role Play

A role play activity can let students get to the heart of an issue by representing different perspectives for more complex humanities topics. Educators can assign roles and have students debate or discuss their given point of view. To encourage deeper thinking, consider having the students switch roles halfway through the exercise to experience a new point of view.

Stay Active

Active learning is vital to keeping students engaged with new material during class time. Be sure to create plenty of space for moving around the room and working in pairs and groups. For inspiration, check out the University of Waterloo’s active learning activities and flipped classroom activities.

Flipping Your Classroom

If you’re considering flipping your classroom, there are many ways to get started. Keep in mind that you can build upon your flipped classroom strategy over time. With experimentation with different methods and ideas, you can the best-fit process that supports all students and provides an individualized learning experience.