How to avoid 4 Flipped Classroom Mistakes

How to avoid 4 Flipped Classroom Mistakes

By making the lecture homework and the practice classwork, students benefit from peer collaboration and learn more actively. Not only does this make class more fun and save you from vocal strain during the day, but it’s effective! Ready to jump right into the world of flipped classrooms? Awesome–here’s what to avoid so that you can flip your classroom like an expert:

 

1. Videotaping your live lecture – If it works in the classroom why wouldn’t it work on video? Two reasons: [1] Lectures aren’t very effective to begin with. Turns out passive learners tend to tune out a lot of information or simply get distracted. In fact, most students have trouble paying attention for more than 18 minutes. [2] Students have a lot more opportunities to get distracted at home and long videos don’t hold eyeballs.

Instead: Break each lecture into several 5-10 minute mini-lectures. This means quickly reviewing where you left off in a second or two and summarizing content at the end. This also means you can break up videos into individual concepts that students can easily review when they need.

 

2. Leaving class time unstructured – Just because class time means work time for students in a flipped classroom does not mean your role should be to sit back and wait for questions. This is essentially like out-of-class group work, but easier for your students to coordinate.

Instead: Structure some class time for guided discussions and some class time for work. This will give students a chance to review material with probing questions before application.

 

3. Improperly using technology – It’s tempting to use technology lightly. After all, you probably got through lectures before with only an overhead projector and email. While technology can make the classroom more interactive. Relying on these technologies make learning passive.

Instead: Incorporate a classroom communication system like nClass, to give students control of their classroom discussion. With nClass, you can project questions to each student and all can instantly and quietly respond with what they know. They can also electronically raise their hand and send real-time reports about their comprehension. Tools like this make flipped classroom discussions run smoothly.

 

4. Not holding students accountable for out-of-class preparation – The success of a flipped classroom depends on student preparation. Unfortunately, if not enough students prepare before class, the quality of class discussion and group work will decrease.

Instead: Give students a short quiz on the material before class. With nClass, you can send students questions in a variety of formats to each student’s smart phone. This allows for quick, efficient testing that both holds students accountable and avoids wasting class time.