Are You Flipping Your Class?

Higher education has been under increasing pressure to adopt more flexible, active, effective, and student-centred teaching methods. The flipped learning technique is the ‘reverse classroom’ that combines classroom instruction with distant studying via asynchronous multimedia courses and digital engagement. This method emphasises student participation in classroom activities, rather than the instructor's involvement. In a flipped classroom, the educator or teacher serves as a facilitator rather than a faculty member, motivating, guiding, and providing feedback on the learners' performance. By flipping the classroom, learners don't have to spend as much time in the classroom listening to lengthy lectures and instead have more opportunities to solve issues on their own or in groups with their peers. Application of the flipped learning technique thus aids in a greater identification as to how new technology is used in the classroom throughout the teaching and learning process. 

Given learners' short attention spans, varied responses to involvement and contribution in-class activities, and a lack of enthusiasm for the subject matter, makes online pedagogy in the virtual classroom, a difficult topic to master. Academicians are experimenting with the flipped classroom approach to provide learners with a more effective and productive learning environment. 

The success of the adoption of the flipped classroom is dependent not only on the orientation of the faculty but also on the ownership of the student in his or her own learning. Professors have traditionally relied on passive learning approaches that were faculty-centric and delivered in lecture style, with the goal of disseminating information to learners. What is needed is an active learning strategy that is student-centred and operates on a collaborative model with the goal of content production as its primary aim. The flipping of the conventional classroom is based on this concept. Together with academic learning, experiential learning is an important component of the flipped classroom. A strong learning management system (LMS) makes it feasible to implement a flipped classroom. The conceptual learning is completed by the learners via the LMS, and in the classroom, they are provided with pedagogical tools to put that learning into practice – whether it is through a project, a case study, or a computer simulation. Figure 1 below illustrates the flipped classroom, indicating how a student needs to be well prepared before the commencement of the class.

Figure1: Flipped Classroom

Prepared by the author

Even though this sounds interesting, how many of the kids would be serious about coming prepared to class and participating in the classroom discussion? Given the fact that the majority of them are looking forward to an exciting time in college and campus life, therefore academics are not at the top of their priority list. Forget about the learners; will educators be able to orient and inspire the staff to use a flipped classroom model at their institutions? Furthermore, undergraduate learners have a different attitude toward education than post-graduate learners, which may be confusing. Additionally, a significant amount of work is needed on the side of the faculty in order to provide online material for the LMS. Last but not least, the LMS comes at a significant financial expense. Will educational institutions be able to afford such a large expenditure at a time when student recruitment seems to be on the wane? Will our institutions be able to reorganise our infrastructure in order to provide this kind of learning environment for our learners? It will be determined by the answers to these questions whether or not educators should go in the direction of flipped classrooms.

Over the years, there has been a lot of interest in the flipped methodology, especially at institutions of higher learning that emphasise more customised learning for learners. 

While the flipped classroom model is up for debate, one thing is certain, the educators of tomorrow must be ready to instruct in engaging methods of instruction. Educators must be intellectually, physically, and psychologically prepared for their classes in the future. The outmoded and existing teaching techniques must be discarded & abandoned. In reality, the level and quality of preparation each faculty member puts in for each class will determine the effectiveness of their session. The onus also lies on the institutions to train their educators and prepare them for the way forward. Learners must be put at the centre of the learning process, with the use of technology, and the outdated practice of rote learning and the conventional learning method must be replaced. Learners-centric learning approaches should be used to replace conventional learning methods. It is past time to reinvent the learning process & methodology and generate a sea of fresh new information. Institutions and educators must now re-evaluate their plans and prepare for the future. It is time for institutions and educators to rethink, plan, and prepare for the future. So, are you ready to flip your class?

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Authored by

Prof. Sona Vikas

Professor, Department of Management & Commerce,

The NorthCap University