Flipped Classrooms 101: A Beginner’s Guide

Maybe you’ve encountered these scenarios before — you have some students ready to work ahead so they start multitasking on their device, waiting for the lesson to move on. Or, maybe you notice a student frantically scribbling notes, trying to keep up with the information you’re giving. Or, maybe you have students who are absent, and you struggle with getting them caught up on all of the lectures they missed. 

These are just a few of the reasons why I started flipping my classroom. Unfortunately, I’m not fully where I want to be yet in terms of being all-in flipped, but I have been making strategic moves towards moving towards a flipped learning model, and I wanted to answer some questions about flipped learning to help you learn more about the process.

What is a flipped classroom?

A flipped classroom reverses the traditional teaching model. Instead of a teacher delivering the content through a lesson at the front of the classroom, instruction happens through videos and online modules. Students can watch those videos at their own pace and at their own time. In class, students can apply that knowledge and work on assignments with the teacher present to help them.

What are the advantages of a flipped classroom?

1. A flipped classroom allows students to work at their own pace. Students can rewatch parts of your videos, if needed. Flipping the learning brings more voice and choice into your classroom, with students choosing where and when to watch the instructional content. Maybe they watch at home the evening prior to class or in the morning, during study hall — they choose when they want to cover the background content.
2. Front loading students with instruction opens up more time for you to work with individual students during the class period. Imagine starting class by jumping right into hands-on practice. Flipped learning opens up more time for the teacher to help students on their assignments. Instead of sending students home with work to complete with no expert nearby, teachers can be close when students complete their activities.
3. If students are absent, they can catch up more easily with a flipped classroom. A quick review lecture after a student absence rarely lives up to the original lecture given in class. Flipped learning means that students who are absent can watch the missed content at its highest quality, and it also cuts down on the amount of work teachers spend trying to reexplain lectures after student absences. This doesn’t mean teachers will never re-explain concepts, but having a flipped classroom eases some of the challenges — for both teachers and students.

What are the challenges of flipping my classroom?

1. Time. Let me say that again: Time. Time. Time. Time. Sorry, I can’t stress this enough. It’s the problem I face as I move towards flipping content in my classroom. I can envision the shift, and I believe whole-heartedly in the shift to flipped learning — BUT, I struggle to time to execute my ideas.
2. Students may not watch the videos outside of class. This is discussed more in-depth below, but this is a real challenge. Students may simply forget or they might strategically avoid. Or, students may not have internet or computer access outside of the classroom. Whatever the reason, this could be a major challenge for a flipped classroom initiative.
3. You might face a technology learning curve. This might overwhelm some teachers at first — BUT, once you learn a few basic screen recording and video creation tools, you will have all you need for flipping your classroom.

What technology tools will I need to flip my classroom?

1. You will need a learning management platform like GoogleClassroom, Canvas, etc.
2. A screen recording program will help you capture and record slideshows or online demonstrations.
3. Your computer’s in-device microphone suffice for sound; however, if you would like to purchase a USB mic, you could do that as well.
4. A video capture device — your computer webcam or document camera should work for this.

What happens if students don’t watch my flipped classroom video?

You may run into problems with students not watching the flipped classroom video as homework. This can happen for a variety of reasons — ranging from “I don’t do homework outside of school” to “My family doesn’t have internet access.” Whatever the reason, this is a concern most teachers have about a flipped classroom. You ultimately know your students best, and if you are worried about this, you can have a back-up plan in place. You can devote the beginning of class to have students watch the video lecture on their own devices.

This still differs from a traditional “sage on the stage” lecture as you will have students finishing the lecture at different places. Watching the video at the beginning of class still allows for students to stop and replay parts of the video that don’t make sense.

If you want students to watch at home, you could also try having students come in and answer a short bell-ringer quiz on the content to add a level of accountability or incentive to watch.

Ultimately, your students may choose to watch the video on their own time because that means more time to work with you in class and get help.

Where should I begin if I want to try flipping my classroom?

1. Identify one lesson that you could “flip”
2. Record a video (either a screen record or an actual video with you instructing)
3. Plan an activity to accompany this lesson
4. Upload the video and activity instructions to your learning management program (Google Classroom, etc.)
5. Guide students through the video viewing process and activity
6. Repeat

What types of activities should I use with a flipped classroom?

Flipping your classroom opens up valuable classroom time for more hands-on activities to practice the material. You can do the traditional assignments, of course, but also consider adding some project-based learning. In a non-flipped classroom, a teacher might design homework assignments to be completed individually and/or with minimal teacher guidance (which doesn’t always work), but with a flipped classroom — with a teacher present to guide the hands-on practice — teachers have the potential to add more outside-the-box activities to engage students with the material.

I’d love to hear how flipped learning has worked or not worked for you! Comment below!