Active Learning In Virtual Environment/Flipped Classroom

Activity: #offline/long-term, #group-work, #needs-preparation

Outline

This method activates students learning both at home and in class. In this blended learning approach, face-to-face interaction is mixed with independent study usually via technology. In a common Flipped Classroom scenario, students might watch pre-recorded videos at home, then come to school to do the homework armed with questions and at least some background knowledge. The point of flipped classroom is to rethink when students have access to the resources they need most. If the problem is that students need help doing the work rather than being introduced to the new thinking behind the work, then the solution the flipped classroom takes is to reverse that pattern.

Flipped Classroom Illustration

Activity arrangement

• Discuss the topic briefly in class before giving the assignment.
• Divide the class into groups and assign which part of for example the phenomenon the group should cover.
• Then give the students the instructions that they need to find out at home what are the key points or main topics which are related to the topic briefly discussed.
• Tell the students that they need to be able to present the findings of their home assignment.
• During the flipped classroom and the students presenting be ready to provide feedback and pay attention to what the students might have missed.

Pointers

• Create flexible spaces in which students choose when and where they learn.
• Educators who flip their classes are flexible in their expectations of student timelines for learning and in their assessments of student learning
• In the traditional teacher-centered model, the teacher is the primary source of information.
• The students determine what they need to teach and what materials students should explore on their own.
• Educators use Intentional Content to maximize classroom time in order to adopt methods of student-centered, active learning strategies, depending on grade level and subject matter

How to use this method in online class?

This method is pretty easy to interpret in online class. Give the instructions on what needs to be done for the next class and assign the groups in Zoom for example. Then be ready to provide feedback to the groups as well as cover or elaborate more on matters that might not be covered. The basic idea is that the students are the teachers and they do the teaching and this can be done easily in Zoom.