Flipped

The dawn of 21st century conveys a revolutionary innovation in the landscape of

educational system. The emphasis on career and lifelong learning and on information and
communication skills are among the evolution of this improvement. Due to this, technology
integration and student-centered instruction becomes a norm in the 21st century.

One of the new innovations in teaching is the flipped classroom approach. The ‘flipped
classroom’ is a teaching methodology in which homework tasks are normally where students learn
new material, which is then followed up with practice in the next lesson. It is to be contrasted with
a ‘traditional classroom’ in which students learn new material in lessons and then practice it for
homework.

The flipped classroom is also known as a student-centered approach to learning where the
students are more active than the teacher in the classroom activity. In this case, the teacher acts as
a facilitator to motivate, guide, and give feedback on students' performance (Sams and Bergmann,
2012). Hence, by applying the flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning activities, the
teacher can move the traditional lecturer's talk to video and the students can listen to the lectures
anywhere outside of class.

Many ‘traditional’ teachers likely set home works every once in a while that could be
depicted as ‘flipped’. The difference in practice is that a ‘flipped’ classroom utilizes this type of
homework every now and again, and the technique of conveying new material for homework is
often via online video. To give a concrete example, a ‘traditional lesson’ about motion in one
dimension in Physics might involve the teacher doing some demonstrations, and the students
making some notes and doing some example questions. They might then be set a homework to
complete some more questions about motion in one dimension from their textbook. The teacher
would mark the homework and at that point go over basic issues in the accompanying lesson.

A ‘flipped’ approach might be to set a homework in which students watch an online video
and use their textbooks to make notes about motion in one dimension they have not learned
anything about the topic yet, and are learning new material for their homework. In the video lesson,
the teacher may check students’ understanding, do some demonstrations, then set some questions
to be done in class. The teacher checks students’ progress through the questions, and feedback is
given when necessary. At the end of the process, students from both classes will have made notes
on the motion in one dimension, seen some demonstrations, practiced some questions, and
received feedback on their work from their teacher. However, the two approaches are clearly very
diverse from one another. The ‘flipped’ approach is more student-centered than the other.

Expectations of the outcomes of education in the 21st century increasingly focus on higher order
thinking of synthesis, analysis and evaluation.
(https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1871187113000503)
Yet school science education is still dominated by lower level cognitive demands - in particular
recall. The argument made is that the failure to transform science education for the needs of the
21st century is a consequence of a lack of a good model of scientific reasoning and a body of
expertise about how to assess such higher order cognitive competencies. The problem is made
even more acute because the nature of science has changed. Rather than dealing with simple
systems, increasingly science is dealing with complex issues such as interrelated physical and
biological changes in the environment. Science has moved over the last 100 years from being a
method that yields certainty and exactitude to a process by which complex systems are studied and
modeled and knowledge is expressed in terms of increased probability and reduced uncertainty,
but never in terms of absolutes.
The learning of science is also important for the nation’s cultural development and
preservation of its cultural identity. Science is most useful to a nation when it is utilized to solve
its own problems and challenges, keeping a nation's cultural uniqueness and peculiarities intact.
Thus in many countries, science teaching and learning is linked with culture.
On the other hand, the nature and types of the learners also changed. The emergence of millennial
gives new outlooks to the educators in designing different pedagogical approach in teaching and
learning process. Learners of today are more involved in digital world, this includes social media
sites, online resources, simulations and other e-learning resources. The use of internet becomes a
new avenue for the 21st century learners to gained information and to learn and re-learn concepts
in school.
Rapid changes in the world, including technological advancement, scientific innovation,
increased globalization, shifting workforce demands, and pressures of economic competitiveness,
are redefining the broad skill sets that students need to be adequately prepared to participate in and
contribute to today’s society (Levy,2010). The National Science Teacher Association (NSTA)
stated that there is a need for and importance of 21st-century skills within the context of science
education and advocates for the science education community.
Science education reform focuses on fostering deep content knowledge through active
intellectual engagement and emulating disciplinary practices and thinking, and 21st-century skills
focus on developing broadly applicable capacities, habits of mind, and preparing knowledge
workers for a new economy (Hilton and NRC, 2010). Exemplary science education can offer a
rich context for developing many 21st-century skills, such as critical thinking, problem solving,
and information literacy especially when instruction addresses the nature of science and promotes
use of science practices. These skills not only contribute to the development of a well-prepared
workforce of the future but also give individuals life skills that help them succeed. Through quality
science education, we can support and advance relevant 21st-century skills, while enhancing
science practice through infusion of these skills. It is essential; however, that quality science
education is not diminished in support of 21st-century skills.

This section discusses the conceptual framework of the flipped classroom. Though there
is no clear-cut definition or framework established, the following principles provide a solid
foundation and purpose for implementing a flipped classroom: classrooms should be a learner
centered environment, the use and description of assistive technology that helps teachers create
their teaching videos for their flipped classrooms, four pillars of implementing an effective flipped
classroom, and purpose and benefits of inverting Bloom’s taxonomy in a flipped classroom.
 The flipped classroom does not have a specific conceptual framework that is followed by
educators. Just as there are no two traditional classrooms alike, such is the case with flipped
classrooms (Hamdan et al., 2013). In a flipped classroom, instructors incorporate a variety of
activity-based elements to their course work so that classrooms become engaging, learner centered
environments. Another purpose of the flipped classroom is to turn passive students into
participatory learners (Fink, 2003; Weimer, 2002). The flipped classroom supports a change from
traditional teacher-centered to learner-centered instruction.

In a traditional classroom, the teacher’s role is to be the sage on the stage and the two
lowest taxonomies, remembering and understanding of content is passed to the student through the
teacher’s delivery method, which in most part is through lecture. The teacher lectures and provides
the students with the lowest levels of Bloom’s taxonomy, remembering and understanding, and
then assigns homework outside the classroom where students are left on their own to complete the
tasks. Bergmann and Sams (2012) point out that many students forget what the teacher has said
during the lecture. When students return home to complete the tasks assigned by the teacher they
become frustrated due to a number of reasons such as forgetting what the teacher had said in class
and not having the ability to seek assistance from the teacher or peers. This then leads students to
stop thinking about the assignment and not completing it (Bergmann, 2013).

A flipped classroom is a learner-centered learning environment focusing on the students’

experience of learning and not on the delivery of instruction in the classroom. In a traditional
classroom where the teacher is the direct source of information and the sage on the stage, the
flipped classroom of instruction promotes growth and development of learning (Jarvis, 2010).
The instructor’s role converts to guide on the side and transitions students away from being
inactive recipients of static knowledge to engaging participants that discover and understand
learning objectives on their own (Brown, 2012).

In general, flipping the classroom means students are exposed to new material outside of
the classroom, via reading or lecture and demonstration videos (Brame, 2013). The use of
technologies has made it possible to share learning materials when not in the classroom (Baker,
2000). The flipped classroom model “provides students with more control over their learning,”
and “gives students a greater sense of their own responsibility for their learning” (Baker, 2000).
The flipped classroom will “Provide students with more opportunities to learn from other peers”
(Baker, 2000).

Weimer (2002) describes five points to address when transitioning to a learner-centered

pedagogy. What might be considered the most challenging for educators is the need to first transfer
the balance of power from the traditional role (Weimer, 2002). The educator in a traditional role
is considered the authority figure that possesses all knowledge. This knowledge of power must be
shared with students so that they may contribute to learning course activities, policies, and content.
Second, the role of the teacher changes as well (Weimer, 2002). Teachers are no longer the sage
on the stage, but become facilitators and the guide on the side that contributes to the learning
process of students (Weimer, 2002). Educators no longer lead discussion and provide the
solutions, but plan more on designing learning activities that engage students through an
interactive learning process (Brown, 2012). Third, students in a flipped classroom must take
responsibility for their learning (Weimer, 2002). This is an adjustment period for some students
because they have relied so heavily on their teachers and their teacher centered approach to
instruction (Brown, 2012). A learner-centered instruction allows students to develop the skills of
self-directed learning, which is a life-long benefit (Brown, 2012). Fourth, the content must change
when transitioning to a learner-centered environment (Weimer, 2002).

In a traditional classroom or teacher-directed learning environment, the primary goal of

learning is the content. The undertaking of transitioning to this learner-centered environment is
that the task reallocates the content knowledge as support for the application, practice, and skill
development (Brown, 2012). Weimer (2002) pointed to an important synergy of understanding
content and applying that content to lifelong learning skills. These lifelong learning skills are then
practiced and applied in other learning disciplines. Fink (2003) proposed that teachers “make
better use of out-of-class time” by having the students investigate the preliminary knowledge on
their own (Fink, 2003, p. 167). The last point Weimer (2002) makes in transitioning to a learner-
centered environment is the purpose and process of evaluation. Instead of the typical testing after
each unit and completing daily homework, there must be a shift in constructing the evaluation part
of the learning process, integrating self and peer assessment, and providing a greater amount of
instant feedback from the teachers (Weimer, 2002).

The use of digital video technology has brought about a profound change to some
educators’ instructional practices and these technological tools have encouraged educators to take
a different approach to their pedagogy (Quillen, 2013). Educators are taking to the Web like never
before to locate teaching videos they consider appropriate to complement their instruction, which
has led directly to the “flipped classroom” movement in education (Quillen, 2013).

An example of technology used in higher education is the learning management system

(LMS), which provides private online space for classes. Instructors not only supplement, but also
complement the classroom experience with learning experiences that take place in students’
homes, dorms, libraries, and anywhere students have access to the Internet (Lage et al., 2000).
These learning technologies are an essential component of the flipped classroom.

To begin flipping a classroom, teachers record and narrate screencasts of their lessons on
their computer desktops, create videos of them teaching, or curate video lessons from Internet sites
such as TED-Ed and Khan Academy (Hamdan et al., 2013). The making of a screencast begins
with having the appropriate equipment. The following equipment is needed to create a screencast:
screencasting software, such as Camtasia Studio, a high-quality microphone, pen annotation (a
must for math teachers and science teachers), a webcam, and recording software that has a picture-
in-picture feature that captures a webcam shot of the teacher while recording, and a video camera
so that short clips can be added to the screencast (Sams & Bergmann, 2013).

Once the equipment is in place the teacher then plans a lesson and uses any material that is
available, such as a PowerPoint presentation. The teacher records the video by sitting at their
computer or standing at an interactive board teaching the lesson to an absent class. Next, a teacher
would edit their video and correct any mistakes or enhance the video by rerecording and adding
any videos to the screencast. Finally, the instructor would publish the video online using a hosting
site such as Moodle or Blackboard, or on internal district servers, or even burn on DVD’s (Sams
& Bergmann, 2013).
The application of the 21st century skills is one of the tenets