So, I know a flipped classroom is not a new idea and I know that the New York Times Learning Network is nothing new, but yeah…I’m a little slow to the party and I’ve just discovered both in a serious way today.
A flipped classroom basically is “An “inverted” teaching structure in which instructional content is delivered outside class, and engagement with the content – skill development and practice, projects and the like – is done in class, under teacher guidance and in collaboration with peers.” (Quoted from Five Ways to Flip Your Classroom With The New York Times)
I think it’s kind of genius and I know the Dean I work under is kind of in love with the idea too. In a ground classroom lectures can get a bit dry and students can be a bit prone to zoning out. In a distance ed classroom, the temptation is to get way way more distracted by all the other digital noise going on thus the temptation to zone out factor is incrementally higher. But…if you flip the classroom and you give students the power and initiative to learn it and then come to you for personalized application and trial and error….indeed, that sounds like a great deal for everyone.