Frequently asked questions
What if my students refuse to engage outside of class?
Flipping won’t change student attitudes overnight. You can however, make the answering of online questions (on time!), or a journal of notes a percentage of the final grade. There’s also the “That’s fine, you catch up on the videos while we build rockets!” approach. It’s also up to you not to re-teach concepts in class, or they’ll never do the homework.
Flipped classrooms have been shown to work at university level – do they actually work in high school?
Yes[4]. The strategies to drive engagement are likely to be different for different cohorts, but flipped classrooms benefit high school students. The term actually originated in secondary schools.
What if my students don’t like it, or think that it’s just an excuse to teach less?
It is important to bring your students along for the ride, and explain to them the benefits of a flipped classroom approach. Ultimately, a flipped classroom results in more time spent helping students, as well as easier, persistent access to the content. Discussing the research into flipped classroom at the beginning of the semester, and how it allows the teacher to be more involved in the education, can help to allay the fears of students. Some students are actively critical of ‘having to think in class’, but it is not hard to explain or demonstrate why this is an important part of education.
Am I on my own?
No. The meriSTEM team is here to support you in setting up your online course and implementing your flipped classroom. meriSTEM is building a community of practice among flipping teachers to discuss pedagogy and share strategies
[4] Stylianos Sergis, Demetrios G. Sampson, Lina Pelliccione, 2018. Investigating the impact of Flipped Classroom on students’ learning experiences: A Self-Determination Theory approach. Computers in Human Behavior, Vol. 78, pp.368-378
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