The three quarters flip with twist

Errietta BissaSchool of Classics

University of Wales Trinity Saint Davide.bissa@tsd.ac.uk

A workshop on Flipping the ClassroomHEA Arts and Humanities conference 2014

Thank you for coming

What’s the point?

• Discuss and exchange ideas on “flipping” – Whether you like to experiment, or not.

• Explore different possibilities and solutions on flipping

• Case Study: An experiment in flipping to introduce other pedagogies: student participation and student-led assessment.

What is flipping?• Flipped learning is a

pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter.

Flipped Learning Network Definition, 13/03/14

At home

In Class

Flipping the classroomFlipping the classroomFlipping the classroom

YEA? NAY?

Or maybe somewhere in between?

STARTING OFF....

INTO CHAOS!

FLIP

“The concept of the "flipped classroom" has become the education world's darling within the past few years.”

USA Today, 05/12/13

NAYYEA

“The flipped classroom is an easy model to get wrong. Although the idea is straightforward, an effective flip requires careful preparation. Recording lectures requires effort and time on the part of faculty…

Students, for their part, have been known to complain about the loss of face-to-face lectures, particularly if they feel the assigned video

lectures are available to anyone online.”EDUCAUSE 7 Things You Should Know About Flipped Classrooms, February 2012

NAY

“[the] use of deliberate practice teaching strategies can improve both learning and engagement in a large introductory physics course as compared with what was obtained with the lecture method.”DesLauriers L, Schelew E, and Wieman C (2011). Improved learning in a large-enrollment physics class. Science 332: 864 YEA

“Although it is difficult to appeal to the learning styles of every student in the classroom, the inverted classroom implements a strategy of teaching that engages a wide spectrum of learners… Evidence suggests that students generally preferred the inverted classroom to a traditional lecture and would prefer to take future economics classes using the same format.”Lage M J, Platt G J and Treglia M (2000) Inverting the Classroom: A Gateway to Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment. JEE 31:41 YEA

“Still others railed that the model is nothing transformative at all and that it still emphasizes sage-on-the-stage direct instruction rather than student-

centered learning. ”Hertz M B (2012) The Flipped Classroom: Pro and Con. Edutopia blog post

NAY

Flipping the classroomFlipping the classroomFlipping the classroom

YEA? NAY?

Or maybe somewhere in between?

MODELS AND APPROACHES

Techy or not?

• “We restrict this definition to exclude designs that do not employ videos as an outside of the classroom activity. While a broad conception of the flipped classroom may be useful, definitions that become too broad suggest that assigning reading outside of class and having discussions in class constitutes the flipped classroom. We reject these definitions.”

• Bishop J L and Verleger M A (2013) The Flipped Classroom: A Survey of the Research. 120th ASEE Annual Conference and Exposition

Is it only for the sciences?• “We moved lectures out of the classroom. We tape them in advance

and post them on a website. Students watch lectures before coming to class. Frequent low-stakes quizzes motivate students to keep pace and watch the videos.

• Classroom contact hours are for coached activities, discussions, and student presentations.

• Students are incentivized, but not required, to work in groups on all types of homework. Students write examinations on their own, but most students prepare for exams in teams.

• We draw exam questions from a published pool, handed out as a study guide. Students prepare for exams by writing answers to the study guide questions. Because students have had plenty of open-book preparation time and opportunity for peer-review, we can require more carefully considered, better written answers.”

Kaner C and Fiedler R L (2005) Inside Out: A computer Science Course Gets a Makeover. Association for Educational Communication and Technology International Conference

Half-flip?

• “Motivated by other recent work, we developed, implemented, and began assessment of an Inverted Classroom model for Engineering Statics at UPRM. The model consists of (1) a set of pre-Lecture Modules and Exercises, delivered online; (2) a Lecture that responds to the students' experience in the pre-Lecture activities, and (3) a Problem-Solving Session after each Lecture. Assessment results from a student survey and an administration of the Concept Assessment Tool for Statics (CATS) were generally positive. ”

• Papadopoulos C, Santiago-Roman A and Portela G (2010) Work in progress — Developing and implementing an Inverted Classroom for Engineering Statics. Frontiers in Education Conference (FIE), 2010 IEEE

Flipping the classroomIs it worth it?

Dangers?

Possibilities?

The three quarters flip with twist

Or an experiment in using flipping to facilitate student participation and student-led assessment

The module and the problem

Module information • Armies and Navies: Studies

in Ancient Warfare• 3rd year Ancient History –

compulsory for part of the cohort, optional for the rest

• Class size: 50-90• Generally a popular module

due to subject and student profile

The Problem• Lack of engagement with

parts of the module• Little critical engagement

with the issues outside of assessment

• Little reading for and after lectures

• Lack of participation in set seminars

• Falling attendanceTeaching 2008-2011 (4 years): 25 Lectures + 1

practical session, 4 seminars with set reading, Set essay + exam

The Experiment• 2012– 25 lectures + 1 practical

session– 2 seminars with specific

reading + 2 student-led seminars

– Set essay + student-led presentation

Some participation and engagement in seminars

Little critical engagement in lectures

Attendance issuesLack of confidence in

student-led presentation

20138 lectures + 17 flipped sessions + 1 practical session

4 student-led seminarsStudent-led essay and presentation

What’s what• Flipped sessions: Some with short videos, some with

“Moodle book” presentation – depends on the type of information. In class: group discussion, class debate, working with material in groups.

• Student-led seminars: General topic set by instructor; members of the group present on specific topic of their own choice; feedback on presentation style given immediately (preparation for assessed presentation at end of semester).

• Student-led assessment: Instructor sets type of assessment (eg oral presentation). Each student chooses their own specific topic in consultation with lecturer (consultation via Moodle forum and 1-1 meetings).

Module results

I and IIa IIb and III F0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

44.83 45.98

9.2

41.07

55.36

3.57

20.83

72.92

6.25

2013 (Flipped) 2012 (Not Flipped)2011 (Completely Traditional)

Student preparation and participation (%)

0

40

80

12080

100

52.582.5

Flipped (2013) Not flipped (2012)

“The ‘flipped classroom’ method employed in this class has provoked more discussion than I have generally seen in other classes.” Comment from peer observation report (from a lecture session, not a flipped one).

Overall Student Satisfaction (%)

Overall student satisfaction93

94

95

96

97

98

99

10099

95.5

Flipped (2013) Not Flipped (2012)

This module has always shown very high levels of student satisfaction.

Yet, there was an appreciable difference in the flipped year: 11 of 14 questions regarding academic matters in the questionnaire received 100% satisfaction.

Student reaction to flipping and student-led sessions and assessment

YES74%

NO26%

The opportunity to present in the seminars

gave me more confidence

YES77%

NO23%

I enjoyed the opportunity to choose my own titles

for assessment

Student reaction to flipping and student-led sessions and assessment

YES69%

NO31%

I think I did better in the assessment because I

could choose my own title

YES91%

NO9%

The workshops helped me engage more actively with

the material covered in the module

Attendance – a little bit more

0.8 1 1.21.41.61.8 288

90

92

94

96

98

100

102

Flipped (2013)Not Flipped (2012)

• Attendance is marginally better overall.

• Data from first 13 samples of the semester.

• Attendance generally fluctuates – 2013 has been a good year in the first semester, but bad in the second.

An added bonus: Relationship with other modules

The module related well to other modules on the Programme of

Study.

82

84

86

88

90

92

94

96

98 97

87.5

Flipped (2013)Not Flipped (2012)

• “Students carried the mode of discussion from the semi-flipped model with them into a module with a traditional set-up. Students were clearly putting more effort and were more successful in preparing for seminars and they were also more active in seminar and lecture discussions generally.” Module-leader’s comment in module running at the same time and for part of the same cohort.

Flipping the classroomvs.

vs.or +

“...lectures have virtues in their own right, apart from the flexibility to incorporate elements similar to a flipped class”Small A (2014) In defence of the lecture. The Chronicle of HE