Flipped classroom and blended learning, pros, cons, similarities and differences.

FLIPPED CLASSROOMS

What is it?

The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed.

The notion of a flipped classroom draws on such concepts as active learning, student engagement, hybrid course design, and coursepodcasting.

There is no single model for the flipped classroom the term is widely used to describe almost any class structure that provides prerecorded lectures followed by in-class exercises. In one common model, students might view multiple lectures of five to seven minutes each. Online quizzes or activities can be interspersed to test what students have learned.

A growing number of higher education individual facultyhave begun using the flipped model in their courses.

BLENDED LEARNINGBlended learning is a term increasingly used to describe the way e-learning is being combined with traditional classroom methods and independent study to create a new, hybrid teaching methodology. It represents a much greater change in basic technique than simply adding computers to classrooms; it represents, in many cases, a fundamental change in the way teachers and students approach the learning experience. It has already produced an offshoot the flipped classroom that has quickly become a distinct approach of its own.

There is a general consensus among education innovators that blended learning has three primary components:

• In-person classroom activities facilitated by a trained educator.• Online learning materials, often including pre-recorded lectures given by

that same instructor.• Structured independent study time guided by the material in the lectures

and skills developed during the classroom experience.

Blended Learning vs. Flipped Learning.

Blended Learning.Blended learning involves online and face-to-face instruction. Both are used alongside each other in order to provide a comprehensive learning experience. For example, a trainer might give learners a list of online resources they can use to broaden their understanding of the topic, or ask them to complete an online group project that centers on a subject they are currently discussing. In the case of blended learning, online materials do not take the place of face-to-face instruction; instead, the two modalities complement one another. They truly “blend” in order to create an enriched online training environment for the learner.

Flipped Learning.Flipped learning, which is also known as a flipped classroom, is a bit more clear-cut. There is a divide between the technology and face-to-face elements of the learning experience. A learner is asked to watch an eLearning video or participate in another online learning exercise BEFORE coming to class. In the classroom the new materials are explored at-length. In most cases, the knowledge that is learned online is applied in the classroom.