Flipped Learning: Embracing the Peer-guided Learning

I explored "Flipped Learning: Turning Learning on its Head," because when Steve used the term "flipped learning," I didn't understand exactly what it meant. From the blog posts, one finds a variety of takes on this philosophy: creation of online content to eliminate the need for students to physically be in the classroom; inversion of the classroom, meaning what traditionally takes place in the classroom is done outside it; just-in-time teaching, which means addressing student questions from the start; use of technology outside the class to free up time in class to pursue discussion, group work, and problem solving. Based on that, it struck me that "flipped learning" is a buzzword for what we often call "front loading": Give students the materials in advance, so they arrive in class prepared to tackle the subject matter. Humanities teachers would simply say that flipped learning means students are doing their homework. Math and Science teachers, on the other hand, would have their classes structured in peer groups, with students explaining problems, theories, etc. The math and science instructors wouldn't walk students through problems, but rather have them walk each other through materials, arguing their points.

Eric Mazur, a physics professor at Harvard, was mentioned several times so I read the link "Twilight of the Lecture," which was published in Harvard Magazine earlier this year. He notes that his approach is how kindergarten teachers work with students: group them and let them tackle things. He observes that this approach fades as students move up the educational ladder. (Yes, recall our first class with Steve on how education hammers creativity out of kids.) The crux of his philosophy is "helping students learn," which is best done through "students interacting with one another." As graduate students, we're thinking, "Well, duh." However, all of us at the secondary level have observed hours of lecture-based learning in classrooms over the last 18 months, which begs the question of why people are resistant to teaching and learning differently from what they experienced. It's not necessarily that some of us get it, while others don't; but, rather those who have the ability to let go of control over classroom dynamics to discover what works best to enable students to learn and remember materials. In that sense, this technology course is my experiment in discovering tools that make words, concepts, and books come alive in an interactive learning environment. I won't lecture my students, but I don't intend to use technology as a substitute for "teaching." What types of technology are available to bring an interactive classroom to a higher level of learning?