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The flipped classroom describes a reversal of traditional teaching where students gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then class time is used to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge through strategies such as problem-solving, discussion or debates. (Vanderbilt University, Center for Teaching).
The purpose of flipping the classroom is to shift from passive to active learning to focus on the higher order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis and evaluation (Bloom). As explained in this short video, Flipping the Classroom: Simply Speaking (Penn State), students access key content individually (or in small groups) prior to class time and then meet face-to-face in the larger group to explore content through active learning and engagement strategies.
There are many permutations of what a flipped classroom will look like and depends on variables such as class size, resources, support and readiness to change. At UQ, several teachers across the faculties have already flipped their classrooms.
In the flipped classroom, the roles and expectations of students and teachers change where:
Diagram 1: Learning opportunities of the flipped classroom (adapted from Gerstein)
Educational technologies (see Diagram 2) are an important feature of the flipped classroom as they can be used to:
Diagram 2: Key elements of a flipped classroom (Strayer)
Source http://www.uq.edu.au