The Flipped Class

Background

The flipped classroom is a growing movement in both K-12 and higher education that has challenged educators to rethink their classroom environment and how best to use precious class time with students. The termflipped classroomwas coined in 2012 by two high school chemistry teachers from Colorado, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, who began teaching with this model in 2007. The flipped classroom model has since spread to many other teachers and instructors within college and university settings.

Bergmann and Sams (2012)defined the flipped classroom as “that which is traditionally done in class is now done at home, and that which is traditionally done as homework is now done in class” (p. 13). They further described the flipped classroom as offering students a personalized, individualized education. Although the flipped learning model is not complicated, the impact it can have on student learning is profound. The flipped learning model can enable educators to make the shift from teacher-driven instruction to student-centered instruction. In a flipped classroom, teachers spend more time interacting with students under the belief that lectures should support, not drive, learning (Gerstein, 2011). However, college and university professors have not fully realized the potential of the flipped classroom and are often reluctant to abandon the lecture approach (Missildine, Fountain, Summers, & Gosselin, 2013). Likewise, students are dependent on the lecture method because it is familiar, comfortable, and instructor centered, requiring little active student participation (Fitzgerald, 2008).Table 1provides a comparison of the flipped classroom with the traditional classroom on a variety of dimensions.

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Table 1.

Traditional Versus Flipped.

	Traditional	Flipped
Teachers	● Knowledge initiator	● Learning designer
	● Class controller	● Advisor, facilitator
	● Focus is on the teacher	● Focus is on the learner
Students	● Passive recipients	● Active researcher
	● Dependent	● Problem solver
		● Independent
Teaching methods	● Class teaching/lecture	● Preclass learning
	● Homework	● Active exploration
Teaching content	● Knowledge transfer	● Problem exploration
		● Application

The flipped classroom is emerging as an area of interest for researchers exploring teaching and learning. However, many of the underlying principles and techniques used in a flipped class, including active learning, student-centered instruction, self-directed inquiry, peer instruction, and constructivist learning theory, have been thoroughly researched and used successfully for decades (Bergmann & Sams, 2012;Hamdan, McKnight, McKnight, & Arfstrom, 2013). The flipped classroom combines the above learning strategies with increasingly available technologies. Hence, more time is allowed in the face-to-face classroom setting for application-level teaching strategies, engaging collaborative activities, and group work/discussions (Millard, 2012).

Bergmann and Sams (2012)pointed out that when teachers are not standing in front of the classroom talking at students, they can circulate and talk with students. Instructors are then able to maximize individual face-to-face time with students. A small pilot study observed that during a 5-week summer school program in which students received instruction through the Khan Academy website (https://www.khanacademy.org/) along with support from a teacher, the teacher spent significantly more one-on-one time with students than in her traditional classroom and, as a result, students received timely feedback (Greenberg, Medlock, & Stephens, 2011).

Through the flipped classroom model, time becomes available for students to collaborate with the professor and peers, engage more deeply with content, practice skills, and receive feedback on their progress. Flipped classrooms increase the opportunity for collaborative project-based learning (Warter-Perez & Dong, 2012) and group problem solving (Jasper, 2013). These benefits are further supported byGoodwin and Miller (2013), who stated that the main advantages of the flipped classroom include improved student-teacher interaction, opportunities for real-time feedback, increased student engagement, self-paced learning, and more meaningful homework.

Furthermore, the flipped classroom implements a strategy of teaching that engages a wide spectrum of learners.Lage, Platt, and Treglia (2000)compared a flipped classroom with a traditional classroom in a university microeconomics course. They discovered that the majority of the students were favorably impressed by the course. Students also had positive reactions to the peer-group-work component of the course. The authors found the flipped classroom increased teacher-student interaction and explicitly allowed for students of all learning styles to use a method or methods that are best for them.

Several authors have reported student success when learning in a flipped classroom. On applying a flipped model of learning in an electrical engineering class,Papadopoulos and Roman (2010)saw that students progressed through material faster, students understood topics in greater depth, and additional content could be covered without sacrificing the quality of the course as a whole. In relation to test scores, those in the flipped classroom exceeded those in the traditional classroom. This is further supported byMason, Shuman, and Cook (2013), whose results showed that the flipped classroom allowed the instructor to cover more material, and students in the flipped classroom performed as well or better academically. A 2013 study by Missildine et al. examined the effects of a flipped classroom and innovative learning activities on academic success of nursing students and found the examination scores were higher for the flipped classroom.

The notion of the flipped classroom contributing to deeper learning has been supported bySadaghiani (2012), who found that with students viewing the lectures prior to class, the instructor could focus on helping students learn through real-world problem solving and conceptual discussions during class, prompting student use of higher order thinking skills. When studying the flipped classroom in nursing education, this approach allowed students to be engaged in activities that enabled application of theoretical information to clinical practice. In this setting, faculty were better able to engage students in clinical reasoning, reflection, application of research findings, and clinical imagination (Missildine et al., 2013), thus taking learning to a whole new level.

When comparing learning environments of a flipped to a traditional classroom, students reported a positive impact on learning. Students in the flipped classroom became more open to cooperative learning and innovative teaching methods and were more aware of their own learning process than students in a traditional environment (Critz & Knight, 2013;Strayer, 2012). Students in the flipped classroom stated that they were able to learn the content better (Warter-Perez & Dong, 2012). Students also perceived the method of teaching as more effective than lecturing and reported that they enjoyed the class and benefited from watching the lecture videos outside of class (Zappe, Leicht, Messner, Litzinger, & Lee, 2009). Students commented on how they found the in-class activities very effective in helping them understand and apply the content, felt the concepts came alive for them, liked the hands-on approach, and felt the more informal structure of the class made them feel more comfortable asking questions (Lage et al., 2000).

Most of the research on the flipped classroom has been done in the areas of science, technology, engineering, and math. There is a dearth of literature on the application of the flipped classroom model of instruction to business courses. However, many business courses already incorporate elements of this approach, such as allocating class time for real-world problem solving, conceptual discussions, and collaborative learning.

Experiences With the Flipped Classroom

Historically,Robert Gagné’s (1977)“Nine Events of Instruction” design model has guided an approach to teaching and learning in adult education. When the flipped classroom approach is compared with this traditional model, it is interesting to note that the sequencing of events is unchanged. However, the events that lead to deeper learning are moved into the “premium” class time, so that students benefit from reinforcement, assessment, and feedback from peers and the instructor. The events that prepare students for the learning are moved to the preclass time period, as students do not require peer and instructor presence to complete these events. Learning is enhanced when the instructional events that focus on facilitating learning take place in the presence of the expert instructor and peers. This comparison reinforced and supported the benefits of moving forward with the flipped classroom approach in a business communication course.

The flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning was used over several semesters in a business communication course, which is a required second year course in a 4-year Bachelor of Business Administration degree program. The instructor and student experiences were significantly improved in the flipped classroom learning environment; this was a result of the shared social experience atypical of the traditional classroom. Following is a discussion of these integrated experiences.

Instructor and Student Experience in a Business Communication Course

One of the largest shifts required to be successful with the flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning is to ensure that students understand what is happening. Students are used to the traditional classroom approach where they spend class time listening to a lecture, taking notes, and, perhaps, participating in discussions. Students then complete assigned work outside of class time; this includes homework assignments to be finished for the next class and assignments to be submitted as noted in the course schedule. Little, if any, class time is set aside for students to work on assigned tasks. The flipped classroom approach moves most of the lecture or content component outside of class and moves some of the assigned work into the class. Students demonstrate their understanding (or lack thereof) during the class time, so that the instructor has the opportunity to reinforce specific concepts as needed.

In semesters prior to adopting a flipped classroom approach in a business communication course, the instructor created PowerPoint slides and lectured based on the slides. Students listened to the lecture, took notes, and, perhaps, asked questions for clarification. Sometimes, there were textbook exercises assigned during class to highlight specific aspects of the material. Students had few, if any, opportunities to demonstrate their understanding of the material prior to their tests. To incorporate a flipped classroom approach in the business communication course, the instructor moved much of the lecture or content component outside of class time. Students were provided with specific readings, video viewing, and activities to be completed prior to the start of class. To encourage student buy-in, the instructor discussed the course design with students at the start of the semester, so that they would understand why they needed to do the preclass work. As a motivation for completing the preclass work and to demonstrate understanding of the material, students were also required to complete specific activities based on the readings and videos, with each activity worth 1% of the final grade.

Planning a variety of high-impact in-class activities allowed students to develop and explore the concepts in different ways, leading to the discovery of new understanding. As an example, to assess student understanding of the assigned readings related to message types and formats, a 3-week unit of the course, students were to complete a writing assignment and post their completed documents to the class discussion board prior to the start of each class. During class, the instructor displayed several of the posted documents to demonstrate the requirements of the specific message type and format. Students were also encouraged to critique the documents. Students earned 1% for completing and posting the work by the deadline, which was sufficient motivation for most students to do the assignment. Because they did not know whose document would be selected for in-class display and critique, most students put significant effort into completing the assignment correctly. They also demonstrated their understanding of the readings by citing specific material when they critiqued the work of their classmates.

Because the instructor was no longer lecturing about course content during class, there was time in each class for students to apply the content to demonstrate their understanding. This change in the use of class time resulted in better attendance throughout the semester. Students reported that there was a good reason to attend class. They could read the textbook and assigned readings on their own time; there was never much need to attend a class in which the instructor lectured about the textbook content. However, when they were presented with the opportunity to practice what they had read and watched, students saw the value in attending class. They also reported that the in-class practice contributed to being better prepared for the writing tests.

In this course, students complete two writing tests to assess their understanding of message types and formats. Each test requires the completion of one document (email, memo, or letter) in response to a specific scenario, and students must receive an average passing grade for both to pass the course. In the semesters prior to adopting the flipped classroom approach, the instructor had provided no feedback to students about their understanding of the material being assessed in the tests prior to the writing. Many students went into the tests believing that they understood the material only to discover this was, in fact, not the case. Since adopting the flipped classroom approach, the instructor provides feedback to students as they complete the in-class and discussion board activities. Students go into the tests with a better understanding of the material being assessed, not only because they have received feedback but also because they have practiced the material several times prior. Students have reported that they are more confident about their abilities going into the tests, and they are more comfortable responding to complex scenarios presented in the tests.

In order to further motivate students to complete the preclass readings and activities, the instructor created teams within the class. Each team represented an organizational department: marketing, accounting, finance, maintenance, customer service, and so on. The instructor created an overview of the class “organization” (a residential and commercial cleaning company) so that students would have background information about the company. During each class, students completed activities based on scenarios specific to their departments. To finish these successfully in the time allotted, they must have completed the preclass work. Since the students were working in teams, each student was also accountable to the rest of the team. Those students who were unprepared for the in-class activities became observers rather than fully engaged participants in the learning experience. Because students were working with the same teams for the entire semester, the unprepared students quickly changed their behavior to meet the expectations of their team. Peer accountability was a strong motivator for students to complete preclass readings and activities.

The team-based assessments in the course included a team business presentation and a team business report, respectively comprising 10% and 20% of the final grade. As with the other course material, students were assigned preclass work, such as readings and videos. During class, students worked on specific components of each assessment with the instructor on hand to monitor their understanding and guide their learning of the specific concepts involved. For example, the first step in the team presentation assignment was to determine a topic related to their department that would be appropriate to present at a company retreat. Their presentation was required to either inform the rest of the company about the team’s topic or to persuade the rest of the company to accept the team’s proposal. Some students struggled with differentiating between an informative and a persuasive topic, so having the instructor available during team discussions was very helpful.

The team business report required students to write a formal report, including recommendations, based on a topic relevant to their department. Again, there were readings assigned prior to each class with some discussion of the material in class, followed by students working on a component of the report. One of the first steps for the formal report was to write a clear and concise purpose statement. Students worked on this task in class with the instructor monitoring the team discussions, guiding these discussions as required. When each team had successfully written their purpose statement, they were able to move on to the research needed for the report. Prior to adopting the flipped classroom approach, this work took place outside of class time, and many student groups struggled with this important first step in their report project.

The flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning provided a unique learning experience for students in the business communication course. They spent their class time engaged in active learning in small groups. Students had more opportunities to interact with their peers and the instructor. This interaction increased the sense of community in the classroom and student accountability. Attendance was consistent throughout the semester, as students demonstrated their commitment to their peers and their peers’ learning experience.

In order to facilitate the flipped classroom approach, various tools were introduced for the students to use for preclass and in-class activities. Following is an overview of some of the tools used in the flipped business communication course.

Tools Used to Support the Flipped Classroom Approach

The preclass work that students were required to complete included more than reading and writing assignments. The instructor incorporated TED (technology, entertainment, design) Talks and YouTube videos alongside textbook readings. Various Google tools were used to support the team-based classroom activities as well.

The web-based tools provided byTED.comand Google Apps for Education facilitated the design of effective preclass instructional experiences. These tools were chosen to support the flipped classroom approach because they were free, easy to use, and cloud based. Furthermore, these tools work across all devices and decrease the amount of work for instructors using the approach for the first time.

TED.comwas used in two ways. First, the library of TED Talks that are available through Creative Commons licensing provided a valuable resource to illustrate specific course concepts. TED Talk videos were assigned as preclass work, often alongside readings, and these were used to stimulate in-class discussions. Second, the TED Ed tools allowed the instructor to easily create short interactive lessons that students were assigned to complete before the start of class. These lessons included the following structure:

These TED Ed lessons were very mobile friendly, allowing students to access them and complete them on any computer or mobile device on campus, at home, at work, or even on the bus. TED Ed also provided tools that the instructor could use to monitor student progress, completions, and responses to quiz questions before they came to class. This allowed the instructor to provide formative feedback either before or during class.

Google Docs and Google Drive were used for the team-based in-class activities. Each team had a folder in the shared class drive. The instructor placed documents to be shared by all students in the class drive. However, documents intended only for specific teams were placed in the team’s folder. This allowed team members to easily work together, whether in class or outside of class. At the same time, the instructor had access to the students’ work as it was being completed, allowing for feedback as needed.

YouTube was used as a source of instructional videos created by the instructor and other educators. YouTube was also used as a platform to distribute these video presentations to the students. Using video as a way to make instructor presentations available to learners before class is a primary principle of flipping the classroom. Distributing videos via YouTube allowed students to conveniently and reliably view them on any device they had available with the ability to pause, rewind, fast forward, and replay any segment required. As a component of the team presentations, each team was required to video record a practice session of their presentation. This recording was to be shared with the team members and the instructor, with each team member providing a critique of all presenters, including themselves, so that the team members could improve their presentation skills ahead of the classroom presentation. Many teams posted their practice video to YouTube and shared the link with all team members and the instructor. Other teams chose to upload their video to their team’s folder in Google Drive.

The most helpful criteria for selecting tools are ease of use and accessibility so that the students will readily accept this new approach. Selecting easy-to-use tools also facilitates instructors’ preparation and execution of the learning experiences so that these take place as designed and required. However, it is pertinent to note that what the students do and reflect on is still far more important than what the instructor does.

Conclusion

Overall, the experience with the flipped classroom was positive. The flipped approach continues to be used in the business communication course, as well as other university business courses. Many instructors considering the flipped classroom approach are hesitant because of the initial workload involved. By accessing free, simple-to-use, cloud-based tools, this hurdle was overcome, and the instructor was able to focus on the development of engaging high-impact activities for the classroom.

The flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning provided the opportunity for an improved experience for both instructors and students. The instructor had the opportunity to monitor the student learning experience, provide input or guidance where needed, and challenge students to do more. Students had the opportunity to be independent learners who were engaged, committed, and more likely to enjoy the learning experience.