The Flipped Class Manifest

At RTHS, our education model is built on several innovations chosen from research and success across the country.  RTHS will be a place where students learn by an innovative blend of digital and experiential methods, in order to develop into mature, sophisticated thinkers and doers.  One of the ways we are going to do this is through a technique called "Flipped Learning." What is Flipped Learning anyway?  Recently, several authors that work with the Flipped Classroom in both administrative and applied positions got together and wrote The Flipped Class Manifest to clearly address the main ideas and the most common concerns raised about the Flipped Classroom. While RTHS will not be offering exactly what they describe, this article is a nice introduction and a great springboard for discussion on Flipped Learning. In summary, flipped coursework will allow students to learn from digital lectures and material outside class during traditional homework time and to practice higher order thinking skills through group labs, seminars and collaborative projects during class time.  The flipped digital content can be reviewed and learners will have access to any topic whenever they need it.  This technique will allow much greater differentiation for students, engage both teacher and student, and afford students much greater practice time with content and skills during class time when the teacher is present. Below are some notable quotes from the article:  "Flip" is a verb. We are actively transferring the responsibility and ownership of learning from the teacher to the students in a Flipped Classroom. When students have control over how they learn content, the pace of their learning, and how their learning is assessed, the learning belongs to them.  Teachers become guides to understanding rather than dispensers of facts, and students become active learners rather than receptacles of information.  Practitioners of the various flipped classroom models are constantly tweaking, changing, rejecting, adding to, and generally trying to improve the model through direct experience with how effective it is for kids. It's not "record your lecture once" and you're done; it's part of a comprehensive instructional model that includes direct instruction, inquiry, practice, formative and summative assessment and much more. It also allows teachers to reflect on and develop quality and engaging learning opportunities and options for internalization, creation, and application of content rather than just fluff or time filling assignments.

What do you think about Flipped Learning?  Do you have any questions about the technique? We welcome further discussion on this topic!