Title: The Flipped Classroom: An Opportunity To Engage Millennial Students Through Active Learning Strategies
Authors: Amy Roehl, Shweta Linga Reddy, Gayla Jett Shannon
Key points
- Millennials and Gen Z students, who have been raised on rapidly evolving technologies, have demonstrated “decreased tolerance” to lecture-style instruction
- Benefits of a “flipped classroom” approach include:
- Students have the time to become more aware of their own learning processes
- Students are able to identify questions that they can then resolve with teachers and peers during synchronous class time
- Teachers are able to assess students’ learning throughout the process, as opposed to just following a test or writing assignment
- If a student needs to miss a class (due to illness or other responsibilities), they do not risk missing key course content
- Limitations of a “flipped classroom” approach include:
- It may be difficult to facilitate group work in an online setting or students may feel uncomfortable debriefing their learning in a group setting
- Students are much more responsible for their own learning in a flipped classroom
Abstract:
“Flipping” the classroom employs easy-to-use, readily accessible technology in order to free class time from lectures. This allows for an expanded range of learning activities during class time. Using class time for active learning versus lecture provides opportunities for greater teacher-to-student mentoring, peer-to-peer collaboration, and cross-disciplinary engagement. This review of literature addresses the challenges of engaging today’s students in lecture-based classrooms and presents an argument for the application of the “flipped classroom” model by educators in the disciplines of family and consumer sciences.
What would this look like in a course?
- Consider flipping parts of your lecture class such that students must come into class with questions on material that was already presented.
- In solidifying students’ learning, consider using both group work approaches (e.g., debriefing what was difficult about the content for that day) as well as individual approaches (e.g., students creating a mind map or summary of what they learned).
- Make sure you implement multiple ways of holding students accountable for their learning (e.g., exit tickets, pre-class comprehension checks, etc.).