You’ve probably heard about it once or twice by now — you might have even had one before. Talk of flipped classrooms has gone around in education lately, so students are rightly wondering: How come we don’t see these everywhere?
The highlights of the flipped models are that students would watch lectures at home, then come to class to do activities. The idea pulls passive learning out of the classroom (where time is limited) to get more active learning instead. It’s not an outlandish idea, either — more students than ever are gaining access to computers and Internet in their homes. Yet the system isn’t perfect.
1. Flipping could be all hype.
Flipped classrooms could be just fad hypes, so analysts try to be wary of biases when they’re looking at the pros and cons. It should be noted that active learning methods somewhat predating the advent of flipping have been used for decades in various forms (Tucker, 2012). But even if flipping isn't just a craze...
2. Flipping needs students to car
Flipping requires students to be already engaged in the education process. Some observed flaws are that students tend not to do the homework (Pienta, 2016). Big surprise! In a flipped setting too, instructors face an even larger issue when students don’t read, because the students become even less prepared for class (Herreid and Schiller, 2013). So in a flipped setting, the students who hardly care anyway may learn even less if instructors don’t teach the key points in class. But even if students do care…
3. Students can’t ask questions during lectures.
During lectures, students can’t ask questions in realtime for clarification during lectures (Garrow, Hotle, and Mumbower, 2013). They have to post online or save them until class. Generally, students prefer in-person lectures instead of online too (Bishop and Verleger, 2013). But even if the lectures are fine...
4. Students get more out of the book.
A trade-off in flipping is that students who read the textbooks more tend to learn more than the ones who just watch the videos, yet students are more likely to watch the videos than read the books. So instructors interested in flipping have to think about getting the few who care to learn a bit less versus getting the many who don't care to learn a bit more (Bishop and Verleger, 2013).
5. Flipping is time-consuming.
On the instructors’ side, the flipped model takes more time to start, because they need to film the lectures and revise the videos. Flipping means spending more time on content creation (Tucker, 2012). Generally speaking, it requires “hard work.” And the thing about hard work is...
6. Finding good videos ain’t easy.
Flipped classrooms rely on some decent lectures students can watch at home. If the instructor can’t make a decent video him or herself, then the instructor needs to find one. However, since videos need to be carefully tailored to the course material, the process is easier said than done. Plus, making videos is more time-consuming than having students just read the book (Herreid and Schiller, 2013). But even if the instructors find good videos...
7. Students just don’t want to change.
Some students surveyed after trying the flipped model didn’t like how they had to learn the new material at home before coming to class. In other words, they liked getting some exposure in class first (Herreid and Schiller, 2013). Though, there are always students opposed to change, no matter the model (Bishop and Verleger, 2013). But even if students do want change...
8. Flipping needs more research.
Overall, the world needs stronger, more numerous, objective, non-anecdotal studies before we reach a proper verdict (Bishop and Verleger, 2013).
So maybe you’ll see a flipped classroom or two in the near future — maybe you won’t. For now, expect to see more studies. And regardless of where you stand, know the conversations will keep on coming.
