Flipping the STEM Classroom
The flipped classroom: is it a buzzword? Is it the latest and greatest leap in education since the pocket calculator? Or is it simply a great tool to promote active learning in the curriculum? For those who don’t know, the flipped classroom is simply a method of teaching where students observe the lecture components of a course outside of the classroom and utilize classroom time for active student reflection on the previously observed course material (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013, p. 47). It’s a super simple concept that has taken the world of education by a (somewhat reticent) storm.
The flipped classroom is shown to positively affect student grades across subjects and it is great for student-centred learning in courses that are primarily lecture-based where teachers want to devote their in-class activities to student problem solving and skill development (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013, p. 46; Eichler & Peeples, 2016, p. 203). While there is more responsibility for learning and active participation on the students’ part, the flipped classroom is hinged on a learner-centred paradigm and “provides opportunities for greater teacher-to-student mentoring, peer-to-peer collaboration and cross-disciplinary engagement” while also utilizing “higher-order thinking skills such as analysis, synthesis, and evaluation” (Roehl, Reddy, & Shannon, 2013, p. 44-45). Students in a flipped classroom environment can engage with typical in-class content in their own time – self-tests, video lectures, podcasts, e-texts, course blogs, suggested websites, etc. – and, during class time, allow teachers to “assess the level of students’ retention and understanding of the course material, rather than repeating lecture content” (Talley and Scherer, 2013, p. 340).
STEM courses seem an almost perfect fit for a flipped classroom environment and some very highly regarded universities are not only taking notice, but also implementing flipped classrooms in their STEM courses. In fact, a 2013 joint survey by SonicFoundry and the Center for Digital Education discovered that “half of faculty at universities are employing the flipped classroom model or have plans to implement it within the next 12 months” (Sonicfoundry, 2013). Flipped classrooms are especially useful in STEM courses as the materials utilize by students are up-to-date and can be easily modified to reflect current trends, curriculum needs, and latest developments in the field. Talley and Scherer (2013) note that a flipped classroom could address the “varied reasons behind the lower numbers of college students, particularly minority students, who attain degrees in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) disciplines are necessary in order to reverse current trends” (p. 339). Logically, utilizing technology to teach technology can not only promote innovation, but it also aids in the success of student learning, increase student achievement, and increase the amount of students within the STEM field as proficiency of a subject and satisfaction of a course is shown to increase in a flipped classroom environment (Talley and Scherer, 2013, p. 340; Eichler & Peeples, 2016, p. 203).
In fact, tech guru and former hedge fund analyzer-turned educator Sal Khan is a huge proponent of utilizing video to revitalize education. In his seminal TED talk, now watched over 4 million times, Khan began his online education career by first tutoring his cousins remotely and, as a result, began publishing videos for them. Khan noted that his cousins were immediately receptive to the new learning method and even claimed to prefer Khan on Youtube than in person (Khan & Ted, 2011). Khan, far from being offended, realized how profound this automated learning was for his cousins: they could revisit the lecture any time they want without the pressure of understanding the concepts at first listen (Khan & Ted, 2011). STEM, especially mathematics, is really perfect for flipped classwork as, Kahn notes, “that this content will never grow old, that it could help their kids or their grandkids. If Isaac Newton had done YouTube videos on calculus, I wouldn't have to” (Khan & Ted, 2011). Almost in response to Khan’s talk, TED created TEDEd, a platform for educators to create lessons around any TedTalk, Ted-Ed Original, or Youtube video that are then animated and available for further customization by other educators (and there is even a lesson on Salman Khan’s Let’s use video to reinvent education talk – how meta is that?).
A pioneering case study on flipped classrooms in STEM focused on the math department at Byron High School in Byron, Minnesota where teachers found their out-dated textbooks no longer matched with state standards. Teachers worked together to re-write a curriculum for their school that not only matched state standards, but would allow students to work independently, without a text book, and a home (Pearson Education, n.d.). The result was a resounding success: the number of students scoring proficient of above in Algebra, pre-calculus, and calculus grew 9-12% in just three years resulting in more students taking high level math courses because their proficiency increased (Pearson Education, n.d). At the university level, other researchers discovered similar results. Groups receiving flipped instruction “demonstrated higher accuracy . . . than the traditional instruction setting, specifically on items of moderate complexity” and student surveys have continually showed improved satisfaction with their flipped course and an increased understanding of subject material (Mattis, 2015, p. 244; Rossi, 2015, p. 1578).
A flipped classroom can work in almost any setting for almost any subject. Of course, there will be hurdles and failures along the way, a lot of initial work from teachers, and an acceptance and adoption of new technologies from an array of generations, but education needs to modernize to fit with our modern student. Students do not learn like they learned even 10 years ago just like the world isn’t like it was 10 years ago – why should our learning styles stay as stagnant as they were 100 years ago? Sal Khan said of flipping the classroom,
By removing the one-size-fits-all lecture from the classroom, and letting students have a self-paced lecture at home . . . [teachers] took a fundamentally dehumanizing experience -- 30 kids with their fingers on their lips, not allowed to interact with each other . . . and now it's a human experience, now they're actually interacting with each other (Khan & Ted, 2011).
STEM fields are the future of industry and it is imperative that teaching methods keep up with modern technologies and students. Removing the boundaries of top-down education and allowing students to have an active role in their learn is essential to bringing the most students into STEM fields, creating effective in-class learning activities, and best evaluating student achievement.
References
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