Online flipped learning is transforming how students engage in online school environments. By learning basic content at home, students can focus on deeper, more interactive activities during class time. This approach enhances online learning and fosters critical thinking. Read this article to discover how Sophia High School has embraced this model and its potential for the future of education
Same same but different.
Flipped Learning Is:
Well, it’s an overarching model that allows teachers to implement any learning method they’d like; be it Project-Based Learning (PBL), Gamification, Mastery Learning—you name it—and Flipped Learning (FL) will provide ample class time you need.
The idea is simple: instruct students to work on the basic content outside class, and once they have mastered the content, work on the higher-order learning tasks in the class under the guidance and support of their teacher to deepen their understanding.
In the majority of schools, educators spend most of their class time “teaching” the content that falls into the first two levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy: Remembering and Understanding, with a bit of Applying for the remainder of the time.
And we all know that this traditional model of teaching, however sugar-coated with technology, does not prepare students for their future—a future which no one can predict, thanks to the recent developments in the realm of GenAI.
In contrast, when students can master the basic content via videos and then come to class prepared, their teachers find more time to reach the upper levels of the Taxonomy: Analysing, Evaluating, and Creating.
In an Ideal Class...
…students will always come to school prepared because they always learn the basic content at home, as they always have electricity, high-speed internet access, and the best smart devices that their perfect families provide.
Yes, there are challenges, and the main challenge is that not all students may come to class prepared. They might not have watched the videos assigned to them, or they might struggle with understanding the content.
Depending on the conditions of the class, the students, the school, the teacher, and the availability of resources, such challenges may be overcome in different ways – and online classes, online schools, online teachers and online resources can be help with it.
How hard is it to Flip?
Well, very.
But hey, you already do lots of preparation for your classes anyway. At least planning and preparation for a Flipped Class is mainly a one-time task; once your videos and other materials are ready, you can use them over and over again with little modification here and there.
Besides, you don’t need to plan and prepare content for the full year; simply going a few chapters ahead of your class will be sufficient in your first year of flipping.
On top of all that, content creation is now significantly easier thanks to AI-based apps.
Create your look-alike avatar, copy/paste your narration, and with a few clicks, your lesson video is ready to download, in which your avatar talks exactly like you but better, and in any language you want. Mind-blowing.
Is Flipped Learning Worth the Hassle?
Absolutely, yes.
First, Flipped Learning brings student agency to the table. Let’s admit it—we cannot teach students unless they want to learn – be it in online schools or traditional ones. Once we give them control of their learning, their engagement increases. Even having the control of “rewinding the teacher” makes a significant difference.
Second, with all the class time left for activities, teachers find the opportunity to really connect with their students. Once positive relationships emerge, so do mutual respect and a positive learning atmosphere.
With student agency, positive relationships, and personalised learning, students inevitably thrive; their self-esteem increases as they realise that they too can learn and succeed in exams. They realise that they don’t need to be perfect; mistakes are opportunities to learn.
And last but not least, Flipped Learning provides the opportunity to implement all those methods and approaches that are proven to be effective. With effective use of technology, teachers can now have the time to properly follow up on their students’ progress and hence implement Mastery Learning. Higher-order activities that support the development of soft skills may accumulate to Project-Based Learning.
Simply put, teaching and learning may regain their meaning and effectiveness.
OK, so what’s Online Flipped Learning?
Same same but different.
As online schools start emerging, Flipped Learning captures more and more interest. Access to smart devices is not as big an issue as before. Students today are quite used to screens. There is a plethora of subject content on the internet, both free and paid.
Hence, it’s just connecting the dots; implementing Flipped Learning is simply a no-brainer.
That being said, Online Flipped Learning comes with its own challenges.
One of the most important aspects of Flipped Learning is providing descriptive feedback on students’ work, which is comparably easier in a brick-and-mortar school, as it’s not technology-based.
It’s more difficult for teachers to connect with students on a personal level over screens.
In an online learning environment, technology may fail at times.
Despite its challenges—some still unknown to us—it’s definitely worth exploring.
In an Online School? How?
At Sophia High School, we have been implementing Flipped Learning with some tweaks since Day 1.
Sometimes it looks like In-Class Flipping, where students watch a short video during live sessions and then do related activities.
Most of the time, students are assigned video lectures or previous lesson recordings to work on in their Independent Learning time.
Flipped Learning in Sophia High School is an ongoing process and, as GenAI always says, we continue to “delve deep” into this uncharted territory, experimenting with and exploring the best practices.
We are fast approaching an era where content creation will be totally automated and personalised as per each student’s needs. Once a student asks a question or when a teacher provides the lesson objectives, student level, etc. to GenAI, it will create a video or a series of videos and related materials within the blink of an eye.
Sophia will be ready to embrace the impact.