The Flipped Classroom (9) A Good Class, Guaranteed

Lectured classes have many stressors, from a cohort of under-prepared students to a few snowed-out classes. Sometimes even one student asking too many basic questions and delaying the progress of lessons can be frustrating. An instructor can lecture the same way every time, but there are many other factors to make or break a good class.

Ultimately, a lecturing instructor has a bad class because
(A) there is not enough time to lecture on all the scheduled topics, or
(B) after the lecture, the students still don't understand the material.

In the flipped classroom, both concerns can be resolved. (A) would hardly happen because students watch video lessons and take notes at home before class. (B) can be addressed in the classroom using group discussion, problem-solving exercises and extra coaching.

Every time I flip-teach a class, I almost always do better than the previous time. In flipped teaching, all the resources are cumulative. Over time, the collection of video lessons, notes and test bank gets larger and better, the learning activities perfected, and the instructor more experienced. The more one teaches the course the better the class gets.

​And after teaching the same class two or three times, an instructor would have created nearly all the class material, and preparing the class gets even easier. More time to focus on students or further innovate.

Next: (10) The Open-Book Exams