ISQAE 2014 - ID # 67
Flipped classroom: Reviving cognitive development among school students a,
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Azlina A.Rahman, * Zaleha Abdullah, Hasnah Mohammed, Norasykin Mohd Zaid, Baharuddin Aris
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Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Universiti Teknologi Malaysia d Universiti Teknologi Malaysia e Universiti Teknologi Malaysia b c
*Corresponding author:
[email protected]
Abstract Active learning and team-base learning activities have proven to be highly effective in cultivating students’ engagement. Active and team based learning however require technological support; and flipped classroom is suggested to be one of the pedagogical approaches to complement the whole process of learning. Flipped classroom is the latest pedagogical method that has the potential to change the current traditional way of teaching. Flipped classroom emphasizes on learning activities that promote critical thinking and motivation among the students with the assistance of technology. The approach has been widely used in various fields in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), Social Science and Medicine, and even applied in the universities and schools. Overall, the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach has proven to be successful in improving students’ achievements. However, research and implementation of flipped classroom in Malaysia is very limited. Further study is therefore required to understand the suitability in implementing flipped classroom approach at Malaysian schools. Some modifications to the approach will be made to fit a specific cultural group and learning patterns of students. Keywords: Flipped classroom, active learning, team-base learning, STEM, students Abstrak Pembelajaran aktif dan aktiviti berkumpulan adalah antara pembelajaran yang terbukti keberkesanannya secara empirikal dalam memupuk penglibatan pelajar secara aktif. Namun pembelajaran tersebut lebih berkesan melalui penggunaan teknologi dan aktiviti seperti mana yang disarankan melalui kaedah flipped classroom. Flipped classroom merupakan salah satu kaedah pedagogi terkini yang mampu mengubah corak pengajaran tradisional sedia ada secara menyeluruh. Flipped classroom juga memberi penekanan terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran bagi menjana pemikiran kritis pelajar melalui penglibatan aktif mereka. Selain itu, penggunaan teknologi dalam flipped classroom bertindak sebagai pemangkin kepada proses pembelajaran pelajar. Flipped classroom telah diguna secara meluas dalam pelbagai bidang seperti Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan, Matematik (STEM), Sains Sosial dan Perubatan serta telah diaplikasikan di peringkat universiti dan sekolah. Secara keseluruhannya, keberkesanan kaedah flipped classroom terbukti berjaya meningkatkan pencapaian pelajar. Di Malaysia, kajian dan pelaksanaan kaedah flipped classroom adalah sangat terhad. Kajian-kajian lepas mendapati bahawa kaedah flipped classroom mampu melonjakkan dan memaksimumkan potensi pelajar dari aspek kognitif ke peringkat yang lebih tinggi dan luar norma. Namun begitu kesesuaian pelaksanaannya di peringkat sekolah penuh perlu dikaji dan dibuat beberapa pengubahsuaian berdasarkan budaya kehidupan dan corak pembelajaran pelajar sekolah. Kata kunci: Flipped classroom, pembelajaran aktif, aktiviti berkumpulan, STEM, pelajar sekolah
1.0 INTRODUCTION Flipped classroom1 or inverted classroom2 is the latest pedagogical method which is contrary to the traditional classroom. The flipped classroom allows educators to move from ‘the sage on the stage’ to ‘the guide on the side’. The basic and simplest form of flipped classroom is students are expected to watch digital resources prior to class. The students are then required to come prepared for class and perform hands-on activities that are related to the digital resources. The digital
resources can be in any form such as video, audio or the internet. This allows teachers to spend more time with their students to carry out in-class activities and allow immediate response to students’ needs. In recent years, there have been a growing number of researches on flipped classroom across disciplines and different educational levels. As flipped classroom is a new pedagogical method, the number of researches is limited especially at school level. Previous studies that relate to flipped classroom have proven to be effective in improving students’ achievement both at
3rd International Seminar on Quality and Affordable Education 2014
school and university3. At school level, it is not limited only to the mainstream students. The mainstream or normal students refer to students who have achievements that are standard for their age group. Flipped classroom is also proven to be effective when implemented on gifted and talented students 4. The authors were motivated to experiment flipped classroom towards a secondary school environment. Secondary school is an educational institution that places students who are mostly academically average. The secondary school students’ age range from 13 to 17 years old. Flipped classroom also proven empirically to the slow leaner as they can rewind the task given prior to the class. However, there are some of the students are gifted and talented in academic. The question is, does and in what way could the flipped classroom method truly improve further the secondary school gifted and talented students’ achievement in academic and personality as compared to the current traditional method?. This paper explores the advantages and effectiveness of the implementation of flipped classroom method compared to the traditional method on school students especially gifted and talented students. Even though researches on the flipped classroom method have been carried out successfully at the university and school levels, this paper focuses only on school level which is the authors’ research scope. This paper begins by describing the motivation in the context of related works on the flipped classroom. Next, the authors discuss the learning process in a flipped classroom that has been adapted to the learning style and life culture of boarding school students. The adaptation that have been done by the authors are also supported by other researchers4 who stated that talented students need adaptation in terms of process and content based on the learning environment. Finally, the paper summarizes the plan to obtain an overview of the implementation of the flipped classroom that could be used as a guide for the teachers and students.
2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW Flipped classroom method is a new method and is very contrasting to the current traditional method. Therefore, the explanation on flipped classroom method before its implementation is necessary to ensure that the students and teachers are receptive to the new changes 5. In agreement with researcher 5, there have been previous researchers who study the preparation of concept map for implementation in the learning process of flipped classroom6. The purpose of preparing the concept map is to provide a clearer overview on the implementation of the new method such as the flipped classroom. There are two science teachers7 who are responsible for promoting the implementation of the flipped classroom method. As an educator in a high school in Colorado, they7 found that the teachers always face problem in teaching and learning. It began when the researchers7 found that the teachers always have difficulties in repeating the topic of a subject if students could not attend the class. In addition, there are students who are unable to complete their school assignments as given by the teachers at home if the students do not understand what was learnt at school. The students also could not raise any questions to their teachers when they are at home. As a consequence, the students would be burdened by the problem of understanding a topic and this phenomenon leaves a negative effect on the students. The students would eventually become bored and lose interest in the topic that was being taught. Researchers7 later introduced and applied the
flipped classroom method as an alternative to the current traditional teaching method by using Vodcast and Podcast technologies. Research findings shows that there is a drastic increase in the students’ performance/achievement, especially on students who have outstanding achievement to the point that these gifted students managed to complete their Advanced Placement (AP) Chemistry and Chemistry subject within a year instead of a few years 7. Hence, the research findings motivate the authors to carry out similar research on full boarding school consisting of gifted and talented academically students. Rapid technology has played an important role in the educational world. The use of technology in teaching and learning facilitates in increasing students’ understanding toward critical and creative thinking, if used systematically 8. For another perspective, the use of technology helps to reduce cost. 9 Other researcher carried out a study in a school known as Bryon School which was having a serious financial problem. The financial problem faced by Byron School has resulted in the school not being able to bear the cost of textbooks. By applying the flipped classroom method on Mathematics subject, this helped Bryon School to overcome the problem. In fall 2011, Intel awarded Bryon High School with the School of Distinction Award for Mathematics. A school is an educational institution that shapes students and produces the future generation. The learning pattern of students at the university is largely influenced by the learning pattern at school. This finding is from a study done by other researchers10 on the behavior of a group of students in a university in a discussion session and group activity. The research findings show that students were not a) actively involved in the discussion, b) giving responses due to low self-esteem, c) critical or giving suggestions to their peers’ and teachers’ suggestions, d) challenging teachers’ views on issues discussed 10. These problems begin from the school level that is rigid and skews toward teacher-oriented learning. This motivates the authors to carry out a study on a group of secondary school students. Hence, teachers need to play a role in the learning pattern of students according to the need and suitability of students’ learning. Ongoing research need to be done on school curriculum to prepare the students for acceptable levels of global achievements 11 . Therefore, in order to ensure that the students’ achievement is at par with global achievements, schools need to do drastic and bold changes. Equally, the teachers need to be responsible in building/realizing students’ potentials through a teaching method that meets the need of students’ learning. The current traditional method usually involved a one-way interaction whereby the students only receive passive input. This would result in the students not being able to build their own knowledge, making it less suitable/ineffective for excellent students as proven by previous researcher 12. Besides, less interaction between the teacher and students also encourages the passive learning pattern that eventually carries on to the university level as was discovered in the research 10. This negative effect does not only apply to the normal or average students but it also affects the university students who are gifted and talented at school. Flipped classroom is seen as a platform to increase the performance of excellent students Through the use of technology, students’ potentials could be realized and students would be able to find and explore information fast and effectively 13. The teachers could prepare excellent students through online digital resources to enable them to explore information about a given topic in more detail. In addition, the digital material would not burden the teachers as there are many renowned universities like
Yale, Stanford, MIT, Harvard and Berkeley that provide the topic contents for free especially to excellent students. Besides, Khan Academy has also provided various digital materials for free. Malaysia is not excluded in providing digital materials whereby the Educational Technology Division or Bahagian Teknologi Pendidikan (BTP) under the Ministry of Education (MOE), has many digital materials that are prepared based on the national curriculum standard. Flipped classroom also provides opportunity for excellent students to learn in a group. Group activity in a flipped classroom could increase interaction between students and teacher, and between students themselves through learning activities such as inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning 14 and project based learning 15. The authors view this as an importance to be carried out in boarding schools that place excellent students. Taking an example from the developed countries such as the United States (U.S.), the U.S. has organizations like the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) that focuses on gifted and talented students and ensures that their potentials are not neglected. NAGC, through guidelines and curriculum, was adapted based on the learning needs of the students. It is one of thousand actions that should reasonably be exemplified to ensure the excellent students’ potentials do not go unnoticed. 3.0 TECHNOLOGY USED IN FLIPPED CLASSROOM LEARNING PROCESS Technology is a catalyst in the teaching and learning processes. Technology that is used accurately and systematically would facilitate the teachers in imparting the knowledge, and the students in their learning 8. Previous studies on flipped classroom in school also found that it is not an excluded from the use of technology. Researchers 7 used Podcast and Vodcast technologies which acquired software and hardware that allowed them to record their lessons lively. The digital sources would then be used by the students later. Class times were allocated for more studentcentered and inquiry base learning. In order to make sure every student has watched the video lesson prior to the class, researcher 7 devised the system such that it could check students who have not watched and interacted with the video lessons yet. Implementation of flipped classroom saves time by 40 per cent for each 90 minutes of Teaching and Learning (TnL). With these extra times, they could do more hands-on activities. In addition, teachers can have more interaction with their students and augmenting the content with higher order questioning7. According to researches7, the students’ parents were initially skeptical about the implementation of flipped classroom in the early stage of the research but eventually they accepted the method and even watched the Vodcast together with the students. It can be concluded that learning through flipped classroom allows the students to master the contents, and it is not linked to seat time as in the traditional approach7. Teachers can use technology to enhance the curriculum and learning for gifted students 13. However it is limited by teachers’ creativity, curriculum and understanding. By giving the opportunity to students to apply and manipulate the use of technology in learning and teaching could help the students understand more what is being taught by the teachers. All in all, by providing internet facility to students, it enables students to explore more information that relates to the subjects being taught. Research findings also showed that excellent students’ learning needs through the traditional method is not an ideal one. This is
due to excellent students’ need technology as a platform to enable them generates a more critical thinking through faster and more effective search of information 12. Regardless of whichever technology that is being used, it would give impact on teaching and learning. Flipped classroom concept emphasizes on the use of technology in the learning process through the method itself and it gives students the opportunity to gain knowledge in and outside the classroom/school hours. Through the use of technology, learning is not limited solely at school and it opens up the opportunity to students to improve their own understanding. 5.0 CONCLUSION Besides meeting the 21st century learning, flipped classroom is a method that is able to realize the potential of excellent students. Even though a student may be excellent academically at school, when he or she enters the university, this excellent student may not be able to realize the characteristics of a potential students such as sharing and giving sound opinions and ideas, and active in group discussion session. Therefore, implementation of the flipped classroom method could change the direction of the current traditional class and shape the students’ learning. In the authors’ views, the students’ learning pattern should and must be nurtured from their schools. Schooling years is a platform to the students, especially the excellent students, to revive their talents through the flipped classroom method. Acknowledgement. The authors would like to thank Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) and Ministry of Education (MOE) for their continuous support and encouragement in carrying out this study. References Abu Bakar, 2013. Kurikulum Kearah Penghasilan Kemahiran Berfikiran Kritis, Kreatif dan Inovatif. Juku Juku, pp.10–18. Baker, W., 2011. The Origins of The Classroom Flip, Bergmann, J. & Sams, A., 2009. Remixing chemistry class: Two Colorado teachers make vodcast of their lectures to free up class time for hands-on activities. Learning & Leading with Technology, (December 2008), pp.22–27. Bijlani, K., Chatterjee, S. & Anand, S., 2013. Concept Maps for Learning in a Flipped Classroom. 2013 IEEE Fifth International Conference on Technology for Education (t4e 2013), pp.57–60. Available at: http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=6751061 [Accessed August 21, 2014]. Flumerfelt, S. & Green, G., 2013. Using Lean in the Flipped Classroom for At Risk Students. , 16, pp.356–366. Fulton, K.P., 2012. 10 reasons to flip. The Phi Delta Kappan of Journal Storage (JSTOR), 94(2), pp.20–24. Lage, M.J. et al., 2000. Inverting the Classroom : A Gateway to Creating an Inclusive Learning Environment. , 31(1), pp.30–43. Lowell, J. et al., 2013. The Flipped Classroom : A Survey of the Research. Mukherjee, T.C., 2013. Exploring the relationship between Learner’s attributes and Flipped classroom success in the Malaysian context.
Pang, N.K. & Yap, K.T., 2014. The Flipped Classroom Experience. IEEE, pp.39–43. Pring, L., 2012. The benefits of a flipped classroom for gifted students. , (November). Available at: http://prezi.com/bgiz-evgv5_s/the-benefits-of-aflipped-classroom-for-gifted- students/. Siegle, D., 2011. Helping Gifted Students : Learn From and Learn With Technology. Journal of Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented, XXXI(3), pp.9–15. Siegle, D., 2013. Technology: Differentiating Instruction by Flipping the Classroom. Gifted Child Today, 37(1), pp.51–55. Available at: http://gct.sagepub.com/lookup/doi/10.1177/1076217513497579 [Accessed February 25, 2014]. Thomson, D.L., 2010. Beyond the Classroom Walls: Teachers’ and Students' Perspectives on How Online Learning Can Meet the Needs of Gifted Students. Journal of Advanced Academics, 21(4), pp.662–712. Warter-perez, N. & Dong, J., 2012. Flipping the Classroom : How to Embed Inquiry and Design Projects into a Digital Engineering Lecture. In Proceedings of the 2012 ASEE PSW Section Conference.
