The idea of flipped classrooms is not unfamiliar to me. My school investigated it as a potential learning tool about five years ago. Staff participated in professional develop, some then went on to trial flipping their classrooms and then it slowly disappeared. There was no formal feedback to staff from those who had trialled it and it was never mentioned again.

Thankfully, I have been able to talk with those teachers who have used a flipped classroom both successfully and unsuccessfully.

Those who have experienced success tend to work with VCE students and report that these students are aware of content demands, regularly complete set homework and have college-based consequences if they are falling behind (academic interviews, scaffolded learning plans and supervised study hall).

Those who have stopped trying to implement a flipped classroom have been working with junior classes where, if we consider Earp’s (2016) tips for flipped learning implementation, the pain does not seem to be worth the gain. This is due to some or all of the following reasons:

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• a lack of device and/or internet at home,
• a large number of students who are well below benchmark and are frustrated by the content that is delivered in this way,
• families that do not support the completion of homework,
• student organisational challenges, including difficulty in managing the distractions of working in an online environment.

For these reasons, I am not inclined to push a flipped classroom design with teachers. Those who find this works for them are already using it and those who are not, have an opinion that will not easily be shifted.

So, does this mean that I see no room for flipping in my own practice? Of course not. I see huge potential for flipping in the library research area of my school. Rather than delivering subject specific content, carefully developed video tutorials and documents can be provided to students through the library website to support research, note-taking, and effective searching. This would allow students to pick up skills as required and and at their own pace. Library staff are also available to answer questions or troubleshoot with students who need additional support.

By working with curriculum leaders, we can also ensure consistency of tools and scaffolds across the school by creating resources for our cohort of students, that support the teaching needs of staff and that are differentiated as required.

References

Earp, J. (2016, February 3). Homework culture key to flipped learning success. Teacher. https://www.teachermagazine.com.au/articles/homework-culture-key-to-flipped-learning-success

Teachings in Education. (2017, June 20). Flipped classroom model: Why, how and overview [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/BCIxikOq73Q