What an interesting idea. Content taught at home and problems completed at school. Currently we use the traditional model where students are rote learning their spelling words and complete a Maths sheet that incorporates counting, addition and subtraction and topics taught from the week before.
As much as I find this an interesting model it would take a lot of work to set up. From the video by Teachings in Education (2017) Flipped Classroom Model: Why, How, and Overview there are a few steps that would need to take place before you start. Once it is set up, I wonder who completes the videos for the students to use at home? Earp (2016) states that it is ‘double planning’ for the lessons at home and the lessons at school. If we are required to differentiate then that becomes even more work. I don’t want to spend my evenings or weekends completing videos for my students because that will take more time and I run the risk of burnout.
Teaching in Education (2017) states that students can be working at their own pace, students are going to be all over the place because they can be rushing through or taking their time especially if they aren’t completing the work at home. I am not sure how that could be handled when the students are at school. It feels as if teachers are already spread thinly within the classroom, would this make that worse?
We are expecting children to complete more work online. For younger students this is not the greatest outcome. They could become easily distracted by other activities online. Students enjoy learning through play and this is already incorporated by the educational online games that schools use and this may become a decision students will choose over watching a video. Spending too much time on screens is detrimental to their wellbeing. Some studies state that too much time has an impact on students. Younger students are not learning the importance of correct letter formation and handwriting if they are completing work online.
How do we cater for all students and their different learning abilities? By watching a video we are expecting that all students are the same type of learner. Students may need concrete materials in front of them. Some students prefer to learn face to face. Are students switching off because it is not engaging? Are students skipping parts of the video like some do when reading online?
How do parents feel about this type of learning? They are potentially the adults that would initially work through what the student has learnt before they come to school. During this time of constant remote learning where the parents have been overseeing the work that the students have been set, many have felt inadequate and overwhelmed by the task at hand. Does this require more of our parents?
Whilst the studies where flipping the classroom has worked it would be interesting to see it in action. I am not sure that younger primary students would be worthy candidates for independent learning as they are still learning how to be learners. In the younger years it is more important that students spend the afternoon completing a short homework task and then playing and spending time with their families rather than trying to learn new content after many hours at school.
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
