Let's Use Video to Reinvent Education by Salman Khan and think about how we can apply this concept in our courses.
About two weeks ago, the learning and development team at my workplace held our first lunch and learn session. Including myself in Vancouver, the team is comprised of 8 trainers in the Western provinces and every month, one of us would choose a topic and lead the discussion. The goal of these sessions is to share our knowledge and insights relating to different aspects of adult education among ourselves. The topic for our first session was on "flipped classrooms". To prepare for the discussion, we were asked to watch a video called Training session such as this where the face-to-face time is spent having group discussions, doing activities, or applying learning based on pre-recorded lecture videos that the participants were asked to watch prior to attending the class is known as a flipped classroom. In a typical flipped classroom the lectures are completed as a homework and homework or activities are done in class; hence the term "flipped" or "inverted" is used to describe these classrooms. Although this form of classroom structure may have been around since when the video cameras first came out, it wasn't until 2007 when it was popularized by couple of high school teachers, Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams. Currently, many educational institutions around the world take advantage of this concept in order to enrich the students' learning experiences (Riismandel, 2014).
New Insights
There is a good reason why many educational institutions are implementing flipped classrooms into their curriculum. Clintondale High School in Detroit for example, saw a great improvement in the passing ratio of their students in English and math classes after adopting to the flipped classroom model (Knewton, 2011). The students also received more support and instant feedback for their work from their teachers and solving difficult exercises with other students together resulted in less frustrations.
Other benefits include the ability to watch and learn from the lectures at the students' own pace. The teachers either record their own lectures and post them on Youtube, or ask the students to log in to websites such Khan Academy and watch specific modules. The videos are also not longer than 10 minutes to keep them engaged and allows the students to rewind and rewatch the lecture until they fully grasp the concept. It's important to note, however, that videos are only one of many ways in which the lectures are delivered. According to Bergmann and Sams (2014), other mediums such as online simulations, books, and periodicals are also used to pre-work in a flipped classroom.
Another reason for the success of flipped classrooms can be traced back to one of the learning theories, Bloom's Taxonomy. This theory was created by Benjamin Bloom in 1950s and it assumes that learning occurs when the students are able to perform higher levels of cognitive work (applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating) based on knowledge and comprehension gained.
With the traditional classrooms, the knowledge and comprehension are gained in the classroom in a form of lecture. The higher level of cognitive work are fulfilled outside of classroom in a form of homework. Through flipped classrooms, the requirements for Bloom's Taxonomy are also met. The students gain knowledge and comprehension from outside of the classrooms, and focus on the higher cognitive work in the classrooms, collaboratively with peers.
For the adult learners, the flipped classrooms provide even more benefits. Adults, as suggested by Malcolm Knowles' interpretation of andragogical approach to learning, have learning needs that are different from those of children. According to Knowles (as cited in Merriam & Bierema, 2014), adults:
As indicated by EDUCAUSE (2012) however, there are also downside to flipping the classes. First, lack of planning from the instructors could result is ineffective learning experiences for the students. In addition to the planning process that is required for traditional face-to-face classrooms, flipped classrooms require additional consideration. If lectures are recorded in a video format, the instructors need to learn how to record, edit, and publish them. This could be challenging for some, especially if they are not experienced with technology. If other medium such as elearning are utilized, the instructors must be mindful of the fact that it takes time and money to create the material.
As part of the planning process, the instructor must also understand that their role during the classroom time shifts from being a presenter to facilitator of discussion (Bergmann & Sams, 2014). Especially with adult learners, the instructors must prepare meaningful exercises that will allow the learners to bring their valuable experiences to solve the problems.
From the learners perspectives, another problem could arise if they are technologically challenged. As much as technology has advanced over the recent years, not everyone may feel comfortable navigating a Moodle website or elearning module. For some, they may not even have the tools such as computers or fast internet available to access these lectures. The instructors need be aware of these challenges and be flexible to make the lecture material easily and readily accessible.
All things considered, flipped classrooms provide additional learning experiences that are much needed for the learners (Foley & Kaiser, 2013). With careful planning, this model helps the learners to take responsibility for their own learning.
Trends
During our lunch and learn session, all of the trainers provided our perspectives and feedback on the flipped classroom concept. Since the team is made up of trainers of different levels of experiences, there were some great comments and feedback about this teaching concept. Some liked how the learners are able to learn at their own pace by rewinding, pausing, and fast-forwarding the videos, while others liked how the videos and elearning modules would be archived and be available for anyone who are interested in learning on their own. Based on the general responses however, many of us have never made use of or even heard of this flipped classroom concept at the workplace.
Responses such as these shouldn't be surprising since the flipped classroom model may be new to even some of the most experienced trainers in the workplace. According to the survey done in May 2014 by Tagoras, a consulting firm that specializes lifelong learning, only about 5% of 157 organizations surveyed takes the flipped approach for their continuing education and professional development courses (as cited in Yarbro et al., 2014). In addition, the survey showed that only 10% of the same organizations will take this approach in next 12 months. In contrast, another recent survey done by Flipped Learning Network and Sophia Learning showed that about 78% of the teachers in K-12 and post secondary educational institutions have utilized this model in their classrooms (as cited in Yarbro et al., 2014).
Nevertheless, the flipped classrooms are making their ways into the workplace training. This is evidenced in the article by Bergmann and Sams (2014), FLIPPED LEARNING: Maximizing Face Time. It mentions how different industries, specifically nuclear power, hair-care products sale, and management associations, are exploring the flipped classrooms in their training sessions to replace the traditional face-to-face lecture based sessions.
Furthermore, many organizations that specialize in workplace training, such as Lambda Solutions and TechSmith are starting to market the benefits of flipped classrooms and their ability to create the best-in-class training package such as elearning program, learning management system, webinars, etc. It is also worth mentioning that Training Magazine Network will be offering two free webinars relating to flipped classrooms in August and October 2014 and the links are posted under Links & Resources section of this blog.
As for the Property & Casualty (non-life) insurance industry where I am in, the flipped classroom approach is still not widely known. In fact, many of the companies don't even have a formal training team. Instead, the training teams would be made up of former subject matter experts with little or no experience in adult education field and on occasions, they would bring in experienced trainers to deliver soft skills training. Regardless, technologies such as elearning and webinars have been widely used to diversify the delivery of training.
At the organization where I work, we are fortunate to have one of the largest training teams in the industry. With the help of two Instructional Designers in the Western division, the trainers, including myself, have been creative on how we deliver our training sessions. During the recent years for example, we have been proving a lot more webinars for product knowledge and systems trainings due to the employees' demands. Also, more elearning modules have made available for certain courses that may be too basic for in-class training sessions. If we are to consider flipping some of the training sessions however, there are couple of challenges that must be carefully considered.
First, most employees are too busy trying to find extra time to fit training sessions in their work schedules, not to mention the homework that we ask them to complete after the sessions. With flipped classroom approach, the participants still need to spend the same amount of time learning the lecture material on their own. Work-life balance is important for many, and they hesitate to study the lecture material outside of the work hours. Also, the participants still need to attend the in-class sessions to apply their learning experience.
Technology, as mentioned previously, also poses a challenge for some of the trainers in the team. Surely, it may not be too difficult for us to simply speak to the mic while looking at the webcam to record the video; however, the video needs to include other elements such as charts, numbers, words, tables, animations, and more to keep the participants engaged. In addition, technology poses a challenge for the employees. We need to ensure that the recorded lecture will be compatible for all of the employees' computers. One good example of why this needs to be considered is because at our company, the employees cannot access certain websites, including Youtube, on their computers unless they receive a special sanction.
In order for successful implementation of flipped training sessions, the best way would be to run a pilot session for a course that certain employees must attend. A training session to review a change of work procedure in certain departments would be a good example. The lecture would be recorded by trainers who are comfortable using the relevant softwares and hardwares and be posted in a shared folder that all the employees has access too. Then, the classroom time would be spent reviewing case studies or answering certain questions that the participants may have.
Given the success that flipped classroom models achieved in K-12 and post secondary realm, it's imperative that the workplace trainings, including the training environments in my company and the industry, pick up the pace and maximize the learning experience.
Web-Conference with Learning Partner
While researching the flipped classroom model, I had opportunities to review my findings with my learning partner, Erika Patrick, from Foundations of Adult Education course at Vancouver Community College. Since she is in the nursing field, it was interesting to learn about her perspective on the flipped classroom concept.
One of the similarities that we both shared was that the flipped classroom model was new to us before the research began. As a result, we were both skeptical about the idea of implementing this model into our training sessions at first. The nurses who Erika works with at the health institution are seasoned employees and at the same time, they a re also too busy trying to find extra time to fit training sessions in their work schedules. The flipped classroom concept, as mentioned earlier, takes the same amount of training time and therefore, may not provide much advantage over the traditional classrooms for these busy professionals.
Knowing that there are other benefits of the flipped classroom model however, it may still be worthwhile for Erika to implement flipped classrooms by piloting less complex training sessions. With this approach, the busy nurses may decide not to attend the in-class session based on the pre-recorded lectures if they are already familiar with the topic. With careful planning, the employees will eventually see the value of the classrooms.
At the end of our meetings, she was not still not sold on the idea of the flipped classroom. However, once she gets a class of her own, she will consider flipping it. Erika's blog, Flipped Classrooms: Fad or Future, explains her findings from the research on this topic and her perspective.
References
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2014, February 8). FLIPPED LEARNING: Maximizing face time. Retrieved
from http://www.astd.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2014/02/Flipped-Learning-
Maximizing-Face-Time
EDUCAUSE (2012, February). 7 Things you should know about the flipped classroom [PDF document].
Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7081.pdf
Foley, J. M., & Kaiser, L. M. R. (2013). Learning Transfer and Its Intentionality in Adult and Continuing
Education. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education,2013(137), 5-15. doi:10.1002/ace.20040
Khan, S. (2011, March). Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education
Knewton. (2011, August 29). The Flipped Classroom [Infographic]. Retrieved from
http://www.knewton.com/blog/education-infographics/flipped-classroom-infographic/
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Riismandel, P. (2014). The flipped classroom Information Today Inc. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=95066563&site=bsi-
live&scope=site
Yarbro, J., Arfstrom, K. M., McKnight, K., McKnight, P. (2014). Extension of a review of FLIPPED LEARNING
[PDF document]. Retrieved from http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/wp-content/uploads/
613_A023_FlippedLearning_2014_JUNE_SinglePage_f.pdf
New Insights
There is a good reason why many educational institutions are implementing flipped classrooms into their curriculum. Clintondale High School in Detroit for example, saw a great improvement in the passing ratio of their students in English and math classes after adopting to the flipped classroom model (Knewton, 2011). The students also received more support and instant feedback for their work from their teachers and solving difficult exercises with other students together resulted in less frustrations.
Other benefits include the ability to watch and learn from the lectures at the students' own pace. The teachers either record their own lectures and post them on Youtube, or ask the students to log in to websites such Khan Academy and watch specific modules. The videos are also not longer than 10 minutes to keep them engaged and allows the students to rewind and rewatch the lecture until they fully grasp the concept. It's important to note, however, that videos are only one of many ways in which the lectures are delivered. According to Bergmann and Sams (2014), other mediums such as online simulations, books, and periodicals are also used to pre-work in a flipped classroom.
Another reason for the success of flipped classrooms can be traced back to one of the learning theories, Bloom's Taxonomy. This theory was created by Benjamin Bloom in 1950s and it assumes that learning occurs when the students are able to perform higher levels of cognitive work (applying, analyzing, evaluating, and creating) based on knowledge and comprehension gained.
With the traditional classrooms, the knowledge and comprehension are gained in the classroom in a form of lecture. The higher level of cognitive work are fulfilled outside of classroom in a form of homework. Through flipped classrooms, the requirements for Bloom's Taxonomy are also met. The students gain knowledge and comprehension from outside of the classrooms, and focus on the higher cognitive work in the classrooms, collaboratively with peers.
For the adult learners, the flipped classrooms provide even more benefits. Adults, as suggested by Malcolm Knowles' interpretation of andragogical approach to learning, have learning needs that are different from those of children. According to Knowles (as cited in Merriam & Bierema, 2014), adults:
- are self-directed,
- are ready to learn,
- are driven by internal motivation,
- bring experience,
- take problem-centered approach in learning, and
- need to know what and why they are learning,
As indicated by EDUCAUSE (2012) however, there are also downside to flipping the classes. First, lack of planning from the instructors could result is ineffective learning experiences for the students. In addition to the planning process that is required for traditional face-to-face classrooms, flipped classrooms require additional consideration. If lectures are recorded in a video format, the instructors need to learn how to record, edit, and publish them. This could be challenging for some, especially if they are not experienced with technology. If other medium such as elearning are utilized, the instructors must be mindful of the fact that it takes time and money to create the material.
As part of the planning process, the instructor must also understand that their role during the classroom time shifts from being a presenter to facilitator of discussion (Bergmann & Sams, 2014). Especially with adult learners, the instructors must prepare meaningful exercises that will allow the learners to bring their valuable experiences to solve the problems.
From the learners perspectives, another problem could arise if they are technologically challenged. As much as technology has advanced over the recent years, not everyone may feel comfortable navigating a Moodle website or elearning module. For some, they may not even have the tools such as computers or fast internet available to access these lectures. The instructors need be aware of these challenges and be flexible to make the lecture material easily and readily accessible.
All things considered, flipped classrooms provide additional learning experiences that are much needed for the learners (Foley & Kaiser, 2013). With careful planning, this model helps the learners to take responsibility for their own learning.
Trends
During our lunch and learn session, all of the trainers provided our perspectives and feedback on the flipped classroom concept. Since the team is made up of trainers of different levels of experiences, there were some great comments and feedback about this teaching concept. Some liked how the learners are able to learn at their own pace by rewinding, pausing, and fast-forwarding the videos, while others liked how the videos and elearning modules would be archived and be available for anyone who are interested in learning on their own. Based on the general responses however, many of us have never made use of or even heard of this flipped classroom concept at the workplace.
Responses such as these shouldn't be surprising since the flipped classroom model may be new to even some of the most experienced trainers in the workplace. According to the survey done in May 2014 by Tagoras, a consulting firm that specializes lifelong learning, only about 5% of 157 organizations surveyed takes the flipped approach for their continuing education and professional development courses (as cited in Yarbro et al., 2014). In addition, the survey showed that only 10% of the same organizations will take this approach in next 12 months. In contrast, another recent survey done by Flipped Learning Network and Sophia Learning showed that about 78% of the teachers in K-12 and post secondary educational institutions have utilized this model in their classrooms (as cited in Yarbro et al., 2014).
Nevertheless, the flipped classrooms are making their ways into the workplace training. This is evidenced in the article by Bergmann and Sams (2014), FLIPPED LEARNING: Maximizing Face Time. It mentions how different industries, specifically nuclear power, hair-care products sale, and management associations, are exploring the flipped classrooms in their training sessions to replace the traditional face-to-face lecture based sessions.
Furthermore, many organizations that specialize in workplace training, such as Lambda Solutions and TechSmith are starting to market the benefits of flipped classrooms and their ability to create the best-in-class training package such as elearning program, learning management system, webinars, etc. It is also worth mentioning that Training Magazine Network will be offering two free webinars relating to flipped classrooms in August and October 2014 and the links are posted under Links & Resources section of this blog.
As for the Property & Casualty (non-life) insurance industry where I am in, the flipped classroom approach is still not widely known. In fact, many of the companies don't even have a formal training team. Instead, the training teams would be made up of former subject matter experts with little or no experience in adult education field and on occasions, they would bring in experienced trainers to deliver soft skills training. Regardless, technologies such as elearning and webinars have been widely used to diversify the delivery of training.
At the organization where I work, we are fortunate to have one of the largest training teams in the industry. With the help of two Instructional Designers in the Western division, the trainers, including myself, have been creative on how we deliver our training sessions. During the recent years for example, we have been proving a lot more webinars for product knowledge and systems trainings due to the employees' demands. Also, more elearning modules have made available for certain courses that may be too basic for in-class training sessions. If we are to consider flipping some of the training sessions however, there are couple of challenges that must be carefully considered.
First, most employees are too busy trying to find extra time to fit training sessions in their work schedules, not to mention the homework that we ask them to complete after the sessions. With flipped classroom approach, the participants still need to spend the same amount of time learning the lecture material on their own. Work-life balance is important for many, and they hesitate to study the lecture material outside of the work hours. Also, the participants still need to attend the in-class sessions to apply their learning experience.
Technology, as mentioned previously, also poses a challenge for some of the trainers in the team. Surely, it may not be too difficult for us to simply speak to the mic while looking at the webcam to record the video; however, the video needs to include other elements such as charts, numbers, words, tables, animations, and more to keep the participants engaged. In addition, technology poses a challenge for the employees. We need to ensure that the recorded lecture will be compatible for all of the employees' computers. One good example of why this needs to be considered is because at our company, the employees cannot access certain websites, including Youtube, on their computers unless they receive a special sanction.
In order for successful implementation of flipped training sessions, the best way would be to run a pilot session for a course that certain employees must attend. A training session to review a change of work procedure in certain departments would be a good example. The lecture would be recorded by trainers who are comfortable using the relevant softwares and hardwares and be posted in a shared folder that all the employees has access too. Then, the classroom time would be spent reviewing case studies or answering certain questions that the participants may have.
Given the success that flipped classroom models achieved in K-12 and post secondary realm, it's imperative that the workplace trainings, including the training environments in my company and the industry, pick up the pace and maximize the learning experience.
Web-Conference with Learning Partner
While researching the flipped classroom model, I had opportunities to review my findings with my learning partner, Erika Patrick, from Foundations of Adult Education course at Vancouver Community College. Since she is in the nursing field, it was interesting to learn about her perspective on the flipped classroom concept.
One of the similarities that we both shared was that the flipped classroom model was new to us before the research began. As a result, we were both skeptical about the idea of implementing this model into our training sessions at first. The nurses who Erika works with at the health institution are seasoned employees and at the same time, they a re also too busy trying to find extra time to fit training sessions in their work schedules. The flipped classroom concept, as mentioned earlier, takes the same amount of training time and therefore, may not provide much advantage over the traditional classrooms for these busy professionals.
Knowing that there are other benefits of the flipped classroom model however, it may still be worthwhile for Erika to implement flipped classrooms by piloting less complex training sessions. With this approach, the busy nurses may decide not to attend the in-class session based on the pre-recorded lectures if they are already familiar with the topic. With careful planning, the employees will eventually see the value of the classrooms.
At the end of our meetings, she was not still not sold on the idea of the flipped classroom. However, once she gets a class of her own, she will consider flipping it. Erika's blog, Flipped Classrooms: Fad or Future, explains her findings from the research on this topic and her perspective.
References
Bergmann, J., & Sams, A. (2014, February 8). FLIPPED LEARNING: Maximizing face time. Retrieved
from http://www.astd.org/Publications/Magazines/TD/TD-Archive/2014/02/Flipped-Learning-
Maximizing-Face-Time
EDUCAUSE (2012, February). 7 Things you should know about the flipped classroom [PDF document].
Retrieved from http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7081.pdf
Foley, J. M., & Kaiser, L. M. R. (2013). Learning Transfer and Its Intentionality in Adult and Continuing
Education. New Directions for Adult & Continuing Education,2013(137), 5-15. doi:10.1002/ace.20040
Khan, S. (2011, March). Salman Khan: Let's use video to reinvent education [Video file]. Retrieved
from http://www.ted.com/talks/salman_khan_let_s_use_video_to_reinvent_education
Knewton. (2011, August 29). The Flipped Classroom [Infographic]. Retrieved from
http://www.knewton.com/blog/education-infographics/flipped-classroom-infographic/
Merriam, S. B., & Bierema, L. L. (2014). Adult Learning: Linking Theory and Practice. San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
Riismandel, P. (2014). The flipped classroom Information Today Inc. Retrieved from
http://search.ebscohost.com.proxy.lib.sfu.ca/login.aspx?direct=true&db=bth&AN=95066563&site=bsi-
live&scope=site
Yarbro, J., Arfstrom, K. M., McKnight, K., McKnight, P. (2014). Extension of a review of FLIPPED LEARNING
[PDF document]. Retrieved from http://researchnetwork.pearson.com/wp-content/uploads/
613_A023_FlippedLearning_2014_JUNE_SinglePage_f.pdf