The Problem
In a traditional school, students typically are lectured to in class by a teacher and there’s very limited opportunity for discourse. Yes, you read that right, there is very little opportunity for interaction when students are together with peers and their teacher. They are then assigned homework that they do by themselves at home at precisely the time when human interaction is most needed. Despite the crippling limitations with this process, it works quite well for middle-income students because they typically have the support system at home to explain salient points they might have missed during the lecture. Not so much for kids of low-income parents. Essentially, middle-income students get the help they need to close the knowledge gaps as soon as they are formed. Middle-income students do not carry those gaps from session to session or grade to grade, causing them to fall further behind with time. Low-income kids, on the other hand, typically don’t have that support and so they carry those gaps with them all the way to the working world where they, like their parents, will only qualify for low-income jobs. The pattern is obvious.
Flipped Learning
So what if we flipped it around? What if the student experiences the lecture in a private setting (home, library cube, etc.) using videos and does the assignments in a place where help – the instructor and peers, is readily available? The advantage a middle-income child has is now available to the low-income child! With technology, students can now watch a lecture in the comfort of their home or library, where they can replay it as many times as they want to understand the concept. If they still don’t understand, they can bring it to class where the teacher or another student will now have plenty of time for discourse that they did not have when the session was spent mostly for lecturing. In addition, they can get a head start on assignments and come to class having experienced the concept many times already and having gained at least a partial understanding of the material.
Flipped learning is not merely about exchanging the places where lectures and homework happen. It’s about providing lectures in a way that students can repeat and pause many times to build their understanding in their personal space and then providing opportunities for students to work on assignments in the classroom where they can get support from teachers at the time when it’s most helpful to them.
This process relies mostly on technology to work. Yes, access to the Internet is more difficult for low-income kids but for most it’s not a big hurdle. Computers with Internet access are available in schools and public libraries. And Internet providers offer significant discounts for low-income families and devices for watching videos are becoming cheaper with time.
Talk to your child’s teacher about flipped learning. If they are hearing about it for the first time refer them to these resources.
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojiebVw8O0g
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ot_dKs_LRf0
· https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nTFEUsudhfs
In addition, you can search YouTube for help with a particular topic if your child needs help with a particular problem. Khan Academy and Math Antics are excellent choices.
Now, as wonderful as these websites are, they are not necessarily useful in situations where the student is far behind and needs intervention – using these sites may only amount to wasted time and increased frustration on the student’s part. In those cases, the student needs human interaction with teachers, parents and tutors all working together to close knowledge gaps. Also, as a form of blended learning where technology is used to complement face-to-face classes, it must be fully integrated into the curriculum so that the student experiences continuity throughout the school year.
Flipped learning is no longer a new concept and there’s evidence everywhere of its efficacy. For diverse public school systems, flipped learning is an excellent way to raise everyone’s scores while closing the achievement gap.
It Takes a Village 