ISQAE 2014 - ID # 67
3rd International Seminar on Quality and Affordable Education 2014
Flipped classroom: Reviving cognitive development among school students
Azlina A.Rahman,a,
* Zaleha Abdullah,b Hasnah Mohammed,
c Norasykin Mohd Zaid,
d Baharuddin Aris
e
a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
b Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
c Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
d Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
e Universiti Teknologi Malaysia
*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
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 student-
centered 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
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