“Flipping” the classroom by having students complete the teacher instruction by the video for homework and completing the traditional homework practice problems during class is a new trend. Discuss some of the advantages and disadvantages of a “flipped” math classroom.
Introduction
The concept of flipped classrooms is spreading in educational institutes because of its more practical implication. Children nowadays are more connected to the world and to respond their learning needs, this is an entirely new and creative model. Not only it benefits students but creates a win-win situation for teachers and students. Before introducing the concept of flipping in math class, understanding its importance is really important. Flipping is basically the concept in which the modern methods of teaching are integrated with the technology. The time in the classroom is limited and rather than introducing the concept to students in the class, the instructor can just make a video lecture and free up class timing for more productive and valuable activities (Simonson, 2014). It will only be beneficial when the technology and students are integrated effectively. The concepts in math class are complicated and students should grasp them through proper assistance. So, some of the advantages and disadvantages are discussed here to see how flipping class influence in a math course.
Discussion
In this new trend, lectures are planned properly and utilize maximum resources to make the course interesting and engaging. To access the progress of students, online quizzes can are taken. This will help to focus on areas which need attention from the end of supervisor. Flipping classes are the use of instructional technology which is normally used in higher education and is moving towards middle and elementary classes. These concepts are being integrated because the accuracy of learning increases and the decrease is experienced in the mental effort by following this technique (Mattis, 2014). Flipping in math class is used to give a better experience and for students to experiment multiple structures. Teachers are also flipping their classes to improve the experience of students. Even there are multiple apps that are available for making flipping easy in math classrooms. These applications break down the complex questions in easy and simple to that students can relate to those scenarios. Some of those apps include DragonBox, operation math, geoboard, power math apps and math lab. These apps are aligned with the core concepts of mathematics and also really fun to use. They not only help the students at home but can be used anywhere. This thing allows the students to study new concepts while they are in their comfort zone.
Here some of the advantages and disadvantages of pursuing flipped class concept will be discussed to have a clear understanding of how this new trend works out.
Advantages of “flipped” math classroom
Integrating flipping in math class can be helpful for students to understand the concepts more practically. Even research has shown improvement in understanding of students by following flipped model in the course of linear algebra (Hodge, Grandgenett and Swift, 2013).
The unique advantage of the flipped classroom is that the control of students on class increases. Short lectures are provided to students to prepare from home which gives them more time to make their input in class activity. The freedom is given to students so that they can learn at their pace. The lectures can be reminded and paused if something is not clear. This makes it even effective for students of math class because there are many concepts that need revision. The behavior and performance of the student in class actions are improved.
The collaboration, as well as discussion of concepts, is improved. Students can learn easily o grab new concepts with the assistance of an instructor. Students own their learning because they take an active part in it and this builds more confidence in them. This enables students to identify the errors in the application of concepts. It is not advised to leave everything for students because complete lack of guidance in math class will result in misunderstanding of concepts. It is intended to create a more flexible environment to make learning convenient (Johnson, 2013).
In a flipped class, the videos are made available to students for all time on online channels. This is of help for students who miss their class due to an emergency, illness or urgent work. Students missing lectures can catch up easily and this help teacher as well to improve the flexibility in class.
the imp[ortant feature of modern flipping classes as compared to traditional classrooms is that parents can have access to the video lectures of students. this is helpful for a parent to prepare lectures if they help their children in preparation for the exam. also, the quality of instructions provided to the children is visible by their parents which help in accessing the quality of education.
Disadvantages of “flipped” math classroom
Like everything, there are also disadvantages of the flipped classroom and the most prominent one is that every student has a different level of mind so they learn at changed paces. However, getting more knowledge completely depend on the self-motivation of the student. The learning pace is affected because tests are given to every student and they attempt at their time of convenience. This can reduce the sense of order and punctuality.
One of the prominent issue raised because of flipped classroom environments is the requirement of internet and computer to attend the lectures. This is a problem for students that belong to low-income areas. The complete dependency of these classes is on the participation of student so they should be trusted about watching the lectures on time. Implementing his system does not provide the guarantee that students will cooperate with the flipped classroom model.
A significant amount of workload is put on the teachers. In order to make the class flourish, multiple elements should be integrated carefully into the online system. The condensed lectures should be first taped and then uploaded which requires time as well as skill. Introducing new topics and activities in class is necessary so that the learning would be enhanced and students will become motivated to participate in class.
Though there are many positive aspects of this learning technique it is also true that does not match with the “teach to test” environment. The standardized scoring of tests is not improved by following this model. However, a lot of time is required by both students and teachers to prepare for the lecture other than classroom timing.
When the flipping classroom is implemented in each class, students spend more time with laptops and screens which cause serious issues in long-term. Students do not spend time with their fellows and abandon going to different places which has an adverse effect on their physical health.
For a math class, it is also not possible to deliver everything through a video lecture because there are multiple queries that students have to ask and the clarification should be made in a more real environment.
Conclusions
Despite the disadvantages, the advantages of flipped classroom overweight and prove that still, it is really effective to turn the model of learning. In the developed countries like the USA, the concept of flipped classrooms is accepted to provide students access to their teaching material 24/7 (Fulton, 2012). Flipping classrooms is a hands-on method to improve the involvement plus achievement of students in education.
References
Fulton, K. (2012). Upside down and inside out: Flip Your Classroom to Improve Student Learning. Learning & Leading With Technology, 39(8), 12-17. Retrieved from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ982840
Hodge, Angie, Neal Grandgenett and Andrew w swift. “student learning and perceptions in a flipped linear algebra course.” international journal of mathematical education in science and technology (2013): 317-324.
Johnson, g. (2013). Student perceptions of the flipped classroom. The University of British Columbia. Retrieved from https://open.library.ubc.ca/circle/collections/ubctheses/24/items/1.0073641
Mattis, k. (2014). Flipped classroom versus traditional textbook instruction: assessing the accuracy and mental effort at different levels of mathematical complexity. Technology, knowledge and learning, 20(2), 231-248. Doi:10.1007/s10758-014-9238-0
Simonson, Michael. Distance learning: for educators, trainers, and leaders. Vol. 11. 2014. 4 vols.
