The Flipped Classroom

Jillian Mantione

PGY-2 Pharmacy Resident

Children’s National Medical Center

What is Flipped Learning?
The flipped learning model is defined as a pedagogical teaching approach that utilizes the classroom for group learning and discussion while traditional lecture-based teachings occur outside of the classroom. More simply put, it is a model where “school work is completed at home and home work is completed at school”.1 Instead of lectures occurring in the classroom and homework and knowledge assimilation occurring outside of class, the students get their “first exposure” to a topic at home while the classroom is reserved for upper level comprehension with group discussions.2

Benefits to Flipped Learning
This style of teaching allows students flexibility of when and how they receive their first exposure to a concept. For example, many pharmacy schools are posting their lectures online and reserving classroom time for patient case presentations and group discussions. Students can choose to watch the required lectures at any time that is convenient for them prior to attending class. Another benefit is that teachers can assess how well their students understand material through the utilization of pre-class assignments and lectures. Requiring students to take a quiz prior to coming to class can show teachers what areas their students are struggling with the most. They can use the results of the quizzes to alter their lesson plans in order to attend to the common struggles. This model can also facilitate higher level discussions in the classroom. Instead of using class time to give students a foundation of a topic, the classroom can be used to promote deeper learning through group discussions, real-life applications, etc.3

Disadvantages to Flipped Learning
 One disadvantage to this teaching model is it can promote more time in front of a screen and less time in front of people. Many aspects of the flipped model rely on technology to facilitate first exposure learning, such as lectures and online quizzes. This type of learning can promote more online instruction with significantly less time in a physical classroom. With less person-to-person contact, it may be difficult for teachers to build relationships with their students.4 One other disadvantage is the flipped classroom requires more work for the teacher at the front-end. For example, teachers will have to record lectures and ensure they are uploaded properly online.3,4 Planning classroom activities could be difficult as the struggles of the students will not be apparent until close to the live classroom session.

My opinion on Flipped Learning
I believe the benefits of flipped learning outweigh the disadvantages. As someone who learned in a flipped classroom throughout pharmacy school, this style was very beneficial. I was able to watch lectures on my own time and was able to re-watch lectures when I needed clarification. Having a foundation of a topic prior to attending class allowed me to prepare thoughtful questions to ask the professor. In healthcare education people of various stages of life are in the classroom. Having the flexibility of when and how to learn makes this type higher education accessible to more people.

References
1. Home_Page. Flipped Learning Network Hub. https://flippedlearning.org/. Published December 25, 1969. Accessed September 21, 2019.
2. Brame, C., (2013). Flipping the classroom. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved September 21, 2019 from http://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/flipping-the-classroom/.
3. Fitzpatrick M. Classroom Lectures Go Digital. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2012/06/25/us/25iht-educside25.html. Published June 24, 2012. Accessed September 21, 2019.
4. TeachThought Staff. 10 Pros and Cons of a Flipped Classroom. TeachThought. https://www.teachthought.com/learning/10-pros-cons-flipped-classroom/ published January 28, 2019. Accessed September 21, 2019