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Flipped Learner Characteristics

When looking at the profile of students who excel at the flipped classroom environment, many share similar traits which allow them to succeed with this teaching style.

Motivated

In a flipped classroom, students need to watch, listen, or read instructive material before attend the next class where they would participate with in an activity. The student must be able to commit the proper motivation to engage in the outside classroom learning in order to actively engage in the classroom activity.

Disciplined

When the course work depends so much on their own learning, students need to be disciplined in their approach to keep up with the assigned independent learning. This goes beyond the typical idea of homework as much of the flipped learning environment involves watching or listening to lectures or videos, and noting key takeaways.

Competent with technology

Perhaps this goes without saying, but students in flipped classes  need to be comfortable with technology. Since much of the independent learning is delivered online, students have to be mature and confident in their use of computers and the Internet.

 

Learners at Risk of Struggling
with Flipped Classrooms

Flipped learning might not be the best fit for everyone, and some students who could be vulnerable in a flipped classroom also fit into a profile.

Lack of Maturity

Although flipped classroom’s pedagogy can be implemented at an early age, providing a complete course that is flipped would be most successful for students in at least high school. Elementary students could easily work on assignments where the individual learning outside the classroom would be supervised by an adult. This would be a good introduction to the idea of flipped learning and is something elementary teachers should adopt to prepare them for the flipped classrooms they will reach in advanced grades. When the first flipped classes are introduced at the high school level, learners would require the maturity to take the learning done on their own seriously and give it the time it requires. At the post secondary level, learners tend to be more committed about their education and are able to demonstrate the proper levels of maturity required for a flipped course.

Vulnerable Students

There are cases where flipping in a classroom may not work for certain learners, namely vulnerable students. These students may come from lower income households, rural areas with limited broadband, or they may be subject to other factors that make the online, independent study requirements difficult or impossible. For example, based on personal observations of a Grade 5 – 7 class in Anahim Lake BC, comprised of mostly aboriginal youth, it appears that some students may have a difficult time with the online components of their work and struggle to maintain the discipline to keep up. In addition, vulnerable students might not have the resources to do the work at home. Instructors might take this for granted. Again citing from personal experience, the aboriginal students observed at that time and place did not have the technology or the environment at home to be conducive to learning on their own in a flipped classroom.

Watch how an urban Detroit public school addressed adapting to the student’s characteristics. 

 

Discussion:

Besides those listed, what characteristics do you think students would require to be successful in a flipped classroom?