What is flipped and blending learning?

I keep hearing about flipped classes and blended learning.  What does this mean?

Blended learning is a form of instruction that incorporates both traditional face-to-face instruction with web-based multimedia instruction. With blended learning, the instructor is able to provide some content delivery to students when and where it meets the student's needs. The students are able to access this instruction through their own web connection or they can access the media via school computers/ipads/ipods/tablets/etc. at set times before/during/after the school day.

The exciting part about blended learning is the time it frees for classroom teachers to engage their students in classroom discussion, labs, or even project based or problem based assignments. The teacher can then act as the "guide on the side" helping students with misunderstandings and the application of concepts.

There are a few key unifying themes we're talking about blended learning and the flipped classroom:

• Transfers the ownership of the learning to the students
• Personalizes learning for all students
• Gives teachers time to explore deeper learning opportunities and pedagogies with their students (PBL, CBL, UDL, Mastery, Inquiry, etc)
• Makes learning (not teaching) the center of the classroom
• Maximizes the face to face time in the classroom

How will the learning model benefit my child?

Personalized Instruction – Because more time is available for teacher-student interaction, students are able to get more personalized instruction and teachers are able to get to know their students better and tailor activities to help them learn in whatever manner suits them best.

More Collaborative Learning – More class time also equals more opportunities for group activities, which can not only encourage students to work together, but also improve the quality of comprehension and knowledge retention and developing critical creative thinking skills.

Encourage Responsibility – Because students are responsible for reviewing lesson materials, this model encourages students to take initiative in their own learning. It also allows the student to review the lesson at their own pace, and review the lesson as many times as they want to.

The blended learning myth = It's all about video.

Often, when blended learning is in the spotlight, there is a focus on the use of video in the classroom.  This focus oversimplifies the process.  The key to flipped learning is NOT the videos or multimedia used in instruction. The KEY is that the use of the multimedia or video allows much more time for valuable interaction as part of the learning process.

These critical interactions are teacher-student, student-student, and student-content and are the true foundation of a blending learning model's success.

For more information on instruction in Spring Branch, visit the C&I section of the SBISD website. Or, visit the SBISD Strategic Planning website to see how we're changing the wat we teach in SBISD.