Flipped classrooms are a great way of expanding the learning curve of students. Using this technique, students get to spend more time critically analyzing topics. Frequent discussions regarding topics in class help students learn more effectively. Moreover, students actually get to clear their confusions with the teacher in class. The idea behind flipped classrooms is to enhance interaction with students.
It focuses on clearing students’ concept regarding different subjects. Students also learn to become independent as they get used to learning about the topic at home. There are many misconceptions regarding flipped classrooms. These misconceptions are a reason why flipped classrooms are discouraged in general.
These misconceptions need to be cleared to enable a better understanding of flipped classrooms. Let’s look at some of the most common misconceptions regarding flipped classrooms:
1. Flipped Classrooms Are Based On Video Lectures
This is one of the most common misconceptions regarding flipped classrooms. This misconception arose because most flipped classrooms use media presentations. The only reason video lectures and media presentation are used is because students find it easier to learn this way. However, flipping classrooms doesn’t necessarily mean that students have to watch video lectures. A classroom can be flipped by asking students to read a particular topic at home or research on a particular topic of a subject. The aim of a flipped classroom is to encourage the students to study at home and discuss what they have learned in class.
2. Flipped Classrooms Eliminate the Need for Teachers
Flipped classrooms are not an alternative to teachers. Students may study at home using interactive means or books. But they need a teacher to provide guidance to them in class. This is one of the reasons why flipped classrooms have excellent turnarounds. Teachers can spend more time on actually coaching students about the aspects they don’t understand. The learning and lecturing part is received by the students at home.
3. Students Get Disorganized In Flipped Classrooms
Flipped classrooms are thought to make students disorganized. This is because when they are studying at home they have no supervision at all. However, the result of a flipped classroom is quite contrary to this. Flipped classrooms do anything but make students disorganized. In fact students, learn to become more independent. They learn to grasp the concept for various courses on their own. Moreover, if they have any confusion about a topic, the teacher is always there to guide them in class. Students get a sense of responsibility when using flipped classrooms.
4. Students Will Have No Peer Support
Since students do most of the studying at home, it is believed that they won’t have any peer support. On the other hand, there are other students during discussions in class. However, the main concern is peer support at home while studying. But this problem is solved with the help of online forums. Many institutes that have adapted flipped classrooms have online forums where the students can interact. These forums allow the students to post their queries there. The forum is monitored by the teacher who answers any questions the students may have. Moreover, the teacher can also make a note of the common queries and prepare a class discussion accordingly. In addition, these forums enable students to interact with each other to discuss problems they may have.
5. All the Subjects Will Need to Be Flipped
This is one of the major reasons why teachers avoid flipping classrooms. They believe that they alone cannot flip their subject unless the other teachers are doing so as well. However, this is not the case. In fact flipping a classroom can be done with just a single topic as well. The aim is to have the students prepare for the lesson at home and discuss the topic in class.
Now that these misconceptions are cleared, you will know how beneficial flipped classrooms are.
Author Bio :
David Miller is an educational researcher who has vast experience in the field of teaching, Online testing and training. He is associated with prestigious universities and many leading educational research organizations. He’s also an ed-tech veteran, currently pursuing research in new eLearning developments and contributing author with ProProfs.
