Week #4 The FLIPPED Classroom

The Flipped Classroom:

The “flipped classroom” is a concept that is relatively new to classrooms at the elementary level. This type of classroom is seen mostly at the college level. The flipped classroom is a forum for open discussion-dialogue and learning, What I liked best for the article titled: How the Flipped Classroom Is Radically Transforming Learning, the author makes note of the “usual” dialogue between parents and teachers at conferences. The parent will ask how their child is behaving, the author of this article points out that “behavior” isn’t an issue in a flipped classroom. No one is expected to sit still and hear a lecture for a period of time. Group discussion is the key factor in the flipped classroom. With group discussion, students are able to create dialogue that helps them learn from each other and retain information more successfully. This concept promotes self-learning, a big concept in higher education. By having classrooms like this, we promote self-learning, and college readiness. By giving the students the opportunity to learn this way, we also promote social skills in children early on.

The concept of the flipped classroom is “radical,” but it makes the most sense. I myself, have found that classroom with group discussion helps me to retain information more easily, it also helps me to develop my own understanding of the topic. I think that classrooms like this should not be limited to the college classroom, I believe group discussion should be encouraged right away. As a child, I was super “shy”—introverted, I believe if group discussion was promoted in my early education, I could have built those needed social skills faster, and more efficiently.

As a future educator, this is definitely the type of concept I will infuse into my own teaching styles. I will definitely make sure that the right supports are in place for children who struggle with social skills, giving them opportunities to be part of the group, in ways that are comfortable to them.