by Kelly Beischel PhD, RN, CNE

You were hired to teach because you’re a content expert. Right? But, have you had either of these experiences yet?

You’re such an expert that it’s difficult to understand why novice students are so challenged by the content.

Or there is so much content that you can’t get past the surface of it all to move your students to deeper learning. Even though cognitive neuroscience tells us that we need to go deep to facilitate long-term memory.

What to do?

Move some of the content outside of the classroom.

Content that students use to prepare for the deep learning that will occur inside the classroom. There are countless ways to move content out of the classroom affording you the time to tackle the difficult problems. And the best part?

It isn’t an all or nothing deal.

Dr. B.’s Flipping Tips

1. Always begin with the end in mind.

As with any class, you begin with “What do I want my students to learn from this lesson?” Then, determine how you plan to assess their level of learning.

Next, consider the teaching and learning activities best suited to facilitate student learning. Some of the material will be outside of class and other material will be inside class. It really is that easy.

2. Stick with it.

If you fall back to playing PowerPoint Karaoke students will resent the time they spent on the material outside of class.

3. Yours and Mine.

I teach a course in which I must teach a semester’s worth of material and deliver 2 tests in 7.5 weeks. There’s not much time to play around. After much deliberation, I divide the material for any given unit between what the students are responsible for and the material for which I am responsible.

Students come to class having read the material and answered the study guide, which may include case studies, essay questions, and fill in the blanks. Other than answering questions about the work they did to prepare for class, I do not rehash the material.

This allows me to go deeper into the more difficult content for which I am responsible.

4. Will students revolt?

It’s essential for success that you prepare students for this type of learning. Guide them on how to effectively watch the videos and if (when) they complain see #6. If prepared well, they’ll come on the journey with you.

It’s sad but I’ve heard faculty balk at using this teaching strategy stating, “Students won’t like it and I have to worry about my evals for tenure.” If this concerns you too. Watch this video.  The whole video is great! But, to discover student perspectives on lecture begin watching at 13:26.

It will change your mind.

5. Present the evidence.

We impress upon students the importance of using evidence to guide their decision-making, right? If you teach nursing you teach students about evidence based practice, yes?

Why not show them the evidence that informs your decision to use active teaching strategies?

I use this graph with my students on the very first day of class to present the evidence for using active strategies to teach. I’m essentially demonstrating that I care deeply about student learning.

How can they argue?

The impact of active learning on student learning is illustrated in this graph that illustrates class averages on pre- and post-tests of fundamental conceptual knowledge in first-semester introductory physics. Learning gains in active-learning classes are typically two to three time higher in comparison to lecture courses. The data set includes more than 6500 students in 62 classes. (From R. Hake, 1998, Interactive-engagement versus traditional methods: A six-thousand-student survey of mechanics test data for introductory physics courses, Am. J. Phys. 66: 64-74)

The graph alone makes a compelling statement.

Yes or Yes?? It gets their attention. It takes hard work to learn. So, yes they may balk as you move into the semester. When this happens. Explain to them you are staying the course. Refer them back to this graph.

6. Videos

Using videos to lecture or demonstrate skills before class is vogue in flipped classrooms. You can create videos using software such as Camtasia and upload it to your learning management system. (See the links below for some tips about how to create your videos.)

If you don’t like to video cast yourself, no worries. There are many videos housed on reputable sites on the Internet. You can find them on iTunesU, YouTube, MITOpen, Coursera, to name a few. I Googled “Nursing Process”; clicked on videos. The result? 460,000 videos.

Holy cow, Batman. If I can’t find one in there I should go home.

7. Podcast your examples.

You know that quirky content you teach, the content that you know like the back of your hand yet students have difficulty grasping? You spend more time than you can spare giving example after example for those students in your class with furrowed brows?

We all have those times.Create short podcasts or quick, simple videos to give more examples. Students can access these as needed. Use videos online to teach you how. Or ask your students how to do it. 🙂

8. Administering quizzes.

Afraid students aren’t watching your videos? Or they aren’t learning from the videos? Embed quizzes. The benefits are threefold.

  • First, they will need to watch the video to answer the questions. (You can use the quizzes as entry to class.)
  • Second, embedding quizzes within the video (interpolating memory tests) can help sustain students’ attention to online video lectures.
  • Third, and most importantly, cognitive psychologists demonstrate that quizzing increases retention and leads to the transference of knowledge to new contexts.

And yes! You can quiz students on material you have not “taught” yet; material they are accountable for when they arrive to class.

9. Plan your class.

Be intentional about the length of the videos. Create your videos or podcasts in short segments, like 7-10 minutes. Creating multiple videos or podcasts in short segments rather than one epic long movie is paramount to the success of flipping.

You want to give it a try?

  • First and foremost, take baby steps!!
  • Second, be willing to take risks. Some classes will be great, others will flop. But how is that any different than when you are center stage? You have good days and bad days, right?
  • Third, critically examine the content for each class given your objectives. What content can you pull out as pre-class work to give you time to go deep in class? Consider this: what type of pre-class work makes sense given the type of content you’re teaching? Video with quiz? Video of how to? Audioclips of music?

The possibilities are endless.

Try it. You might be like Mikey and like it. Weirder things have happened, right?

Reply below. Do you have any favorite Flipping Tips you’d like to share?