ISQAE 2014 - ID # 67

3rd International Seminar on Quality and Affordable Education 2014

Flipped classroom: Reviving cognitive development among school students

Azlina A.Rahman,a,

* Zaleha Abdullah,b Hasnah Mohammed,

c Norasykin Mohd Zaid,

d Baharuddin Aris

e

a Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

b Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

c Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

d Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

e Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

*Corresponding author: linskkb2012@gmail.com

Abstract

Active learning and team-base learning activities have proven to be highly effective in cultivating students’ engagement. Active and team based learning

however require technological support; and flipped classroom is suggested to be one of the pedagogical approaches to complement the whole process of learning. Flipped classroom is the latest pedagogical method that has the potential to change the current traditional way of teaching. Flipped classroom

emphasizes on learning activities that promote critical thinking and motivation among the students with the assistance of technology. The approach has been widely used in various fields in Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics (STEM), Social Science and Medicine, and even applied in the

universities and schools. Overall, the effectiveness of the flipped classroom approach has proven to be successful in improving students’ achievements.

However, research and implementation of flipped classroom in Malaysia is very limited. Further study is therefore required to understand the suitability in implementing flipped classroom approach at Malaysian schools. Some modifications to the approach will be made to fit a specific cultural group and

learning patterns of students.

Keywords: Flipped classroom, active learning, team-base learning, STEM, students

Abstrak

Pembelajaran aktif dan aktiviti berkumpulan adalah antara pembelajaran yang terbukti keberkesanannya secara empirikal dalam memupuk penglibatan

pelajar secara aktif. Namun pembelajaran tersebut lebih berkesan melalui penggunaan teknologi dan aktiviti seperti mana yang disarankan melalui

kaedah flipped classroom. Flipped classroom merupakan salah satu kaedah pedagogi terkini yang mampu mengubah corak pengajaran tradisional sedia ada secara menyeluruh. Flipped classroom juga memberi penekanan terhadap aktiviti pembelajaran bagi menjana pemikiran kritis pelajar melalui

penglibatan aktif mereka. Selain itu, penggunaan teknologi dalam flipped classroom bertindak sebagai pemangkin kepada proses pembelajaran pelajar. Flipped classroom telah diguna secara meluas dalam pelbagai bidang seperti Sains, Teknologi, Kejuruteraan, Matematik (STEM), Sains Sosial dan

Perubatan serta telah diaplikasikan di peringkat universiti dan sekolah. Secara keseluruhannya, keberkesanan kaedah flipped classroom terbukti berjaya

meningkatkan pencapaian pelajar. Di Malaysia, kajian dan pelaksanaan kaedah flipped classroom adalah sangat terhad. Kajian-kajian lepas mendapati bahawa kaedah flipped classroom mampu melonjakkan dan memaksimumkan potensi pelajar dari aspek kognitif ke peringkat yang lebih tinggi dan luar

norma. Namun begitu kesesuaian pelaksanaannya di peringkat sekolah penuh perlu dikaji dan dibuat beberapa pengubahsuaian berdasarkan budaya

kehidupan dan corak pembelajaran pelajar sekolah.

Kata kunci: Flipped classroom, pembelajaran aktif, aktiviti berkumpulan, STEM, pelajar sekolah

1.0 INTRODUCTION

Flipped classroom1 or inverted classroom2 is the latest

pedagogical method which is contrary to the traditional

classroom. The flipped classroom allows educators to move from

‘the sage on the stage’ to ‘the guide on the side’. The basic and

simplest form of flipped classroom is students are expected to

watch digital resources prior to class. The students are then

required to come prepared for class and perform hands-on

activities that are related to the digital resources. The digital

resources can be in any form such as video, audio or the internet.

This allows teachers to spend more time with their students to

carry out in-class activities and allow immediate response to

students’ needs.

In recent years, there have been a growing number of

researches on flipped classroom across disciplines and different

educational levels. As flipped classroom is a new pedagogical

method, the number of researches is limited especially at school

level. Previous studies that relate to flipped classroom have

proven to be effective in improving students’ achievement both at

school and university3. At school level, it is not limited only to the

mainstream students. The mainstream or normal students refer to

students who have achievements that are standard for their age

group. Flipped classroom is also proven to be effective when

implemented on gifted and talented students 4. The authors were

motivated to experiment flipped classroom towards a secondary

school environment. Secondary school is an educational

institution that places students who are mostly academically

average. The secondary school students’ age range from 13 to 17

years old. Flipped classroom also proven empirically to the slow

leaner as they can rewind the task given prior to the class.

However, there are some of the students are gifted and talented in

academic. The question is, does and in what way could the flipped

classroom method truly improve further the secondary school

gifted and talented students’ achievement in academic and

personality as compared to the current traditional method?. This

paper explores the advantages and effectiveness of the

implementation of flipped classroom method compared to the

traditional method on school students especially gifted and

talented students. Even though researches on the flipped

classroom method have been carried out successfully at the

university and school levels, this paper focuses only on school

level which is the authors’ research scope.

This paper begins by describing the motivation in the context

of related works on the flipped classroom. Next, the authors

discuss the learning process in a flipped classroom that has been

adapted to the learning style and life culture of boarding school

students. The adaptation that have been done by the authors are

also supported by other researchers4 who stated that talented

students need adaptation in terms of process and content based on

the learning environment. Finally, the paper summarizes the plan

to obtain an overview of the implementation of the flipped

classroom that could be used as a guide for the teachers and

students.

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

Flipped classroom method is a new method and is very

contrasting to the current traditional method. Therefore, the

explanation on flipped classroom method before its

implementation is necessary to ensure that the students and

teachers are receptive to the new changes 5. In agreement with

researcher 5, there have been previous researchers who study the

preparation of concept map for implementation in the learning

process of flipped classroom6. The purpose of preparing the

concept map is to provide a clearer overview on the

implementation of the new method such as the flipped classroom.

There are two science teachers7 who are responsible for

promoting the implementation of the flipped classroom method.

As an educator in a high school in Colorado, they7 found that the

teachers always face problem in teaching and learning. It began

when the researchers7 found that the teachers always have

difficulties in repeating the topic of a subject if students could not

attend the class. In addition, there are students who are unable to

complete their school assignments as given by the teachers at

home if the students do not understand what was learnt at school.

The students also could not raise any questions to their teachers

when they are at home. As a consequence, the students would be

burdened by the problem of understanding a topic and this

phenomenon leaves a negative effect on the students. The students

would eventually become bored and lose interest in the topic that

was being taught. Researchers7 later introduced and applied the

flipped classroom method as an alternative to the current

traditional teaching method by using Vodcast and Podcast

technologies. Research findings shows that there is a drastic

increase in the students’ performance/achievement, especially on

students who have outstanding achievement to the point that these

gifted students managed to complete their Advanced Placement

(AP) Chemistry and Chemistry subject within a year instead of a

few years 7. Hence, the research findings motivate the authors to

carry out similar research on full boarding school consisting of

gifted and talented academically students.

Rapid technology has played an important role in the

educational world. The use of technology in teaching and learning

facilitates in increasing students’ understanding toward critical

and creative thinking, if used systematically 8. For another

perspective, the use of technology helps to reduce cost. 9 Other

researcher carried out a study in a school known as Bryon School

which was having a serious financial problem. The financial

problem faced by Byron School has resulted in the school not

being able to bear the cost of textbooks. By applying the flipped

classroom method on Mathematics subject, this helped Bryon

School to overcome the problem. In fall 2011, Intel awarded

Bryon High School with the School of Distinction Award for

Mathematics.

A school is an educational institution that shapes students and

produces the future generation. The learning pattern of students at

the university is largely influenced by the learning pattern at

school. This finding is from a study done by other researchers10

on the behavior of a group of students in a university in a

discussion session and group activity. The research findings show

that students were not a) actively involved in the discussion, b)

giving responses due to low self-esteem, c) critical or giving

suggestions to their peers’ and teachers’ suggestions, d)

challenging teachers’ views on issues discussed 10. These

problems begin from the school level that is rigid and skews

toward teacher-oriented learning. This motivates the authors to

carry out a study on a group of secondary school students. Hence,

teachers need to play a role in the learning pattern of students

according to the need and suitability of students’ learning.

Ongoing research need to be done on school curriculum to

prepare the students for acceptable levels of global achievements 11. Therefore, in order to ensure that the students’ achievement is

at par with global achievements, schools need to do drastic and

bold changes. Equally, the teachers need to be responsible in

building/realizing students’ potentials through a teaching method

that meets the need of students’ learning. The current traditional

method usually involved a one-way interaction whereby the

students only receive passive input. This would result in the

students not being able to build their own knowledge, making it

less suitable/ineffective for excellent students as proven by

previous researcher 12. Besides, less interaction between the

teacher and students also encourages the passive learning pattern

that eventually carries on to the university level as was discovered

in the research 10. This negative effect does not only apply to the

normal or average students but it also affects the university

students who are gifted and talented at school.

Flipped classroom is seen as a platform to increase the

performance of excellent students Through the use of technology,

students’ potentials could be realized and students would be able

to find and explore information fast and effectively 13. The

teachers could prepare excellent students through online digital

resources to enable them to explore information about a given

topic in more detail. In addition, the digital material would not

burden the teachers as there are many renowned universities like

Yale, Stanford, MIT, Harvard and Berkeley that provide the topic

contents for free especially to excellent students. Besides, Khan

Academy has also provided various digital materials for free.

Malaysia is not excluded in providing digital materials whereby

the Educational Technology Division or Bahagian Teknologi

Pendidikan (BTP) under the Ministry of Education (MOE), has

many digital materials that are prepared based on the national

curriculum standard.

Flipped classroom also provides opportunity for excellent

students to learn in a group. Group activity in a flipped classroom

could increase interaction between students and teacher, and

between students themselves through learning activities such as

inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning 14 and project

based learning 15. The authors view this as an importance to be

carried out in boarding schools that place excellent students.

Taking an example from the developed countries such as the

United States (U.S.), the U.S. has organizations like the National

Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) that focuses on gifted

and talented students and ensures that their potentials are not

neglected. NAGC, through guidelines and curriculum, was

adapted based on the learning needs of the students. It is one of

thousand actions that should reasonably be exemplified to ensure

the excellent students’ potentials do not go unnoticed.

3.0 TECHNOLOGY USED IN FLIPPED CLASSROOM

LEARNING PROCESS

Technology is a catalyst in the teaching and learning processes.

Technology that is used accurately and systematically would

facilitate the teachers in imparting the knowledge, and the

students in their learning 8. Previous studies on flipped classroom

in school also found that it is not an excluded from the use of

technology.

Researchers 7 used Podcast and Vodcast technologies which

acquired software and hardware that allowed them to record their

lessons lively. The digital sources would then be used by the

students later. Class times were allocated for more student-

centered and inquiry base learning. In order to make sure every

student has watched the video lesson prior to the class, researcher 7 devised the system such that it could check students who have

not watched and interacted with the video lessons yet.

Implementation of flipped classroom saves time by 40 per cent for

each 90 minutes of Teaching and Learning (TnL). With these

extra times, they could do more hands-on activities. In addition,

teachers can have more interaction with their students and

augmenting the content with higher order questioning7. According

to researches7, the students’ parents were initially skeptical about

the implementation of flipped classroom in the early stage of the

research but eventually they accepted the method and even

watched the Vodcast together with the students. It can be

concluded that learning through flipped classroom allows the

students to master the contents, and it is not linked to seat time as

in the traditional approach7.

Teachers can use technology to enhance the curriculum and

learning for gifted students 13. However it is limited by teachers’

creativity, curriculum and understanding. By giving the

opportunity to students to apply and manipulate the use of

technology in learning and teaching could help the students

understand more what is being taught by the teachers. All in all,

by providing internet facility to students, it enables students to

explore more information that relates to the subjects being taught.

Research findings also showed that excellent students’ learning

needs through the traditional method is not an ideal one. This is

due to excellent students’ need technology as a platform to enable

them generates a more critical thinking through faster and more

effective search of information 12.

Regardless of whichever technology that is being used, it

would give impact on teaching and learning. Flipped classroom

concept emphasizes on the use of technology in the learning

process through the method itself and it gives students the

opportunity to gain knowledge in and outside the

classroom/school hours. Through the use of technology, learning

is not limited solely at school and it opens up the opportunity to

students to improve their own understanding.

5.0 CONCLUSION

Besides meeting the 21st century learning, flipped classroom is a

method that is able to realize the potential of excellent students.

Even though a student may be excellent academically at school,

when he or she enters the university, this excellent student may

not be able to realize the characteristics of a potential students

such as sharing and giving sound opinions and ideas, and active in

group discussion session. Therefore, implementation of the

flipped classroom method could change the direction of the

current traditional class and shape the students’ learning. In the

authors’ views, the students’ learning pattern should and must be

nurtured from their schools. Schooling years is a platform to the

students, especially the excellent students, to revive their talents

through the flipped classroom method.

Acknowledgement.

The authors would like to thank Universiti Teknologi Malaysia

(UTM) and Ministry of Education (MOE) for their continuous

support and encouragement in carrying out this study. References

Abu Bakar, 2013. Kurikulum Kearah Penghasilan Kemahiran Berfikiran Kritis,

Kreatif dan Inovatif. Juku Juku, pp.10–18.

Baker, W., 2011. The Origins of The Classroom Flip,

Bergmann, J. & Sams, A., 2009. Remixing chemistry class: Two Colorado

teachers make vodcast of their lectures to free up class time for hands-on

activities. Learning & Leading with Technology, (December 2008), pp.22–27.

Bijlani, K., Chatterjee, S. & Anand, S., 2013. Concept Maps for Learning in a

Flipped Classroom. 2013 IEEE Fifth International Conference on Technology

for Education (t4e 2013), pp.57–60. Available at:

http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/lpdocs/epic03/wrapper.htm?arnumber=6751061

[Accessed August 21, 2014].

Flumerfelt, S. & Green, G., 2013. Using Lean in the Flipped Classroom for At

Risk Students. , 16, pp.356–366.

Fulton, K.P., 2012. 10 reasons to flip. The Phi Delta Kappan of Journal Storage (JSTOR), 94(2), pp.20–24.

Lage, M.J. et al., 2000. Inverting the Classroom : A Gateway to Creating an

Inclusive Learning Environment. , 31(1), pp.30–43.

Lowell, J. et al., 2013. The Flipped Classroom : A Survey of the Research.

Mukherjee, T.C., 2013. Exploring the relationship between Learner’s

attributes and Flipped classroom success in the Malaysian context.

Pang, N.K. & Yap, K.T., 2014. The Flipped Classroom Experience. IEEE,

pp.39–43.

Pring, L., 2012. The benefits of a flipped classroom for gifted students. ,

(November). Available at: http://prezi.com/bgiz-evgv5_s/the-benefits-of-a-

flipped-classroom-for-gifted- students/.

Siegle, D., 2011. Helping Gifted Students : Learn From and Learn With

Technology. Journal of Texas Association for the Gifted and Talented,

XXXI(3), pp.9–15.

Siegle, D., 2013. Technology: Differentiating Instruction by Flipping the

Classroom. Gifted Child Today, 37(1), pp.51–55. Available at:

http://gct.sagepub.com/lookup/doi/10.1177/1076217513497579 [Accessed

February 25, 2014].

Thomson, D.L., 2010. Beyond the Classroom Walls: Teachers’ and Students' Perspectives on How Online Learning Can Meet the Needs of Gifted Students.

Journal of Advanced Academics, 21(4), pp.662–712.

Warter-perez, N. & Dong, J., 2012. Flipping the Classroom : How to Embed

Inquiry and Design Projects into a Digital Engineering Lecture. In Proceedings

of the 2012 ASEE PSW Section Conference.