FLIPPED LEARNING: RELINQUISHING CONTROL AND FLIPPING STUDENTS’ PEDAGOGICAL EXPECTATIONS OF TEACHERS IN THE MIDDLE EAST

Flipped learning, by its very nature encourages a classroom environment which is contrary to the traditional teacher-centered approach followed in most Middle Eastern universities where professors are expected to deliver lectures on power point slides and the students just listen. “In the traditional teacher-centered model, the teacher is the primary source of information. By contrast, the Flipped Learning model deliberately shifts instruction to a learner-centered approach, where in-class time is dedicated to exploring topics in greater depth and creating rich learning opportunities. As a result, students are actively involved in knowledge construction as they participate in and evaluate their learning in a manner that is personally meaningful.” (Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P) In addition to the flexible classroom dynamics where the teacher and students are not constrained in their movement owing to the different configuration that the moveable furniture allows, Flipped learning in these Active Learning Spaces promotes more one on one interaction between teachers and students, group work, as well as peer feedback and discussion on students’ work when displayed on students’ screens. Contrary to the popular belief, a Flipped classroom and Flipped learning process places more responsibility on the instructor who is constantly available to provide one on one feedback to students who might each be working on a different research topic. This research study reports on a pilot program initiated at an American accredited university near Dubai (United Arab Emirates) spanning over two semesters of teaching Advanced Academic Writing to a class of twenty-one students each semester. The Advanced Academic Writing, which is a process-oriented course, is aimed at teaching undergraduate students how to conduct research and write a research paper. Students greatly benefit from a Flipped learning mode owing to the constant interaction with and accessibility of the teacher which allows for an enriched scaffolding (Vygotsky, 1978) in the different stages of Advanced Academic Writing’s course content such as proposal-writing, building an annotated bibliography, writing a multi-drafted research paper which incorporates a synthesis of the articles for secondary research, and discussing interview and survey questions for primary research. Youtube videos pertaining to their respective research topics that are shared in class by students also form part of class discussions. Using the Self-Study approach (Pinnegar, S. & Hamilton, M. L 2009) this paper examines the efficacy of Flipped learning by gathering the perspectives of students and teachers who have recently been introduced to this new concept. Hence the content as well as the classroom dynamics, which facilitates an effective delivery of the subject matter, is discussed in the context of students’ cultural expectations of what constitutes effective teaching. The basic premise of the paper is that the use of the Flipped learning model has also served to flip the students’ understanding of the teaching-learning process by contributing to students’ autonomy while generating a dialogic curriculum that makes students a more critically conscious community.