FLIPPED TEACHING IN MATHEMATICS

According to Charles Darwin, “It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent but the most adaptable to change that survives.” Yet while technology and its applications have been growing at break neck speed, teaching mathematics has followed years old traditional methods. This ‘technological gap’ results in students continuing to be uninterested or even afraid of the subject.

The primary objective of this research is to make student learn in an effective way using various technological tools to promote the culture of a student-centric classroom approach. In the traditional methodology most of the teaching is done in classrooms using the ‘chalk-and-talk’ method, which is generally uni-directional from teacher to student. Instead the ‘Flipped Teaching Methodology’ was attempted to promote a higher level teacher- student engagement with ‘active participation in learning’ especially for the module such as Mathematics. In this videos were prepared using software like screencast-o-matic, Wacom tablet, movie maker etc. which were tailored to suit the needs of the students. These were then converted into ‘you tube’ links and QR codes and sent to students through Moodle. Links were then made available to students who were encouraged to go through these videos outside class, note down the key points and main formulae and come prepared to class for discussions and critical problem solving.

This totally changed the classroom scenario. The teacher’s role became of a facilitator. The classes became discussions oriented and activities based. The students felt satisfied as they had done the learning themselves. Inter group discussions, quizzes and change of role where students were actively encouraged to teach others led to enhanced students’ interest in the subject and reduced dependency on others, especially on the teachers. It also encouraged collaborative learning. With this the teacher no more dominates the stage but becomes a guide from the sideline. Flipped teaching becomes a self- learning process for the students and created an opportunity for the students to use their own time outside the class to learn about the subject and develop critical thinking skills and then use these to advance discussion in class.