Abstract:

Different teaching-methods and ideologies comes and goes, but the one that is getting the most attention at the moment is Flipped Learning. However, within the community of educators there are difference of opinion about the method. Some have embraced it while others have dismissed it all together. The method has its strength but exploring whether or what weaknesses it might have is of a greater interest.

The Flipped Learning method entails combining the use of lecture recordings and workshops. Students listen to recordings that are subject specific before coming to workshops where the material is applied with the support of other students and the teacher. The workshops are an integral part of the process for students to deepen their understanding of the material and to be able to apply it.

In the course Spoken and Written Language, taught at the Department of Education at the University of Iceland, the Flipped Learning teaching method has been used since 2013. From that time a great deal of experience and knowledge about the teaching method has been gathered by using it within the course. The course is a requirement course in the first semester for student studying for a Bachelor degree in the Department of Education. The course also has a mix of students doing their study on-site and off-site. Having a mix of students doing their study on-site and off-site within in the same course is a challenge. The on-site students attend workshops while the off-side students are required to work on projects independently without the support of a teacher.

The workshops are an integral part of the teaching-method of Flipped Learning. Therefore, exploring whether there is a difference in grades between the off-site students, who don’t attend workshops, and the on-site student, who do, is of great interest.

In this lecture, I will introduce the results of a research done in the course Spoken and Written Language. The research was conducted at the end of teaching in December 2016. The research looks at whether a statistical difference could be found in the grades of student who attended the scheduled workshops (on-site students) or those who worked on their projects independently (off-side students).

Keywords:

Flipped learning, workshop, teaching.