Abstract:

The Flipped classroom is a contemporary learning and teaching strategy that is associated with individual pre-class learning and group based-learning in-class. Educational literature acknowledges that teaching students who are prepared for class encourages student engagement and active learning, two of the key reasons why the flipped classroom can be successful when designed effectively. Key to this success lies in the ability to motivate students to complete the necessary pre-class or pre-reading activities, posing a real issue in higher education settings. Academics still grapple with how to motivate students to want to engage in pre-class preparation and which technologies to use to enable students to achieve the learning outcomes. Embedding student and teacher accountability in all aspects of the learning is also crucial to flipping success. The authors will demonstrate how a design template, constructed to directly align with sound pedagogies, was developed by The Flipped Classroom Community of Practice at The University of Adelaide and implemented to create engaging and interactive pre-reading instructional packages. The cross- faculty applicability of the design template will be demonstrated using examples from undergraduate classes and academic professional development settings. A range of technologies and software were utilized including video, light boards, premiere pro and narrated articulate storyline packages. The pre-class online instructional packages for undergraduate students and an in-class flip instructional videos for academics were deployed using the learning management systems BlackBoard and/or Canvas to facilitate tracking of engagement and completion. Careful design of the pre-class activities ensured participants with diverse knowledge, background and ability were successfully engaged and motivated to learn in preparation for the active in-class learning.

Keywords:

Flipped classroom, design template, pre-class activities, blended learning, learning technologies.