Abstract:

Much of the research and experimentation on Flipped Learning (FL) has been conducted on its application in schools, first and second cycles, and universities.

Similarly to what happens in these contexts, the criteria set up at the basis of this model can be adopted with great success in corporate training by combining asynchronous and synchronous distance learning.

At the basis of the choice of adopting FL in business and production contexts there is first of all the awareness that this model increases students' interest by stimulating their motivation and increasing their involvement and interaction (Zainuddin, Halili, 2016).

Although the most significant applications are found in academic and school contexts, we can also trace some uses in professional and business contexts where student engagement is enhanced outside of class hours to acquire new knowledge that can then be used during synchronous training sessions involving the entire team of students.

Among the strengths of the use of FL in vocational and corporate training we find that this method, as we have already seen, makes very appropriate use of active, collaborative and problem-based learning processes.

This learning model makes massive use of technology for asynchronous learning activities.

If access to technology can be a critical issue for school education, it is not so for vocational and corporate training where the preparatory study to be carried out asynchronously can be done in the workplace with the tools that the worker uses to carry out his professional activities.

The application of FL in the corporate context can be thought of as useful at different moments of the Long Life Learning pathway carried out by employees.

For example, as pointed out by Nederveld (Nederveld, 2015), we can well apply FL for:
- New employees training: during the training of new employees while in the classical model the teacher has only 6 hours to guide new employees through the different manuals of processes and procedures, with little application and practice, in the FL model students are first offered access to the manuals and to an e-learning environment with exercises to be completed in maximum 3 hours, then a virtual follow-up session of 1 hour is conducted to emphasize key points and assess students' understanding and, if necessary, allow students to ask questions. The training can also be concluded by accompanying the students in practical experiments in the field.
- Product training: In traditional product training, the instructor would present the product by explaining the basics of how to use it and its main characteristics. In the flipped model, on the other hand, employees are provided with an e-learning course to learn about the theory behind the product and can experiment with the product before confronting the instructor; this allows them to ask questions and share their experiences instead of just listening to the lecture.
- Vocational training: in the FL model, students watch recorded lectures, use the e-learning platforms to conduct self-assessment sessions and participate in forums. During the live session it is possible to answer questions, discuss and devote more time to practice. An important feature of this model is that the collaboration tools, such as chats and forums, used during the preparation phase can also be used by the employees during their work activities.

Keywords:

Smart Education, Flipped Learning, Industry 4.0, Corporate Training.