Abstract:

Feedback is essential for an optimal control system. During the teaching and learning process, feedback informs both parties, the learner and teacher/ lecturer /course facilitator of the state of the teaching and learning process. When provided in time, it could feed the teaching and learning control system with the appropriate information or set of signals to trigger the actuation to enable the most adequate intervention for the successful achievement of Intended Learning Outcomes. In the case of continuous assessment through ongoing formative activities, early feedback provides students with the opportunity to gauge their own progress and gives the lecturer/ course facilitator’s dashboard information about the type of intervention required to enhance the teaching and learning process. Such assessment should therefore be considered as an integral part of the process. Challenges such as a large teacher to learner ratio and uneven distribution of workload among academic staff, often hamper the performance of higher learning institutions. Although feedback is an important component of the teaching and learning process, for it to add value, it should not merely serve as a sanction, but rather as an enabler. This paper discusses how the leveraging of technology through affordable simple handheld devices can enhance learning in a flipped classroom. It argues that while technology can facilitate the teaching and learning transaction, a certain level of supervision is still required to achieve assigned objectives.

Keywords:

Class space, flipped classroom, blended learning, Moodle embedded cloze, Intended Learning Outcomes.