The Flipped Classroom

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This online workshop will showcase examples of how the flipped classroom has been successfully embedded at the University, it will also include practical guidance from the Digital Education Office for those looking to embed flipping in their own teaching.

The flipped classroom is a form of blended learning, a pedagogic approach in which the conventional notion of classroom-based learning is inverted: students are introduced to learning material before class with classroom time then being used to deepen understanding through discussion with peers and problem-solving activities facilitated by teachers.

Contributors include:

• Dr Andy Wakefield – School of Biological Sciences: Andy will reflect on 2-3 years’ experience of teaching an undergraduate ecology unit using a ‘flipped classroom’ pedagogic model by providing students with short interactive videos that included quizzes to reinforce learning, these videos are aimed at transitioning away from a passive watching experience. In-person teaching sessions (“workshops”) then operate like short practicals, offering students a greater opportunity to learn by doing. This also creates additional opportunities for team-based and peer-learning. Andy will give a summary of how he runs his unit and will present initial results from an analysis of the student perspective of this approach to teaching.

• The Bristol Vet School Clinical Skills Team: The Bristol Vet School Clinical Skills Team will share insights from their recent experiences developing flipped classrooms for every clinical skills practical in the curriculum. These were designed to ensure students could make optimal use of practical time during Covid. It was a team effort with each member upskilling in a particular area e.g. video production, Xerte. The flipped content focused on the ‘knows how’ (i.e. steps to perform a skill) as well as a few innovative ways to practise at home! Feedback has indicated that students felt better prepared for practicals and more confident to perform clinical and surgical skills; instructors were able to spend more time providing feedback. An in-depth evaluation is underway with a few students from each cohort keeping a diary to comment on each flipped classroom. The results will inform further improvements as ultimately, clinical skills flipped classrooms will last forever, not just for Covid.
• Suzanne Collins – Digital Education Office: The DEO will recap the basics of flipped learning, using learning design principles to help you re-design sessions, as well as covering some of the main supported tools we have which can support you flipping your classroom. There will be highlighted top wins for students, and top staff concerns addressed. DEO staff will then be on hand to try and answer your technology related questions.

Joining details will be sent out a few days before the event.