What is Flipped Learning?

Flipped Learning is a hybrid learning model that is all about “creating opportunities for active learning.” It is “a pedagogical approach in which direct instruction moves from the group learning space to the individual learning space, and the resulting group space is transformed into a dynamic, interactive learning environment where the educator guides students as they apply concepts and engage creatively in the subject matter” (The Flipped Learning Network 2014).

The 4 Pillars of Flipped Learning

By having students read material outside the class, watch videos or lectures, and solve quizzes and problems, instructors may flip their classroom, however; to engage in flipped learning, instructors must incorporate the four pillars of FLIP into their teaching methods: 

  • Instructors must ensure that they establish spaces and time frames that permit students to interact and reflect on their learning and ask questions about the information they have gathered outside of class. Instructors must also build flexibility in their courses so that they can adjust based on student performance and provide different ways for students to learn content and demonstrate mastery. 
  • Instructors must move away from the traditional teacher-centered model and refrain from becoming the primary source of information to students. Instead, they must provide students with opportunities to engage in meaningful activities, scaffold these activities and make learning accessible to all students through differentiation in content, assignments, and feedback.
  • Instructors must constantly think about what material students can explore on their own and what they will need to teach them to develop conceptual understanding and procedural fluency. Based on grade level and subject matter, instructors must adopt active learning strategies and student-centered methods. Instructors must spend time to differentiating content for diverse students, use relevant pedagogical skills for direct instruction, and curate relevant content (videos/articles/papers etc.) for students to explore in their own time.
  • Instructors must think of their role as professional educators rather than traditional teachers or lecturers. It is imperative that instructors make themselves available to all students for individual, group and class feedback sessions, in real time. All courses must have an ongoing formative assessment through constant observations and by recording data (through quantitative and qualitative methods) which can inform future instruction. Instructors must collaborate with other educators and take responsibility for transforming their practice through observations and reflections.

Examples of Flipped Learning

The DLI offers a self-guided, four-part Flipped Classroom workshop introducing faculty to flipped education and providing introductory resources to equip them for the process of flipping their classes.

eLearning Industry does an excellent job of breaking down several options for flipped learning in their article:
8 Types of Flipped Learning Classrooms and Tools to Build Them.

The Flipped Learning Network has a mission of providing educators with the knowledge, skills, and resources to implement Flipped Learning successfully. In addition to their written resources, they offer video and podcasts.

Instruction by Design is a podcast offered by the instructional designers at Arizona State University. In their second episode, they talk about tools for flipping the classroom.

The office of Medical Education Research & Development offers this advice for how to implement a flipped course.

  • Lage, M. J., & Platt, G. (2000) The internet and the inverted classroom. Journal of Economic Education, 31(1), 11.

    Berrett, D. (2012, February 19). How ‘flipping’ the classroom can improve the traditional lecture. The Chronicle of Higher Education.
    Retrieved from www.chronicle.com.

    Brame, C., (2013). Flipping the classroom. Vanderbilt University Center for Teaching. Retrieved [01/28/2021] from cft.vanderbilt.edu.

    Mazur, Eric. (2009). “Farewell, Lecture?” Science, 323(5910), 50–51. 

    Flipped Learning Network (FLN). (2014) The Four Pillars of F-L-I-P™

    Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 9(3):105-119. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x