A “flipped” classroom moves content delivery online, in order to allow for more hands-on work when the class meets in person.
Educational technology staff within the School of Architecture and Allied Arts developed a “flipped” course development program, bringing together faculty from different academic departments to build an intentional pedagogical community. Faculty were trained in a variety of techniques through which a face-to-face course might be enhanced via online curriculum delivery, provided ongoing support as they implemented these techniques in their own teaching, and then invited to present to the faculty and staff of the entire school, thereby continuing the cycle of innovation.
The Dean of the School of Architecture and Allied Arts sponsored this first iteration of this workshop.
The A&AA Dean’s Office invited proposals for the development of technology-enhanced education courses–in particular, those utilizing a “flipped” format. (A “flipped” course is one in which lectures and/or other relevant content are recorded and captured and made available for students to view prior to attending the physical in-class session. The in-class sessions are then devoted to more interactive and group activities to support and expand on the ideas and concepts communicated in the recorded lecture or other digital materials.)
This mixed mode of learning reflects the fact that A&AA values both place-based education and the critical and progressive use of educational technology to energize learning and explore new delivery methods to engage both students and faculty.
Structured Guidance with Financial Incentives
Six faculty were selected to participate in this first A&AA Innovations Lab, which consisted of a weeklong summer workshop (facilitated by Sean Sharp and Kassia Dellabough in the summer of 2014; this portion of the journey was chronicled on a blog), followed by the implementation of the flipped delivery in a new or existing class in AY 2014-15, and a follow-up report and presentation to other A&AA faculty and staff. Participants were compensated for each of these three stages of participation: $1K was awarded for participating in the summer workshop, another $500 upon implementation of the model in their chosen course, and the final $500 for sharing the results of their pedagogical experiment with their peers.
Some of the in-person summer sessions made use of guest presenters, such as this presentation, delivered via Skype
The first two participants to complete this training presented their results at a May 2015 A&AA all-faculty/staff meeting, where they sparked a thoughtful discussion about further prioritizing “flipped” delivery in other A&AA academic departments.
Participant Reflections
From the facilitators’ perspectives, the success of this project was as much in the community building as it was in the “flipping”:
I noticed that the faculty members were simply able to enjoy the presence of other faculty members who were from a different discipline, and learn about their teaching strategies. The building of a small cohort of learners was fun to watch and be a part of.
The faculty reported largely positive experiences, particularly if the technologies used to “flip” the course were user-friendly:
This format allowed me to spend more time in the field with the students looking at real resources and helping them work through the real problems with trying to identify historic significance in living buildings and neighborhoods.
Media production did sometimes remain a challenge, however:
I created the video tutorials for the digital exercises with real-time audio of me explaining steps as I did them. I used post-production editing techniques to clean up flaws in speech or mistakes within Camtasia. This was VERY time consuming. Also, the videos tended to be too long. In the future, I will try making the videos with no speech, and then just add notes that narrate the process in post-production. I haven’t figured out the most efficient process yet. Also, when I look out across the internet landscape of software tutorial videos available to students, the quality of what I produce just can’t compete. My videos get the job done, but I want better. I feel as if I need specific training or assistance for this.
Nevertheless, even in the face of technical challenges, most faculty participants appreciated the benefits of “flipping” their course–not only for themselves, but for their students:
Students have found that completing the online lectures and readings at their pace and convenience is very helpful.
