Anne Distler, Assistant Professor of Chemistry Terri Pope, Professor of Biology & From Podium to Podcast: How To Flip Your Classroom & Enhance Student Engagement

Have you ever… Had too much material and not enough instructional time?

Have you ever… Wondered about the attention span of today’s students?

Have you ever… Given an entire lecture without a single student question?

Have you ever… Had multiple students asking the same questions during office hours ?

A Flipped Course May Be For You! Getting Started!

Major Reasons to Flip Your Course Effective use of class time Student engagement Student attendance issues

How to Flip Your Class Start with a course you know well! Revisit – course outline – performance objectives – learning outcomes

How to Flip Your Class Make sure your content is aligned with outcomes – This is a good time to eliminate or add content Divide the content: – Topic – Chapter – Learning Module

How to Flip Your Class Develop lectures / presentations for each topic

How to Flip Your Class Identify those areas that are frequently problematic for students Find a way to address these topics Class sessions or maybe a game

How to Flip Your Class Consider use of pretests or software such as LearnSmart to assess areas of need LearnSmart Demo

Sorting Out the Curriculum Online Vocab./Terminology Structures Images Undisputed facts Clear narratives Examples Analogies On Campus Complex problems Discussion points Disputed content Practice sessions Student questions

Lessons Learned Model Online Content prepares students for on-campus work Reality Some students do not have computers Not all out-of- classroom preparation needs to be web-based

What we Found Works best in blended learning courses where students have expectation of online learning component

Lessons Learned Model Start Day 1 Flipped Reality You can try to Flip your first day, but be prepared for a slow start Students will need time to adjust to class expectations.

First Day Questions How many of you read or review your syllabus the first day of class? How many of your students remember any of what is on the syllabus?

What we Found An Activity helps! – Syllabus activity as a warm up – Distribute syllabus, have students complete activity such as crossword puzzle or questionnaire on pertinent information Students need to take ownership

What we Found

Lessons Learned Model Present lecture material online as you would on campus Record class lectures for re-use Reality Divide lectures into shorter topic-based presentations

What We Found Divide lecture content into shorter topic- based presentations minutes seems ideal

Example of Mini Content Place holder for BB hybrid site.

Resources for Lectures Camtasia Relay Tegrity Khan Academy Podcasts YouTube Presentation Tube – free version, 15 minutes –

Resources for Lectures Not only lectures or videos Merlot Soft Chalk Reading Assignments

Colossal Failures Students do not come to class prepared – It is hard to have a meaningful on-campus experience if no one is prepared – Plan B vs. creating a culture of ownership Students may not open your carefully crafted course materials

Flipped Checklist 1.Choose a course you know well 2.Align course content to objectives 3.Divide course material into “units” 4.Identify “problem areas” 5.Sort content as off-campus or on-campus

Flipped Checklist 6.Develop “mini” lectures 7.Prepare assessments for off-campus work 8.Prepare activities for on-campus meetings 9.Develop patience and a sense of humor

Anne Distler and Terri Pope