1. Using Moodle with the Flipped Model
Theory and Practice
Mary-Jane Radford Arrow
ZEMS, TU Berlin

2. Technology alone is not enough
"Technology can provide new pathways ... but (t)here is little evidence that technology alone helps individuals actually develop new skills." Pearson's "The Learning Curve" 2014 report on the state of education worldwide
What else is needed? (you the teachers and peers)

3. Social Learning Theory
Learning is a fundamentally social process
“The individual mind finds the source of learning in social communities” (Ortega, 2009)
Language learning is specifically social
“Language is…a social phenomenon because all human beings communicate with their respective speech communities using the language they speak. It is through language that day-to-day interactions take place and it is with the help of language that interpersonal relations are possible.”
I’m going to present two theoretical frameworks of learning, Vygotsky’s ZPD (more about the teacher) and L&W LPP (collaboration; teacher and peers). Both are social theories of learning, which means that they suggest that learning of any kind is a fundamentally social process. Language learning is specifically social because of the nature of language.

4. Vygotsky’s Socioculturalism
Lev Vygotsky ( )
Through others
we become ourselves.

5. Vygotsky’s ZDP
“What a child can do today with assistance, she will be able to do by herself tomorrow”
The role of the teacher is “scaffolding” learning within the ZDP

6. Apprenticeship Model
“The apprentice’s ability to understand the master’s performance depends not on their possessing the same representation of it…but rather on their engaging in the performance in congruent ways”
(Hanks, in Lave & Wenger, 1991)
Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger looked at various apprenticeship models of learning around the world, from tailors in Africa to butchers in an American supermarket, and developed their theory of learning through Legitimate Peripheral Participation. It is a model which has been specifically applied to language learning. (the role of the teacher!)

7. Lave & Wenger’s LPP
Central to the Lave & Wenger’s concept is the role of the “Master” and ALSO the role of peers within a community of practice.

8. The Master and Peers
In both theoretical models the „masters“ or teacher and peers are important to learning

9. What is flipping? Two key aspects
Direct computer-based individual instruction outside the classroom
Interactive group learning activities inside the classroom
(Bishop & Verleger, 2013)
What is flipping? Another way of thinking about „blended“ … SHOW VIDEO next

10. Flipped Model
Note that this model is collaborative, in that not only is the teacher important as a source of feedback and “scaffolding” to use the Vygotskyan term, but also because of the potentia

11. Flipped vs. Traditional

12. Bloom‘s Taxonomy
Another way to conceptualise the flipped classroom is with Bloom’s taxonomy of learning …

13. CLT Hourglass
Next show Moodle example

15. Flipping Resources
A parallel question …

16. My sources
Bishop, J.L. & Verleger, M.A. (2013). The flipped classroom: A survey of the research. American Society for Engineering Education. Retrieved from
Lave, J. & Wenger, E. (1991). Situated learning: Legitimate peripheral participation. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Ortega, L. (2009). Understanding second language acquisition. London: Hodder Education.
The learning curve: Education and skills for life (2014). Pearson. Retrieved from

17. Thank you!
“If learning is about increased performance, then the way to maximise learning is to perform, not to talk about it.”
Hanks, in Lave & Wenger,1991