Today’s meeting of the East Midlands Learning Technologists focussed on “Flipped Learning“.
The group mainly comprises people working within the Further and Higher Education sectors, both as consultants and as full-time support staff.
I began with a handful of Pecha Kucha presentations (short, 5 minute show & tells):
Scaling the Digital Landscape: Elaine Swift
A project which looked at the digital literacy skills required for a flipped learning approach.
- Rooms are designed to promote collaboration
- Content is encountered outside class and sessions devoted to applying ideas
- Problem-solving tasks done in class in collaborative groups
Macbooks were chosen as the main technology (to take advantage of in-class Apple TV sharing), but the learning curve was found to be very large for students, who were mainly used to Windows. [I wonder whether a Chromebook with Chromecast approach might be more effective?]
The project found an improvement in students’ confidence in using the digital tools.
How I used “flipped learning” before it was invented: Dave Ford
14 years ago, Dave taught a PE course on paralympic sports. The sports hall was great for practical, but wasn’t conducive to the theory elements of the course.
With a larger than ideal group, Dave split the group into two smaller groups, which allowed an approach whereby students were given tasks to do before doing the practical element. These pre-tasks often required the creation of materials (eg. a session plan), which was enforced strongly. Without the pre-work, the rest of the course was meaningless.
The time that was now available in the sports hall was quality time. And, rather than being at the front, Dave’s role in those sessions was to have deeper conversations with the students.
The key learning point was that flipped learning requires a complete rethink in how you design both materials and the classroom sessions. You can’t just provide a Powerpoint that you used in the classroom and expect it to work as a self-study resource.
More at: https://davefoord.wordpress.com/2013/09/13/what-got-me-started-in-online-learning/
Flipping Midwives: Kirstie Coolin
Health Elearning and Media Team – part of the School of Health Sciences at the University of Nottingham
Main drivers for change in teaching & learning:
- Student attrition
- Francis Report
The aim is to “flip” midwifery teaching to 50% elearning and 50% face-to-face time:
- Make the most of the face-to-face time
- Enable critical analysis & deeper learning
- Student-centred and personalised
- Challenges of time & space
- A dedicated team means it’s feasible
Move from web-supported -> web-integrated.
Used the Viewpoints cards from University of Ulster to support the curriculum redesign on cross-disciplinary workshops.
Planning the activities starts with the face-to-face session; build everything else out from there.
The sign-posting for students is critical. To ensure students know what to do when.
Posted: 06 January 2015
Tags: Learning design