Flipped Learning

My own personal learning style and preference really just depends on the class and the material that I am studying.  I cannot just sit and read a text book, so in this context audio learning is where I really benefit.  I'm also a visual and kinesthetic learner, especially when it comes to anything science related!  Just reading about processes seems foreign to me, I have to see it taking place in real world context!  I am curious and excited to learn about flipped learning and see how it works in the classroom.  If you aren't familiar with flipped learning, it is where the teacher assigns a video or an article for the students to watch or read at home.  The next day in the classroom, the students discuss what they have learned at home the previous night and do activities or work with this topic.  So rather than doing a lesson in school and corresponding homework at home, this is where the learning is literally flipped.

While I currently have no experience with flipped learning, I think that it is something I would both enjoy and see benefit in.  I like the idea of going back and watching a lecture or rewinding back if I missed something or just need to hear the information again. Given the learning styles that work best for me, given a video to watch instead of text to read or a worksheet to complete seems appealing as well.   We already know that kids spend a lot of time watching tv or on youtube, so I would think that they would be more likely to watch a video or lecture instead of doing traditional homework assignments.  Flipped learning is something that I think I would love to incorporate into my own classroom!

As with anything, there are a few cons to flipped learning.  First of all, we already know that kids don't like doing homework, and those who struggle in school are usually the ones who consistently have missing work from failure of doing it.  For these students, they probably will not watch the video and will be unprepared for the day's assignment.  This will contribute to inefficient use of classroom time for them and the risk of falling further behind.

Then I'm thinking about the kids who are less fortunate and may not have the internet at home or a device to watch the video.  Although most of us have smartphones, if parents aren't valuing education then there is probably a greater chance that these students will not be prepared for class.  While it's easy to ask them to go to the local library or coffee shop, this isn't always practical, and again may require parent support that isn't there.

Lastly,  I have to wonder how this will affect children with learning disabilities.  Although it is just watching a video, will they fully grasp the information that is being given to them and be able to complete classwork?  I'm sure that the many schools that are using this learning method have accommodations and plans in place, but I would be interested in finding out more about how this affects those students.