Finding "Flippable" Moments in Online Learning
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Research and my own personal teaching experience shows that students’ attention, focus, and energy decrease if they are expected to listen to or view a presentation over a long period of time. The longer students sit passively, the more their attention drifts from the information being presented, whether that is in person or online.
A “flippable" moment is the moment when you stop talking, presenting, teaching at your students and flip the work back to them. FLIP stands for “Focus on your Learners by Involving them in the Process” and is often used in a flipped classroom where students engage with readings, videos, or other materials outside of class to prepare them for a learning experience inside the classroom. Adding flippable moments doesn't have to be limited to taking place within classroom walls, and there are various ways that the FLIP method can be added to online instruction to give students the opportunity to analyze, synthesize, and use their critical thinking skills.
When looking for opportunities or the right timing to incorporate flippable moments in your course creation, consider the following:
What is the most important takeaway for the students in this lesson? What is the lesson objective(s)?
If students are required to or should know specific content before moving forward to the next lesson, unit, or course, there should be multiple opportunities for students to practice and test their knowledge of that content. This can highlight what students know, what they don’t know, and if they need more support.
Where do I anticipate students will have difficulty in this lesson or unit?
Not all students are going to maintain information presented to them in readings, in a lecture, or in a video. Many students struggle with comprehension after reading content for the first time, let alone capacity for retention or memorization in a high content course.
Is the information being presented in a single format? Might the students be bored?
Instead of continuing to present information in a stagnant way, provide them a safe space to let them generate and explore their own learning. Getting students involved in the process of reviewing, connecting, and creating, will challenge their thinking and provide diverse learners an opportunity to shine.
We as instructional designers often incorporate flippable moments without knowing. Discussion boards, group work, case studies, open-ended questions, and student choice in assessment are all opportunities to put the learning back in the students’ hands. There are a multitude of examples out there of creative and innovative ways to incorporate FLIP into online content. Here are a few that I found that could be geared to K-12 and beyond.
What’s Missing?
Show students a list, diagram, picture, or series of steps related to the course content, but omit a piece of information. Challenge students to guess “What’s Missing?” from the list or image. Examples: list of steps to solve a problem, list of characters in a story, list of sections in a research paper, a picture of equipment to be used in a lab experiment, building, or safety exercise.
“Ah-Ha!” Wall
As students watch a video, participate in a lecture, or read an article, encourage them to pay attention to “ah ha” moments. An “ah ha” moment is when they notice the content is connected to another idea from the course, something they’ve experienced, or something related to a current issue. Ask them to post their “ah ha” idea on the class “wall.”
Create the Test
Ask students to each submit questions with answers for a formative or summative assessment. The teacher can then compile any suitable questions along with questions of their own. This gives students the opportunity to review content, gives them accountability and may help with some students’ test anxiety. There is opportunity here for students to have a say in the type of assessment as well.
What other ways have you incorporated flippable moments in your courses?
Sources
Three Active Learning Strategies You Can Do in 10 Minutes or Less
In-Class Activities and Assessment for the Flipped Classroom