Book Review: “Blended Learning & Flipped Classrooms: A Comprehensive Guide”
Blended Learning & Flipped Classrooms: A Comprehensive Guide
by Patricia Adams and Happy Gingras
144 pages, paperback
Part-Time Press, 2017, $20.00
by Deborah Straw
New teachers of college students quickly catch on that, in their classes, they learn almost as much as do their students. They probably do not learn more about their area of expertise, but, rather, about other important things – popular culture, online dating, new music and authors, new attitudes, other cultures, tangy foods, snowboarding and regional bands, are just a few.
Instructors at the college level also learn eventually, the sooner the better, that today’s students will let us know what their learning needs and styles are. Teaching at the college level has become more challenging. Lectures, guest speakers, films, CDs, and small group activities are still useful, but there are many other tools available to be considered in a teacher’s repertoire.
College students today are not as patient as we were. Many have little hope. They may not be college ready and may need remedial work. They lead busy, complex lives, and they want to learn quickly what they have come to college for. Here are two somewhat surprising statistics the authors reveal: According to research done by Ioanna Opidee, “an estimated 24 percent of current college students are both first generation and low-income,” often equating to the at-risk possibility of dropping out of school. Another amazing percentage calculated by The International Center for Academic Integrity (ICAI), an organization studying college students’ academic honesty around the world for more than l0 years, is, “about 68 percent of undergraduate students surveyed admit to cheating on tests or in written work.”
Another not surprising stat, from the American Psychological Association in 2013, as quoted by Amy Novotney is this: “about one-third of college students have experienced depression within the past year and had difficulty functioning because of it.” I suspect that percentage has risen as anxiety as risen in many of us throughout this country.
In essence, many of our tried and true teaching methods no longer work with these heterogeneous students. Blended Learning & Flipped Classroom: A Comprehensive Guide (Teaching and Learning in the Digital Age) is a useful, slim book by Patricia Adams and Happy Gingras, experienced award-winning college educators, introducing many new ideas of how to manage the classroom and reach the students. This handbook would be especially relevant for new faculty, adjunct or full-time, as it includes tools that some professors might never have thought of or dared to try. The language is lively and enthusiastic, not too laden with academic jargon. However, if a reader needs a glossary of terms, “Lingo” in Chapter 4 is thankfully included.
The book is based on the two professors’ research and uses of the prescribed methods. Blended (or hybrid) means classes using both on the ground and online sessions. As for flipped, “at its most basic level, the flipped classroom sends the lecturer [called throughout this book ‘the sage on stage’] home and brings the homework into class.” This is much more fully explained. Some of these blended and flipped techniques are already known to – and used by – many of us; however, we may have called them by different names.
Activities suggested and delineated in the book are based on Bloom’s Taxonomy (1956, revised in 2001), which measures active learning in the college classroom. Adams and Gingras enthusiastically promote active rather than passive learning. Here are a few tools they recommend: Try one or two specific mini-lectures five to 15 minutes each, or record them for student at-home listening. Suggest on-line resources to enhance the course: Ted Talks, Khan Academy, YouTube, and tutorials offered at sites like GCFlearnfree.org; the latter appears especially useful for science and math. When you are re-organizing a course, speak with your colleagues to share materials and inform your chairperson, when applicable, to keep her in the loop.
The authors stress that it is not necessary to change your whole syllabus the first time out but, rather, once you’re decided to conduct the class on the ground, online or a mixture of the two, to gradually attempt to incorporate flipped activities. Your course objectives do not change. Talking with your students about the difference in perspective and your rationale makes sense before you begin.
In this writer’s estimation, for adjuncts, changing all the methods in a course is too much to ask over one semester. Adjuncts are not paid enough and are not secure enough that the class will even run to do additional hours of preparation for each course.
Here are a few of the most useful chunks of information: Copyright Fair Use Guidelines, especially about using DVDs and TV programs; a large number of Active Learning Activities; several teacher affidavits, one page summaries of their experience with blending and flipping; and innovative exercises using the students’ ubiquitous cell phones. Assessments are recommended throughout the semester, some quite quick and informal, to assess students’ comprehension and mastery. A few new ways to reconsider research and small group projects are outlined.
I foresee possible resistance to the flipped concept from foreign students who may come from a more traditional educational background than ours. They may not want to assume even part of a teacher’s role or power; they may need more prior explanation. They do not want to have fun in the classroom; they want to burrow in, respect the teacher, “the sage on the stage,” and listen to and take notes on lectures. They often enjoy traditional research papers.
Most of the authors’ advice makes great sense.
As I stated earlier, some tools recommended in this guidebook will take time to learn and incorporate. Online teaching often takes more preparation and more surveillance, at least initially, than on the ground teaching. Technical meltdowns are not pleasant, and not all students own computers and printers. However, when you’re ready to take some risks and make some changes, this book will provide much of what current college teachers need to blend and flip their classrooms. Teachers perhaps will feel less frustrated with some students’ comments, participation and grades, and the new methods will enhance the entire course experience. In the end, state the authors, if all, students and teachers, involved in the experience can have their needs more fully met, all will be more satisfied with the outcomes.
