BLOG: Active Learning in Biology, Life Sciences and Biomedical Sciences

Flipping the classroom

The flipped classroom is pedagogical approach that is designed to deliver a more active learning experience for students. We have seen the use of Panopto to power the flipped classroom grow and grow over the past few years. When we speak to members of our user community about why they want to flip their classes, they tell us that they have been able to do much more innovative things in the face-to-face sessions with students once they feel they’ve delivered the core concepts via video. This approach has been embraced by science-based academics who have contributed their stories on Panopto's website.

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A scientist exploring the potential of video to enhance student learning is Dr Martin Khechara, a Senior Lecturer in Biomedical Science (Microbiology) at the University of Wolverhampton. In a recent guest blog post for Panopto, he too talks about the impact of the flipped classroom on his teaching. At his institution – the University of Wolverhampton –  they have an entirely flipped model for teaching science at their Rosalind Franklin building. This means there are no traditional teaching spaces in the building – no classrooms or lecture theatres. There are also no “front of the class” teachers’ desks, lecterns or projectors. The idea was to create flipped classroom and flipped laboratory experiences that would free up lecturers’ time to deal with deeper level content or do more practical activities in the face-to-face session. Their new pedagogical approach also encouraged students to interact more with their peers to build their team working skills.

Dr Khechara shared an example of a flipped laboratory session with us, which you can view here. As well as using these types of flipped lab tutorials in a more conventional flipped style, he is now also using them in what he calls the ‘augmented flip’. This approach acknowledges the fact that even if students have watch the flipped content in advance, sometimes they may need to refresh their memories or rewatch certain parts of content again if they get stuck during a practical in class. Dr Khechara allows students to access flipped video tutorial content via QR codes which are accessible at their workbench. This allows instructors to deliver ‘Just In Time’ learning for students at the point of need.

This blog post originally featured on the Panoptowebsite