Faculty Development for Medical Educators

Benefits of The Flipped Classroom Model:

• Students can learn at their own pace: Because they are studying the material independently, they can take as much time as necessary to fully understand it. In contrast, when instructors deliver lectures in class, they typically cannot tailor the speed of instruction to meet each student’s individual needs.
• Students take responsibility for their learning: In a flipped classroom model students are aware that they’ll need to apply their knowledge during class, which encourages them to focus on truly mastering the material. In traditional classroom settings, however, students often take on a more passive role and may not be consistently required to apply what they’ve learned.
• Students learn rather than encounter material in class: In the traditional classroom model students are seeing the material for the first time in class. In a flipped classroom model students encounter the material prior to coming to class. This enables them to ask the instructor questions to clarify what they do not understand.
• Class time is spend applying knowledge: Because students have already studied the material independently, class time can be used for collaborative activities and instructor-guided practice that help them apply their knowledge.
• There are more opportunities for deeper understanding: This deeper understanding happens due to many factor.
  • The Pre-work - Since students can engage with pre-work at their own pace and keep reviewing it until they fully understand it.
  • Individualized Support - Since instructors don't have to spend class time lecturing they are freed up to offer individualized support to students.
  • Higher-Order Thinking Through Active Learning - The flipped model shifts the focus from memorization to analysis, application, and evaluation, which students do through active learning activities such as hands-on activities, discussions, and problem-solving.
• Instructors can assess what students know and don’t know and teach concepts that students are struggling with: During class while students are applying their knowledge this is the perfect time for instructors to assess them and then reteach concepts if need be.
• There is an increased collaboration between students: Student can spend class time engaging in activities with their peers and learn from each other.

Challenges When Implementing The Flipped Classroom Model:

• Time consumption - Transitioning to a flipped classroom model requires a significant initial time investment. Instructors must dedicate substantial effort to creating or sourcing high-quality online content such as videos, readings, and interactive activities. Additionally, reworking the overall course structure and classroom activities demands careful planning and can be time-intensive. However, these efforts can pay off in the long run, as the materials and structure can be reused and refined over time, ultimately saving time in future courses.
• Lack of motivation for pre-class work - Some students may lack motivation to complete the required pre-class work, which can hinder their ability to fully engage in classroom activities. To promote accountability and preparation, instructors can incorporate low-stakes assessments that students complete at home as part of the pre-work. One good example is to embed questions into a video so students must answer them as they are watching them. You can track who is answering the questions and how they answered. Our lecture tool Echo360 can do that.
• Lack of guidance out of class - While completing the pre-work students do not have immediate access to instructors for questions.
• Quality of recorded lectures - Poor-quality recorded lectures can negatively impact student learning. To ensure effective instructional materials, instructors should focus on clear audio and video, well-organized content, and engaging presentation styles. Using reliable recording tools, scripting or outlining key points, and editing for clarity can also help maintain a high standard of quality.
• Adoption of flipped classroom - students may be reticent to adopt a flipped classroom style because it is different than what they are used to.,