Flipping in Higher Ed (Part 2)

In my previous post, I discussed how instructors were beginning to feel a time crunch in assessing student skills and use of class time. As some colleges redesign academic calendars to fit more in, instructors are feeling the pinch in adaquately preparing students for the work place. The flipped classroom seems to be a reasonable solution for allowing more class time to be spent on assessing and teaching said skills.

Another huge benefit of the flipped classroom is allowing instructors to assess the soft skills that industry claims to be as important, if not more, than technical skills. I'm talking abou interdepence, collaboration, communication, personal responsibility, valuing othes, and ethics. While these skills are vitally important to a student's success in the work place, they are often difficult to assess and obtain in a classroom setting. Throw into the mix a traditional lecture based class, and instructors have very little means to measure those characteristics.

Through the use of a flipped classroom, instructors can not only build activities to obtain technical skills, but soft skills as well. Just as we urge instructors to design lessons backwards, with their learning objectives in mind, we also must ask them to plan with the end in mind for the soft skills. While it can be easy for an instructor to 'just know' if a student demonstrates certain soft skills, employers and students want to know the specifics. What does being personally responsible look like in a welding lab, or a nursing class? What OBSERVABLE and MEASUREABLE behaviors will a students exhibit that deems them to have excellent ethics or collaboration?

Only after we have clearly identified those observable and measureable behaviors can instructors then plan activities that allow students to demonstrate they possess those skills, while working to achieve a technical skill simultaneously. What a perfect blend? And although identifying those behaviors can be a bit daunting and cumbersome, industry will soon realize the stamp your institution in placing on its graduates. It won't be long before word catches on that graduates of your institution possess not only the technical skills needed, but more importantly the soft skills needed to help their prospective employer thrive in a new and improving world.

Yet, if you are stuck teaching in a lecture-based, teacher-centered classroom, how can you possibly begin to design activities for students so that you can witness these soft skills in action? Shouldn't your time with students be more valuable than standing in front of them, spoon feeding them information? Give flipping a try and reap the benefits that so many others are already noticing. Help prepare your students for the future by building an environment that thrives off of creativity, innovation, problem-solving, interdepence, collaboration, and personal accountability!