Flipping the classroom, the Nearpod way

June 10, 2012Nearpod Team

Supported by the tech media and especially by Khan Academy, the concept of “flipping the classroom” has been gaining momentum lately.

In short, a “flipped class” is one where the student first reviews the topic by himself (at home or at school), typically using video lessons or some sort of digital learning support, and then classroom time is used to apply the knowledge by solving specific problems and/or doing practical work. The flipped class thus transitions the role of the educator from a “lecturer” to a “tutor” who coaches a student when he/she gets stuck, rather than delivering a traditional one-way lecture.

Using Nearpod, some creative and innovative educators are redefining their own version of the “flipped classroom.”

One of the forward-looking educators already experimenting with this approach is N. Miguel Seabra, an Apple Distinguished Educator from Portugal, who has been using Nearpod to experiment with a new teaching model in his Architecture 1 class at the Lusíada University of Lisboa.

N. Miguel’s approach consists of having his students take the role of the instructor and deliver an interactive lesson using Nearpod. He first poses a ”challenge” to his students, in which they are asked to design and create an interactive lecture about a specific topic. To address that challenge, his students not only need to research the topic before class, but they also need to create a presentation using multimedia content. Students also need to create classroom activities, plan for questions and quizzes,and define learning milestones. When class time comes, students are asked to deliver their interactive lesson to the rest of the class using Nearpod.

Thanks to this initiative, N.Miguel has seen his students become engaged mentors, as they can easily share and receive instant feedback from their peers and teachers, both inside and outside the classroom. According to N. Miguel, ”If properly used, Nearpod can help create a collaborative, interactive, and learner-centric environment, making a huge impact on the students’ learning process.” He adds that “two things have been very important for the success of this experience:

i) having the support of the instructor, and

ii) giving new challenges to different students, forcing them to engage in individual research, to gather rich multimedia objects, to plan the lesson appropriately, etc.

And the best part is that all of the other students get to participate and give their opinion!”

Have you found new ways of using Nearpod to “flip the classroom” or create differentiated instruction? Please feel free to share them with us here.

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