Help students prepare for a flipped classroom experience by providing effective self-study materials such as recorded lectures, videos, interactive tutorials, quizzes, and reading assignments.
Consider the Larger Instructional Goal
- Align learning objectives, content, and assessment questions with classroom components.
- Compare PCAs with classroom questions to ensure they address the most important concepts, have an appropriate level of difficulty, and prepare students for successful classroom participation.
- During class, refer back to PCAs as a source of answers. This helps emphasize the need for pre-class preparation.
Help Students Grasp Important Concepts
- State learning objectives for each PCA.
- Provide an overview of how pre-class content fits together.
- Emphasize the importance, relevance, and application of content.
- Remove extraneous content.
- Keep recorded lectures short. Break larger ones into multiple, smaller clips (<10 minutes).
- Identify common content challenges for students and elaborate adequately.
Provide Self-Checks
- Embed questions throughout a recorded lecture, interactive tutorial, or summary quiz to help students process information.
- If possible, monitor student performance to identify areas of difficulty.
- Add interactive elements using third-party tools like SoftChalk (free to UAMS faculty), Quizlet or StudyMate (flashcards and games), and Articulate 360 (interactive tutorials).
Have Reasonable Expectations
- Peer Instruction: one hour of classroom time = three hours max of student preparation.
- Post PCAs at least two weeks before classroom sessions.
- Consider: greater complexity of content requires more time for you and students to prepare.
- Be aware of student schedule and study loads, including TBLs, exams, and other coursework.
- Ask students for feedback on assignments, flipped classroom experiences, and study load.
Post Quality Materials
- Provide materials that are organized, well-written, updated, and follow copyright guidelines.
- Post legible reading materials. Avoid using scanned or marked-up copies.
- Record narration with PowerPoint presentations. Provide transcript or captions.
- Cut down text on slides to key points or concepts. Use visuals instead of text whenever possible.
- Confirm text, images, charts, graphics, and annotations are legible.
Make Assignments Accessible
- Clearly communicate where PCAs are located, how to access them, and due dates.
- Test and confirm access to each PCA.
- Ensure external links work.
- Give students control while navigating through a recorded lecture (speeding it up, pausing, replaying).
- Provide captions/transcripts for accessibility.