What is the flipped classroom?
Theory at home, practice in class: what the flipped model is and what it needs to work.
The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model that reverses the traditional order: students meet the theory before class, through assigned videos or readings, and classroom time is devoted to practising, resolving doubts and applying with the teacher present. The lesson stops being a lecture and becomes a workshop.
The definition of flipped classroom
In the traditional model the teacher lectures in class and the student practises alone at home, precisely when no one is there to help. The flipped classroom fixes that mismatch: the exposition is watched at home at each student's pace, and the practice, where the doubts arise, happens in class with the teacher available.
What it needs to work
- Quality pre-class material: short, clear videos or lessons, not hour-long recorded lectures.
- Guaranteed access: every student must be able to watch the material, with or without internet at home.
- A redesigned lesson: the freed-up time is filled with guided practice, not more lecturing.
- Tracking: the teacher knows who watched the material and walks in with that information.
The weak point: unequal access
The model assumes everyone can watch the material at home, and in many contexts that does not hold. Practical solutions exist: downloading the material onto the student's device before leaving school, or opening slots in the school day to watch it in class. Flipping the classroom does not require internet in every home, it requires planning for access.
Why it matters for your institution
The flipped classroom is one of the few models that improves the use of a school's scarcest resource: the teacher's time with students. If the infrastructure already exists, screen, devices and platform, flipping is a pedagogical decision, not an additional purchase.
Frequently asked questions
Does the flipped classroom work in primary school?
It works with adaptations: pre-class material must be shorter and families play a bigger role. Many schools apply it per unit or project before adopting it as a permanent model.
What if a student does not watch the pre-class material?
It is the most common objection and it has an operational answer: review stations at the start of class, material downloaded onto the device, and platform tracking to catch the pattern early.
Does flipping mean more work for the teacher?
At first, yes: pre-class material must be produced or selected. Then the balance flips, because the exposition is already solved and the teacher reuses and improves the material each term.
