Flipped Schools: Homework At School, Lectures At Home

Some teachers, even whole schools, are now “flipping” their days — doing homework in class, watching lectures at home. Is this the future of school?

Everybody’s looking for a way to fire up American education, American schools.  The latest buzz is “flip it.”  Flipped classes and schools turn the old pattern of instruction upside down.  No more lectures in class and homework at home.  It’s flipped.  The other way round.  Do your homework at school, with the teacher there to guide and encourage.  Get your lecture at home, online.  On a laptop or smartphone.  Evangelists for flipped schools rave about the advantages of turning the old way on its head.  Is it more than a headstand?  Up next On Point:  “Flipped schools.”  Is this the future of school?
-- Tom Ashbrook

Greg Green, principal of Clintondale High School, the first school in the country to completely "flip." (@flippedschool)

Richard Halverson, professor in the department of leadership and policy analysis at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Diana Laufenberg, lead teacher at Inquiry Schools, a new non-profit launching a school focused on one-on-one teaching. (@DLaufenberg)

CNN: Flipped classrooms give every student a chance to succeed -- "It’s no surprise that these issues are happening in our schools. Everyone from politicians to parents admit that our educational system isn’t working, and we’re all screaming for change.  But no one gives advice on what changes are needed to improve education. The time has come to realize that the problem isn’t simply lack of effort or money, but the misalignment of our school structure."

New York Times: Turning Education Upside Down — "Like everything disruptive, online education is highly controversial. But the flipped classroom is a strategy that nearly everyone agrees on. 'It’s the only thing I write about as having broad positive agreement,' said Justin Reich, a fellow at the Berkman Center for Internet and Society at Harvard who studies technology and education."

Washington Post: ‘Flipping’ classrooms: Does it make sense? -- "Skeptics ask: How many subjects are really appropriate for this technique? Doesn't this only work for motivated kids? How does it work for students who don’t have computers at home to watch videos or who live in chaotic conditions that make it impossible to absorb new material? What about teachers who deliver inspiring classroom presentations that don’t translate to video? Isn’t this all just a way to expand the school day that will leave many children behind?"