[Editor's Note: Steve Mathews has written a synopsis of Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty by Robert Talbert. If you are interested in reading the entire synopsis, go to his personal blog at https://mozartloops.wordpress.com/. Below is the Prelude telling us about his first experience with the concept of flipped classrooms.]
In June 2014, I attended an "unconference" called FlipCamp with a group of pedagogues and scholars in the field of my doctoral degree (music theory) at the University of Delaware in Newark. An unconference is a gathering of like-minded people to discuss ideas, just like a normal academic or professional conference, but without a predetermined program—only time and space to meet. Prior to the initial group meeting, the FlipCamp organizers sent all registered attendees a call for topics and to post on the group's Wordpress site to initiate a pre-conference virtual discussion. A few people participated and responded to posts.
At the first meeting, then, we formally introduced ourselves and then took turns setting the program by expanding on the established ideas and suggestion further topics. After creating a list of ideas on a white board, we decided collectively on the order, the leader, the length, and any other specifics related to each topic. At the end of the 3-day event, I realized that this was my first (toe-dipping) experience with the flipped learning philosophy.
I also learned that several of the leaders at FlipCamp were followers of Robert Talbert's approach to pedagogy. Talbert is an associate professor of mathematics at Grand Valley State University in western Michigan, who also writes a blog http://rtalbert.org and has several thousand Twitter followers (@RobertTalbert). His book, published in April 2017, Flipped Learning: A Guide for Higher Education Faculty, is an excellent resource for RACC instructors in all areas and levels of teaching, and it’s available today to borrow from The Yocum Library (Call Number LB1029.F55 T35 2017).
No comments:
Post a Comment