Changes and Challenges: The flipped classroom

      I believe for most of us, it is not unfamiliar to come up with some key features of the traditional classroom, such as attending the class, taking notes, and completing assignments since most of us have experienced the traditional classroom for a long time. As the article Flipping Your EL Classroom: A primer notes, many students feel confident in the classroom while facing difficulties and confusions outside the classroom. It is reasonable to consider this as a common problem that many students will encounter since in a traditional classroom, students are usually play the role of receivers which indicates that they may passively accept the knowledge and information.

      In order to help students build their confidence and learn more effectively, a concept of "flipping your classroom" has been brought up. It refers to a kind of new classroom - students prepare for the class outside the classroom, bring their homework to the class, and then complete their homework in the classroom, which could be considered as the opposite of our traditional classroom. 

      The videos plays an important role in the flipped classroom since students are provided with instructions through videos outside the classroom. In the article Flipping Your EL Classroom: A primer, the author talks about two main resources of videos: existing videos and creating videos. There are many good Internet tools that teachers are able to use to find some existing videos that are related to the class, such as YouTube, TED-ed, and TeacherTube. Also, teachers are able to create some videos as instructional videos for their students.

      Through the flipped classroom, students are not only encouraged to develop their ability of self-learning but also the ability of collaborative learning since students are also encouraged to work in pairs or groups in the classroom to complete their assignments. As the article Three Reasons to Flip Your Classroom notes, one of the meaningful reasons to have the flipped classroom is to development the interaction between both teachers and students, especially for language learners, they will be provided with opportunities to practice what they have prepared and learned outside the classroom to work together to solve problems and then grab something new. 

      Therefore, for both learners and teachers, even the education system, the flipped classroom not only creates some changes but also brings some challenges since through this new classroom, students are no longer passive receivers, but learners who actively prepare learning outside the classroom and solve confusions collaboratively in the class. Additionally, teachers are encouraged to use more Internet tools or technology in order to develop their flipped classrooms.