Dive Brief:

• Flipped learning expert Jon Bergmann detailed eight principles for effective flipped learning during a session at last month's ISTE conference in San Antonio, eSchool News reports.
• Flipped learning necessitates teacher buy-in, as well as that of parents and students, pedagogical change, and a rethinking of learning spaces to focus on collaboration and movement.
• Additionally, schools and districts looking to embrace flipped learning must adopt new approaches to teacher training and evaluation, new technology to facilitate the model, and, perhaps most importantly, factor in the additional time required on the part of classroom educators to make it work. 

Dive Insight:

While Bergmann's tips can help schools at any stage of flipped learning implementation, eSchool News notes that his session also introduced the concept of "Flipped Learning 3.0"  — a detail that might sound surprising or even intimidating to those new to the model. For those still not entirely familiar, however, the most basic definition is that it's a learning model where students consume any lecture materials or other content on their own time at home, often with a device, while class time is reserved for group learning that might consist of further discussion or assignments that would traditionally be considered homework.

The model has shown promise, but the amount of additional time it requires of educators should be among the top considerations taken by administrators. At the higher ed level, Bay Path University Associate Professor of Biology Thomas Mennella has noted that more active learning approaches like the flipped model can lead to instructor burnout, noting significant increases in the amount of assignments he had to grade and the number of hours he spent interacting with students. For more affluent schools or districts, this could mean providing teaching assistants to educators using the model or factoring that additional time commitment into a teacher's compensation, but it could hamper schools that have fewer resources to work with.

Additionally, when considering a model aimed at providing more individualized learning for students, administrators may want to consider the same approach for teachers' professional development. The rise of alternative and micro-credentialing has made doing so particularly easier, and allowing educators to improve their pedagogy in the areas most relevant to them rather than relying on a one-size-fits-all approach can additionally raise morale.