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This paper examines an alternate approach to the "flipped" classroom paradigm for an upper level history class using a blended on-line and in-class format. The concept of the flipped classroom has received increasing emphasis based on its potential to create a student-centered learning environment that incorporates practical instruction along with collaborative techniques. The use of flipping has largely been tied to the incorporation of video technology either in the form of a student practicum or an instructor lecture via on-line delivery combined with a classroom meeting involving collaboration and/or application exercises in the face-to-face session. With respect to flipping the history classroom, this paper offers the results from an upper division history course in which historical primary sources were introduced in the on-line portion of a hybrid class. The use of the primary sources also included a bi-modal collaborative mechanism, since students collaborated by sharing their thoughts prior to class and the start of the class incorporated a student-centered collaborative exercise based on the primary sources. This collaborative discussion on the primary sources served as the gateway into the broader topic discussion. This paper describes this process and uses student feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of this methodological approach.
Since 2007, the concept of the "flipped classroom" has received increasing attention within the educational community based on its promise according to one convert to literally turn the "traditional information-transfer model of education upside-down" (Mazur, 2009, p. 51). From a pedagogical standpoint, "flipping" as an instructional technique focuses on the creation of a student-centered learning environment that leverages technology and emphasizes application and collaboration (Fitzpatrick, 2012). One recent study argues that the flipped learning allows educators to "break the lecture-centered instructional model by shifting the focus from the curriculum pacing guide to student learning needs." (Hamdan, McKnight, McKnight, & Arfstrom, 2013, p. 3).
According to its adherents, the flipped instructional paradigm allows "students [to] gain first exposure to new material outside of class, usually via reading or lecture videos, and then use class time to do the harder work of assimilating that knowledge, perhaps through problem-solving, discussion, or debates. In terms of Bloom's revised taxonomy (2001), this means that students are doing the lower levels of cognitive work (gaining knowledge and comprehension) outside of...