EDU 6250 Article Review # 1

Reference:

Joanne, C.S.M, & Lateef, F. (2014). The flipped classroom: Viewpoints in Asian universities. Education in Medicine Journal 6,(4), 20-26. Retrieved from

http://web.b.ebscohost.com.cod.idm.oclc.org/ehost/detail/detail?vid=5&sid=5f9bb4d6-b3d8-4bf0-8ced-d52ad1af6200%40sessionmgr113&hid=101&bdata=JnNpdGU9ZWhvc3QtbGl2ZSZzY29wZT1zaXRl#db=a9h&AN=101593180

This article discusses the viewpoint of the flipped classroom in Asian cultures.  The flipped classroom is an idea where students complete a lesson at home on their own, and then perform homework problems in the classroom.  The purpose of the flipped classroom is to try to increase engagement in education.  Having the students work on problems in a classroom, perhaps collaboratively with other students, can possibly create an engaging learning environment which may increase overall learning.  In order for the flipped classroom to be successful, there is a certain amount of technology that a student must have access to at home.  As many people can probably relate, reading a school textbook is not terribly invigorating, and could cause issue for students completing assignments at home.  Thus various technologies: videos, websites, interactive media, etc., is very important in the possible success of the flipped classroom.  

The article takes the assumption that western culture lends itself to students who like to work in groups to learn, and are more interested in being involved in their learner when compared to Asian learners.  The article describes Asian learners as passive and shy.  The article further discusses the role of the teacher in the classroom for western and Asian learners.  In Asian cultures, the teacher “received utmost reverence by society, alongside parents and the emperor” (p. 21).  The study itself was conducted between 2013 and 2014.  There were 9 Asian countries involved in the student totaling 12 case studies.  The participants in the study were university students, and the case studies ranged from as few as 24 to 344 students.  Students in the case studies were taught a class in a flipped classroom style, and then feedback was collected. 

When receiving feedback, a large percentage of students wrote favorable comments about their experience in the flipped classroom.  They liked the extra time for discussion with their teacher.  Quantitative data was also collected regarded performance in the flipped classroom when compared to a traditional classroom.  There was no significant difference between the traditional class and flipped classroom.  Thus it seems likely that the flipped classroom does not cause students to do worse on exams, but it may not provide much additional benefit in regards to learning content.  One aspect that seemed to be consistent for learners in all case studies was the positive feedback about the learning environment.  Student satisfaction was significantly high for students in the flipped classroom model.  The article also discussed how instructors in Asia appeared to be willing to test out the new model.  In general the instructors cared most about the success of the students, and so introducing a flipped model into Asian schools may not present a problem of dispelling the “sage on the stage” which has dominated education previously. 
 

Overall the article is interesting because Asian countries consistently score higher in math than students in Western countries, and so to examine how Asian students respond to a flipped classroom could be valuable information for our school systems.  The article focused a lot on student enjoyment.  When deciding which learning technique to use, I am not always sure that the student satisfaction should be of utmost importance.  It is difficult to say for Asian schools, but my experience teaching at the college level tells me a majority of students would be happy simply to be passed along in the school system, regardless of what they may have actually learned.  If a student is happy to simply receive an A without any actual learning, than this is not a good model to adapt.  However students in Asian societies may put more weight on their education, and thus their satisfaction may be pure in a sense that they actually felt that they were learning more, and in a more profound way.  However student satisfaction is certainly a benefit I see based on the results of this study.  There are however some potential issues that I could see with the flipped classroom that this article did not discuss.  The flipped classroom requires a strong self-motivated student.  If a student is not self-motivated, they will not complete the lessons on their own at home, and then the class time will be wasted relearning material the student should already know.  What should a teacher do with a student who is not prepared for the day’s work? Also there is a large deal of technology involved in the flipped classroom model.  As mentioned before, students must be able to access the lessons, which are often videos or interactive programs.  Not all students have access to these necessities, and thus these students could be left behind.   The flipped classroom may create a bigger gap between students within the same classroom than a traditional model.  Having a variety of abilities in a classroom is always a challenge that a teacher must face, but the flipped classroom may expand this issue.  Overall, it does not seem that the flipped classroom is an educational idea restricted to one culture.  Perhaps there are benefits of the flipped classroom for all students, but pinpointing exactly how successfully this model can be is yet to be seen.  More time is needed to examine the outcomes of student who progress through a flipped classroom model.