Taking advantage of the most recent findings in educational research, we have adopted the practices of the Flipped Classroom. The Flipped Classroom is an educational model that transfers the epicentre from the traditional classroom and the teacher’s lectures to motivating students to acquire knowledge through many available resources and see their teacher as guide and mentor.
How does this model work?
- At first, children watch and study the material given by the teacher at home from their computers or tablets. This material may include videos, PPTs, texts or/and a set of files and resources that may contain links, images, maps, quizzes and educational games or/and material from school textbooks or handouts. As a result, with the help of technology, the part of the educational process which we usually call “lecture” is transferred home. There, children may watch and process the material as many times as they want and need at their own pace and note down their questions.
- The lesson continues in class but there is much more teaching time left for better-quality activities depending on the lesson, such as:
- Discussion – questions
- Problem-solving
- Dialogue – conversation
- Experiments
- Inquiry-based activities
- Reflective activities
- Drawing conclusions
- Crafts
- Presentations
- Role-playing games
- Concept maps
- Debates
All these processes and activities become much more fun, attain greater quality and are educationally more essential within the flexible learning environments of our School!
Why is the Flipped Classroom so important for children?
- Children are already familiarized with technology and devices such as tablets or computers and used to acquiring knowledge daily on matters that interest them through these devices and the internet. The use of technology in the learning process is another element that brings school closer to children, their everyday lives and real life conditions.
- The lesson becomes more appealing and interesting because what they do at home and in class become much more enjoyable.
- There is plenty of time for children to ask questions, one of the most crucial learning tools teachers have at hand, and receive elaborate explanations in the classroom even on a one to one basis. This also boosts interaction and “bonding” between teacher and student.
- At the same time, interaction between students increases as well because there is much more time for collaborative activities.
- The material of the flipped classroom is rich and interactive and fits all learning styles.
- Practicing the flipped classroom helps us accomplish higher cognitive goals as described in the revised version of Bloom’s Taxonomy, one of the most known hierarchical frameworks. The simpler cognitive goals, such as remembering and understanding, which are in the lowest positions in the pyramid, take place outside the classroom and, therefore, there is more time to devote in class for important and difficult cognitive goals -the ones placed close to the top of the pyramid– such as applying, analyzing, evaluating and creating.
- Lastly, students, while studying the material at home are able, by using techniques and tools like the learning journals, to note down the new knowledge and their questions learning this way to be independent, self-reliant and make choices taking active part in what they learn, how they learn it and why.
Platon’s videocourses
From this year, students of all grade levels in PLATON Primary School have at their disposal Videocourses in Language and Mathematics enriched with fun graphics made with special care by our teachers.
In a simple and easy-to-grasp manner, teachers present all class units by giving children the opportunity to study the presentations at their own pace either in the context of the flipped classroom or for reviewing purposes.
Children have access to the Videocourses of the class via the MS Teams platform, where they can communicate with their teachers outside school hours.
