LIBRARY INSTRUCTION
Flipping Your
WHAT IS THE FLIPPED
CLASSROOM?
How is this USEFUL to ME?
definition
The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which
the typical lecture and homework elements of a course
are reversed.1
 Short instructional videos are viewed by students
before class
 Class time is used to apply knowledge students obtain
from the videos
 Assessment is conducted through demonstration of
successfully applied knowledge or short quizzes
The Originators
Johnathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams,
science teachers at Woodland Park High
School in Colorado, are considered the
originators of the Flipped classroom.2
Here’s their video
Benefits of the
flipped classroom
• Students are able to watch recorded lectures/tutorials any
time, any place
• Students are able to review the material as many times as
necessary to understand the content without frantic notetaking
• Different learning styles can be better accommodated by
instructors and applied by students
• Instructors are able to devote class time to the application of
skills instead of “telling” students the information
• Collaborative activities can be better designed to further
peer teaching
• Students have an opportunity to ask questions during
application rather than after class or from graded feedback
How do I use this?
“Traditional” library instruction varies between institutions of
higher ed, different types of libraries, and even different
disciplines. Some of the types of library instruction include:
One-shot library instruction sessions
College-wide course in basic info literacy
One-on-one instruction sessions with faculty and students
Self-paced online tutorials
Online library instruction course (with/without credit)
A mixture of the above
SHIFTING GEARS
We’ll focus on the one-shot library instruction
session for a minute.
HERE IS HOW I FEEL
ABOUT TRADITIONAL
LIBRARY
INSTRUCTION.
SO WHAT DO I
DO ABOUT IT
WHAT IF…
…The professor assigned students recorded library
tutorials as homework prior to the instruction session
…The students were able to watch and rewind the library
tutorials prior to class
…The class was able to jump right in with no
navigational or background instruction
…The students and instructor could spend time on
targeted, specific instruction such as constructing
searches or requesting materials
WE GO FROM HERE…
Photograph from the University of Iowa Libraries
TO HERe.
Photograph from Lawrence Berkeley Nat'l Lab - Roy Kaltschmidt, photographer
Students watch the lectures
before class…
In class…
• Instructor covers any questions from student-viewed
recorded lectures
• Students can form small groups or work individually
• Students work on in-class activities
• Students will apply the knowledge directly from
instruction in the video
• Instructor “mediates the activity,” does not lecture
“AT” the students
• Assessment is conducted through peer-review or short
quizzes
Perceived Challenges
• Faculty buy-in
• Faculty may not be open to a different pedagogical method of
teaching
• Faculty may be unwilling to assign out-of-class material for
instruction sessions
• Student resistance
• Students may be resistant to completing video assignments
• Students may not be at their “point of need”
• MONEY – who has any?
• ‘Cause if your library has some, I’ll take it 
Biggest challenge
TIME
THESE LESSONS TAKE YOUR TIME TO
PREPARE.
MORE TIME THAN THE ONE-SHOT
INSTRUCTION SESSION THAT YOU ALREADY
HAVE MEMORIZED.
BIGGEST BENEFITs for
library instruction
• Library instruction recorded lectures can be made available
in all the different library instruction settings (one-shot, selfpaced, subject-specific, college-wide course).
• Once the videos are recorded, they can be used for multiple
sessions. Only updates are required.
• Students can access the materials at their point of need
through your institution’s LMS.
• The flipped classroom method of teaching
gives the responsibility for learning back to
the students, not the instructor
Sounds great, but I’ve
never done this…
???????
Here’s an example
• Prior to the instruction session, the professor gives the
students an assignment:
• Watch the video Introduction to the Curry Library
Website.
• Read Chapter 3 of Research Strategies by William Badke:
“Database Searching with Keywords and Hierarchies.”
• Watch the video tutorial How to Plan Your Search
Strategy.
• Do the exercises at the end of Chapter 3 using the Curry
Library ProQuest Central database.
In class
• Less in-class lecture, more in-class
active learning activities.
• Librarian acts as facilitator for
student learning
• Feedback and assessment can be a
short quiz or graded worksheet
Best practices
• There are some basic tenets that have emerged as “best
practices” in the flipped classroom:
• Keep videos between 3 and 5 minutes long, no longer
• Students are more receptive when the instructor is the
one recording the video
• Mix it up – do not just use all videos to flip your
instruction, include other forms of multimedia, activities,
and resources
• Have a back-up plan for gaps in access to technology
within the student body
• Keep the technology you use for implementation as
simple as possible. If it can go wrong, it will.
The future?
The Future of Flipped Classrooms
• Flipped classroom methodology is being actively explored
in all disciplines and levels of education
• Technology has expanded the number of tools, many free,
to facilitate active learning and peer collaboration
• Flipped classroom pedagogy is currently being widely
debated
• Is this a better method to deliver library instruction? Just a
different one? Not a method that fits your needs?
Why not try it and see?
notes
1. Educause Learning Initiative. "7 Things You Should Know About Flipped
Classrooms." Educause Library, 2012.
http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/7-things-you-should-know-aboutflipped-classrooms.
2. Hamdan et al., “A Review of Flipped Learning.” Flipped Learning Network,
2013.
http://www.flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/VA01923112/Centricity/Domain/41/
LitReview_FlippedLearning.pdf
bibliography
Benjes-Small, Candice and Katelyn Tucker. “Keeping Up With…Flipped Classrooms.” ACRL,
2013. http://www.ala.org/acrl/publications/keeping_up_with/flipped_classrooms
Bishop, Jacob Lowell and Matthew A. Verleger. “The Flipped Classroom: A Survey of the
Research.” 120th ASEE Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, June 2013.
http://faculty.up.edu/vandegri/FacDev/Papers/Research_Flipped_Classroom.pdf
Herreid, Clyde Freeman and Nancy A. Schiller. “Case Studies and the Flipped Classroom.”
Journal of College Science Teaching 42, no. 5 (2013).
http://capone.mtsu.edu/vjm/Univ_Service/CRWG_Home/References/CRWG-CHEM-REF05.pdf
Miller, Andrew. “Five Best Practices for the Flipped Classroom.” Edutopia, February 2012.
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/flipped-classroom-best-practices-andrew-miller
Roehl, Amy, Shweta Linga Reddy and Gayla Jett Shannon. “The Flipped Classroom: An
Opportunity to Engage Millennial Students Through Active Learning Strategies. Journal of
Family & Consumer Sciences 105 no. 2 (2013).
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1426052585?accountid=15047
contact
Rebecca Hamlett
Curry Library
William Jewell College
Liberty, MO
hamlettr@william.jewell.edu