24 May 2013
Principles blended learning stimulation project: “The Flipped Classroom”
1. Vision on learning: (socially) constructivist
A student is not a vat into which we pour knowledge, but a person who constructs his or her own knowledge and
insights. A constructivist vision on learning means we assume that people learn by adding meaning to the
experiences, knowledge and insights they have acquired. By extension, we cannot assume that students will
automatically absorb their lessons as they are intended, but must instead be stimulated by their educators to engage
actively with the subject matter so that they can imbue it with meaning and connect it to things they learned before.
Interaction among students and interaction between students and teachers are considered important ways to support
and promote this method of knowledge construction. (See for instance *Ertmer & Newby, 1993; von Glasersfeld, 1984;
Vygotsky, 1978).
2. Reinterpreting self-study and face-to-face education
The flipped or inverted classroom concept requires students to acquaint themselves with
the basics of the subject matter. The face-to-face sessions are then used to challenge
students to build on what they've learned and to engage in more rewarding learning
activities to deepen their understanding. Bloom's revised taxonomy (Kratwohl, 2002; see
image) describes various learning activities in (roughly) ascending order of cognitive
complexity, where the lower learning activities are prerequisites for the higher ones. This
is why the self-study aims for the lower two (maybe three) activities. These allow the faceto-face sessions to focus on the four higher learning activities as described in the study
goals. (See for instance Strayer, 2012; *www.flippedclassroom.com - infographic)
3. Testing
We differentiate among three kinds of testing. Diagnostic testing refers to test that precede
the learning process and aim to gauge the student's initial ability. This may be performed at
the start of either the self-study component or the face-to-face classroom time. Summative
testing consists of the tests performed upon the conclusion of a learning process to assess the
student's performance and to inform the decision of whether that student has passed a given
part of the learning process. This decision may also be based on the results from multiple
summative tests. Formative testing refers to tests imposed during the learning process with
the intention of providing students feedback on their performances that will allow them to
improve and accelerate their learning. We know from research that feedback is one of the
most powerful tools available to promote learning. This feedback may be provided by a
teacher, a fellow student, or an online system. For all three forms of testing, it is vitally
important that they align with the study goals. This is called constructive alignment. (See for
instance *Biggs, 1999; Crisp, 2007; *Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Sadler, 1989; William & Black,
1996)
4. Vision on IT to promote learning
 By means of IT, basic knowledge can be made available to students in any number of ways, including as e-books,
web lectures, or more complicated digital formats that include animated images and video content. (See for
instance Kay, 2012; Li et al., 2013; Lin & Atkinson, 2011)
 The use of IT in education offers opportunities for formative testing by means of online practice tests composed
by teachers and/or students or by enabling peer feedback on assignments. IT may also be deployed in summative
testing, but that would involve security issues that need addressing. (See for instance *Ritzen & de Kleijn, 2012;
Gikandi et al., 2011)
 IT may be used to track the online behaviour of students, allowing for analysis of which learning tools students
use, and how and when they use them.
 IT also provides an opportunity to stimulate student interaction outside of the classroom, allowing knowledge to
be communally shared and constructed.
5. The roles of students and teachers
We expect students to actively take part both in the self-study component and in the face-to-face educational
sessions. That means the teacher's role shifts from 'lecturing content expert' to 'supporting and motivating content
expert (and process coach)'. Instead of explaining the subject matter to students, the teacher guides students towards
mastery of the subject matter by providing them with feedback, challenging them to deepen their understanding,
and providing them with interesting, recent, and/or challenging cases to practice the practical application of their
new knowledge. (See for instance Spronken-Smith & Harland, 2009; *van de Pol, Volman & Beishuizen, 2011)
24 May 2013
6. Good logistics are an important precondition for successful education
 The physical spaces provided must be suitable for the intended form of face-to-face education.
 Textbooks for each period should be made available to teachers and students in a timely fashion.
 The IT environment must be fully accessible on schedule for both teachers and students.
 Teachers and students should rarely, if ever, be confronted with failing systems.
 Etc.
Literature
*Biggs, J. (1999). What the student does: teaching for enhanced learning. Higher Education Research &
Development, 18(1), 57-75.
Bouwmeester, R.A.M., de Kleijn, R.A.M., van Rijen, H.V.M., & Ten Cate, O. (in press). Online formative tests
linked to microlectures improve academic achievement. Medical Teacher.
*Ertmer, P. A., & Newby, T. J. (1993). Behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism: Comparing critical features from
an instructional design perspective. Performance improvement quarterly, 6(4), 50-72.gikandi;
*Hattie, J., & Timperley, H. (2007). The power of feedback. Review of educational research, 77(1), 81-112.
Kay, R. H. (2012). Exploring the use of video podcasts in education: A comprehensive review of the literature.
Computers in Human Behavior, 28(3), 820-831.
Kleijn, R.A.M. de, Bouwmeester, R.A.M., Ramaekers, S.P.J., Ritzen, M., & van Rijen, H.V.M. (in press). Students’
motives for using online formative assessments when preparing for summative assessments. Medical Teacher.
Krathwohl, D. R. (2002). A revision of Bloom's taxonomy: An overview. Theory into practice, 41(4), 212-218.
Li, L. Y., Chen, G. D., & Yang, S. J. (2012). Construction of cognitive maps to improve e-book reading and
navigation. Computers & Education.
Lin, L., & Atkinson, R. K. (2011). Using animations and visual cueing to support learning of scientific concepts and
processes. Computers & Education, 56(3), 650-658.
*Ritzen, M., & de Kleijn, R. (2012). Conclusies en aanbevelingen voor de inzet van online zelftoetsen.
http://tauu.uu.nl/files/2012/11/Formatieve-online-zelftoetsen-in-het-onderwijs-conclusies-enaanbevelingen2.pdf
Sadler, D. R. (1989). Formative assessment and the design of instructional systems. Instructional science, 18(2), 119144.
Spronken-Smith, R., & Harland, T. (2009). Learning to teach with problem-based learning. Active Learning in Higher
Education, 10(2), 138-153.
Strayer, J. F. (2012). How learning in an inverted classroom influences cooperation, innovation and task
orientation. Learning Environments Research, 15(2), 171-193.
*Van de Pol, J., Volman, M., & Beishuizen, J. (2011). Patterns of contingent teaching in teacher–student
interaction. Learning and Instruction, 21(1), 46-57.
Von Glasersfeld, E. (1984). An introduction to radical constructivism. The invented reality, 17-40.
Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society.
Wiliam, D., & Black, P. (1996). Meanings and consequences: a basis for distinguishing formative and summative
functions of assessment? British Educational Research Journal, 22(5), 537-548.
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*Suggested reading
24 May 2013
Illustrative examples of self-study components and face-to-face education
[invullen nadat voorbeelden van Rianne, Jan, Tineke en Harold zijn ontvangen]