People just seem to love bashing education these days. Among the complaints: We aren’t doing anything to measure and assess new technologies and techniques to see what works.
I wish these people could spend some time with the countless number of educators embracing new approaches and working closely with administrators to see what innovations can improve learning outcomes.
Many instructional uses of technology have been formally assessed, and plenty have resulted in successful integrations of technology in education. For example, in 2009, the U.S. Department of Education reported finding evidence that blended learning is more effective than either face-to-face or online learning alone. The department examined over 1,000 empirical studies to reach its conclusions.
Blended learning incorporates traditional face-to-face learning with digital learning techniques. One increasingly popular, specialized version of blended learning, the “Flipped Classroom,” has gotten a lot of attention lately as it sees increasing rates of adoption. In fact, the widely respected 2014 NMC Horizon Report lists the Flipped Classroom as a technology positioned for widespread adoption this year and next.
As with blended learning, there is a growing body of empirical evidence that well-constructed and effectively delivered uses of flipped classroom techniques show measured improvements in engagement and learning outcomes — and even fewer discipline issues — across grades levels and academic disciplines.
Flipped teaching and learning is a technique made possible largely through modern digital technologies (i.e. “ed tech”). In the simplest sense, it involves delivering learning materials, often brief video content, outside of class, and bringing traditional homework back into the classroom, where teachers can offer differentiated assistance to students.
When done well, it is more nuanced than that, but the bottom line is that it can be remarkably effective. It is ultimately about making better use of valuable face-to-face classroom time. It often works best when it enables a higher degree of active and personalized learning.
There are dozens, if not hundreds, of articles across the web citing positive responses and encouraging results from flipped teaching. For example, a recent news article from the Georgia Tech website cites exam results “remarkably better than those earned by students in a regular lecture format.”
It is a mistake to think instructional uses of technology are not being assessed and evaluated. Educators across the world are constantly self-evaluating and discussing best practices in classrooms, on blogs like EmergingEdTech, in conferences, and in formal publications. We are working to identify the best techniques to continuously improve learning outcomes for tomorrow’s students and for lifelong learners everywhere.
