# data[].attributes.body
Thoughts - flipped classroom = making learning accessible, interesting, and fun.

# data[].attributes.body
1. The flipped classroom method is a system of medical education, in which the types of learning are reversed from the traditional didactic system. Students read predetermined resources before attending the classroom, where the knowledge is applied and processed with real life applications. The purported advantages are that the knowledge gained is only superficial until it is applied, and that adults learn better through integrating material, rather than via didactic teaching.
2. Less time is spent on superficial learning, which can be accomplished before the class, and class time can be spent integrating and processing knowledge. This may also result in deep-diving, which may make the study more meaningful, and more memorable. Potential disadvantages are that a certain level of independent learning and drive is needed. Thus students who do not perform the necessary ground work will not be able to engage in the class and the class will be less useful.
3. This approach will be more effective in the setting of more highly motivated learners with a certain level of self directed learning.
4. It may be more useful in scenarios where applied technique can be practiced or discussed. This may be useful for medical students and specialists in training.
5. I could use this in my teaching of medical students. I could identify the learning issues in advance, give my students some learning material and then use the class to perform active learning as per the flipped classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
After the workshop ,I understood that flipped classroom  can only complement traditional methods of teaching lie lectures & tutorials

But definitely with the latest web technology we can do prepare very tasteful recipes for the students

# data[].attributes.body
After the workshop: the core messages included:
1. Needs more hard work
2. May not save time for ourselves; however it can translate into greater competence for the given amount of time the students spend
3. One more mode of learning that needs to be tailored to the level of the learner

This is harder to apply at the clinical skills teaching level. The notion of "pre-reading" for a clinical learner suggests significant, relevant practice of correct clinical skills - generally expected in clinical tutorials - and further refinement using the flipped classroom means needing to give awareness of the need to pre-read and think prior to a bedside tutorial, and then

a. Incorporate and improve the lessons already "didactically given" in clinical tutorials, into reference texts/teaching, plus
b. alter teaching style in tutorials to both role model and eventually test analytical and integration ability earlier within a posting
c. requiring an evaluation of learning after a clinical tutorial (this is not the same as assessing the student's competence)

# data[].attributes.body
Cut myself off. Am a consultant O & G & subspecialist in sexual health. Currently involved in teaching UG & PG; different specialties, nrsing, high stake exams & core faculty fin Dept. Previous job in UK- Deanery advisor, RCOG ATSM preceptor, Dept of Health e learning module author, Faculty Instructing doctor delivering national diploma & letter of competencies in procedures & med education.

# data[].attributes.body
I am a psychiatrist consultant, part of my job includes teaching of students and residents. Reading about the flipped classroom reminds me of medical school. I too was guilty of doing "distant learning at home". Like many of my peers I would prefer to learn at my own pace and using my own way. I think the availability of information online and the ubiquitous means of accessing these information makes the time rip for new way of learning. I do think the traditional way of didactics do still have a place in teaching. It serves to anchor learning, in a way getting students "started". while i believe learning process can be flipped, I do feel reluctant to leave students to be in "totally in charge". perhaps this way of thinking is a relic of having learnt in the traditional methods all my life.

# data[].attributes.body
I had seen Khan's TEDtalk quite some time ago, but was not terribly impressed by it. Our Gen Y & millennials are already googling medical info & youtube as we teach, and for the 'kiasu' students - even before they come to class. Education, including medical education will evolve eventually with technology as the enabler. The classroom can be flipped in many ways, 'front-to-back' and even sideways. Doing homework before the lesson proper may seem a triumph for the teacher/student, however, students typically have multiple subjects and pursuits,... imagine all of them flipped with hours of screen time at the laptop. Students have come to hospitals for clinical postings, only to spend time on their notebooks viewing info, rather than interacting with patients, whom are their 'true' teachers. I am also wary on whether concepts can truly be condensed into 10-min videos. Some of them that I've seen online are really suspect.

Perhaps, we can 'flip' the classroom sideways: blending the topic with aspects of e-learning, bedside teaching, student-led presentation, tutor-facilitated Q+A and formative testing along the way. The sequence of which should be tailored the capabilities of student groups in question.
I know the argument is that students should be individually self-paced in learning to attain mastery. This may not be so at the undergraduate/postgrad med education level, since we know the overwhelming majority of med students/doctors are accomplished adult learners. They will either pace themselves or even catch up as a result of peer influence. I've seen many junior Drs not view online teaching material simply because their seniors/peers do not put much emphasis on it, even though we test this eventually.
As a HOD and a core faculty in Advanced Internal Medicine residency, I wish to both understand FC better myself and more importantly, support and help my staff develop this capability in one form or other. Medical education requires much innovation, ...whether FC is a solution remains to be seen.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Five Reasons AGAINST the Flipped Classroom

In our last post "Five Reasons FOR the Flipped Classroom", we talked about the advantages of this teaching method and in this post we will now share the disadvantages. Teachers are finding ups and downs for this new, upside-down, model.

StratoStar works with teachers to provide hands-on STEM project based learning utilizing weather balloon launches to the edge of space. Through our quest to use the latest teaching technology and techniques we are sharing what we have learned about the flipped classroom.

Here are five reasons as to why some teachers are choosing not to initiate the flipped classroom protocol:

1. Heavy reliance on student motivation- The flipped classroom acknowledges that everyone learns at different paces, which is why it utilizes a learn-at-your-own-pace style of education. But this mode of operation relies heavily on the principle that students are self-motivated. Some students are not as motivated as others, and this method of teaching may allow those less motivated students to get less done.

2. Keeping everyone on the same subject can get tricky- While teachers can assess where each student is in their education and even group them accordingly, it would become rather tricky to make sure everyone is learning at a steady pace. The relaxed atmosphere of the flipped classroom enables students to be one different levels of their education, but education must continue. It will be a lot to handle when students of a class are all on different levels of the class lessons and you need them to be caught up to introduce a new lesson.

3. Testing will become difficult- Tests are usually given out to everyone at the same time in order to judge how much they have learned over a period of time and to ensure that they can keep up. If students are operating under the flipped classroom model, they will each be approaching tests at different times. This will also allow students to procrastinate on their learning when they are dreading the next test.

4. Internet accessibility fluctuates- A flipped classroom requires of internet accessibility outside of the class room. Internet is not always easily accessible for everyone which can make it difficult for some students to access lectures.

5. Promotion of a lackadaisical learning environment- Sure, we all do best when we can get things done at our own pace, but flipping a classroom will encourage students to slow down their engagement of classroom material. This can have long term effects: students may begin to slow down their learning rate which would decrease the amount of material they learn in a given amount of time.

The truth of the matter is that there are ups and downs to every teaching model, including the flipped classroom method. However, teachers should consider a variety of different teachings models to ensure the best balance for their students as well as for themselves.

Where do you fall on the debate? With so many good reasons for and against the flipped classroom model, we'd love to hear our reader's thoughts. Share your opinions in the comments below!

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Five Reasons AGAINST the Flipped Classroom - StratoStar STEM Education Blog

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In our last post "Five Reasons FOR the Flipped Classroom", we talked about the advantages of this teaching method and in this post we will now share the disadvantages. Teachers are finding ups and downs for this new, upside-down, model. StratoStar works with teachers to provide...

# data[].attributes.body
I have been teaching biomedical ethics to medical students for about five years. As this programme is a longitudinal one, I also teach across all five years, although I have most contact time with students in their pre-clinical years. While reviewing the pre-readings for this course, it seems to me that my current approach already incorporates some elements of the “flipped classroom” design. While there has been limited use of computer technology, students are expected to acquire basic knowledge and facts through pre-readings, typically two to three papers of about three to four pages in length. Students are then expected to demonstrate understanding in classroom sessions (or tutorials), where they engage with their teachers in problem-based exercises. Currently, students are also expected to attend lectures, typically an hour in duration, which serve to explicate and expand on “evergreen” materials presented in the readings. There has been some reluctance to relinquish lectures altogether for a number of reasons: (1) some students seem to learn well in a lecture environment (but I have no evidence of its comparative effectiveness to other modes of knowledge transmission); (2) students like the readings to be explained to them (or do not seem to understand the readings); and (3) holistic treatment of a topic seems to be compromised when fragmented into bite-size presentations. That said, a key challenge to implementing “flipped classroom” may be the difficulty in building the framework. There is, for instance, considerable difficulty in securing consensus on what is minimal, foundational and “evergreen” material. Even if this hurdle is surmounted, it is not entirely clear to me how dynamic classroom experiences are different from the tutorials that are currently in place. Finally, I will be interested to learn more about personalised deeper “dives”. In their paper, Prober and Khan did not elaborate on how biomedical ethics has been offered as “scholarly concentration” pursuits (which ironically sound more theoretical than applied). To be sure, I am optimistic about the “flipped classroom” design, and its overarching goals appeal to me. I plan to implement it in a manner that is true to its design in this coming academic year, which is a reason for my interest in this very timely workshop J

# data[].attributes.body
I enjoyed the reading and thought it gave a balanced view. Change is always difficult but exciting. What is not clear to me is whether this approach has a placebo affect for both "teacher" and student or whether this is the way to go. Certainly I have been in the shoes of the writer who finds only a couple of people at the PP presentation which took 8 hours to craft. I also think it is a real challenge to keep "audiences" engaged. Android devices are too attractive so any approach that increases interaction is good. Not sure about it being "student centric"if the faculty decides the core curriculum and order. I think the richest learning in medicine is when you come across something you don' t know or understand and go and explore. That would require the student to view the videos in an order that is real and relevant to them which might be challenging to manage in a large group. Technology scares me but it is engaging. A 10 min video sounds attractive but the expertise, time and resources will be a challenge. I was an elearning module editor, one of 20+. A huge amount of work that required updating the next year. Not so easy with videos, easier with a written piece. The video example about bacteria lost me so relevance important. What I really like is the potential for quiet reflection after reviewing the work. Think there isn't enough of that in busy schedules.
Hope to add new ideas/techniques to my teaching range.
Hope to develop a workshop that runs for 2 hrs and is attended by different specialities and different healthcare staff and meet all learning needs!
Current teaching- clinical, range from high school, UG, PG, different disciplines

# data[].attributes.body
I am an Infectious Diseases physiciam, working in Singapore for about 9 years. My experience is in the restructured hospitals. Over the years i have had to teach medical students ranging fron 2 nd year to final year, housemans to mefical officers and subspeciality trainees. Given the wide range of teaching responsibilities, bed side clinical to classroom teaching i have had to use different modalities of teaching. From bedside didactic, power point to discussing articles. When it comes to subspeciality trainees teaching i have found that providing pre reading material after seeing an interesting clinical case and then discussing either bed side or small group discussion enhances the learning process. On the other hand for junior level such as medical students power i have had to resort to power point lectures or case based discussions. I have never asked my students to go through short video presentations or even prepared topic handouts prior to teaching.
Afterreading through the flipped classroom i get a mixed feeling. I am not convinced one size fits all. Each and every level of training is different. Deoending on the level of the trainee we should teach. I tend to pay attention and learn when i listen to pre recorded teaching videos. I do believe learning from audio visual aides are effective. It will be interesting to learn and hear from colleague how to incorporate the flipped classroom into the teaching which we do routinely. Ofcourse

# data[].attributes.body
I am currently teaching Immunology to year 4 Science students and to year 2 medical students. So far I primarily use one-way lecture to introduce the basic knowledge during 2 hours lecture and used tutorials for problem-based learning. I don't have any experience and knowledge about the flipped classroom. I only learned about it one year ago from a colleague who is using it to teach medical students.
Because the class size for the science students is small (15-50 students, I think the flipped classroom would be very appropriate as it is much more interactive than a one-way lecture. Moreover, it would be a good tool for the student to integrate the knowledge and use it to solve problems and see its relevance. Something that the student struggle with, they often have difficulties to see the "big picture".
Therefore, I have everything to learn about flipped classroom: how to prepare the online pre-teaching material for the students, what to prepare for the actual time, what type of exercises would be more applicable for my teaching. Therefore, I am really looking for the course tomorrow which I am sure would be an eye-opener and very inspiring!

# data[].attributes.body
I participate in teaching medical students and junior residents, usually in the form of small group tutorials or individual clinical teaching. The flipped classroom concept is used to a certain extent, as medical students are provided with course material, including videos, prior to meeting their tutors.

This can potentially be a more effective way for them to learn as it is more interactive, doubts can be cleared and subjects can be covered more extensively. However, pre teaching material could take much more time for preparation, and this requires motivated learners who are responsible for their own self learning.

I hope to gain better understanding of the flipped classroom concept for use in my own teaching.

# data[].attributes.body
I teach Microbiology to medical, dental, nursing and life sciences students. The most challenging task is to engage a large class of over 300 medical students. We used to have problem-based learning (PBL) which in a way is a kind of flipped classroom which I enjoyed. For life sciences students with smaller class sizes, we have introduced student team presentations which the lecturers critique (another version of flipping). Through this workshop, I hope to learn from the experiences of other colleagues in order to enable my students to enhance their learning during flipped classroom sessions.

# data[].attributes.body
I am a nurse educator in hospital and adjunct lecturer for ALCNS.
I am coordinating in-house nursing course for nurses who are working in the hospital. They usually quiet when attending lectures and ask very few questions. Some of my colleagues and myself had tried to plan pre-reading session and have class discussion. We are very happy to see that they are more active in class and ask more questions. The challenge is that the learners are also working and may not be able to complete all reading before attend the class. Those who did not complete reading all the reading materiel would not learn as much as those who did.
As I am also teaching the UG nursing skills in the lab, just wondering if we can also use flipped classroom for nursing skills session. e.g. ask students to watch video before lab session and allow they to have more time for hands on practice with guidance.

# data[].attributes.body
In a time-tight society where there are conflicting demands from work, family and personal interests, it is difficult to conscientiously devote time and energy to the important activity of learning. I have often wondered how to learn (and teach) in a more effective manner that maximises learning outcomes within the limited training time that we have as clinicians.

As an occupational therapist, most of my teaching occurs when mentoring undergraduate students, new staff or when conducting continuous education presentations/training. After some time, i feel that teaching and learning can become monotonous - with both the ‘teacher’ and ‘student’ going through the routine of attending a continuing education session. In-service training sessions are usually sessions where an overwhelming amount of information is presented, with little focus on application to clinical scenarios and little opportunity for critical analysis. I usually feel (at the end of a lecture) the need for questions and discussions but yet there is no structure for learning through interactive patient-centred discussions. With 1 to 1 training, i also struggle with helping the young clinician become an autonomous learner whereby he/she establishes a framework for himself which allows knowledge to be built, consolidated and applied over lifetime of learning and clinical practice.

Hence, this flipped classroom model provides me with some fresh insight into how learning can be made more self-directed and effective both in a 1 to 1 and classroom setting. With this model, learning can definitely be a lot more engaging and lively. A prerequisite to this though, is that the learner must first be motivated and driven to acquire knowledge. Getting those with lower motivation levels to read/watch the online resources and participate in interactive discussions can be challenging.

I hope that this course might allow me to better facilitate clinical teaching sessions. Also, tasked with the role of identifying the learning needs of the department, evaluating current teaching methods and improving upon them, I hope to identify how we can redesign our teaching models and incorporate the flipped classroom methodology.

# data[].attributes.body
I have always wanted to incorporate elements of learning and teaching from the concept of a "Flipped Classroom" to my teaching engagements. Over the years, I have used aids (and continue to use) such as the described "Technology Enhanced Learning" tools to engage students in active learning. Together with colleagues in Biochemistry, we are in the process of embarking on a set of teaching elements aligned with eLearning to further bolster the attributes of a "Flipped Classroom" setting to collaborative learning and teaching of Biochemistry to Medical students.

I continue to learn and improve upon my pedagogical methods, and am looking forward to this workshop to enrich my learning and teaching journey here in NUS Medicine.

# data[].attributes.body
The concept of a flipped classroom most certainly sounds engaging compared to the traditional one-way lectures. And it can definitely stimulate a student –led learning environment.

However, to be successful, the students need to conscientiously do their homework. Whilst the course can attempt to be time neutral, it remains questionable to me if the total sum of time the student spends on the series of lectures have been increased thus reducing the students’ ‘free’ time, and if there is a high possibility that the flipped classroom may be redirecting their free time towards video/textbook based learning. With reduced time in hands, I wonder which of the following elements would be best achieved using a flipped classroom as compared to traditional methods of teaching; 1) understanding, 2) retention, 3) lateral thinking, 4) greater interest to pursue in-depth knowledge, 5) collaborative learning.

I definitely enjoy lively classroom discussions and would love to implement the flipped classroom concept, at least in part. I think this course would definitely help me to better structure my lesson, and help me find a reasonable compromise between the positives and drawbacks/concerns I foresee in implementing the flipped classroom method.

I am a newly minted lecturer. Though I have conducted tutorials and practicals as a graduate student, this will still be a relatively new experience for me. Indeed, I am only going to officially commence my teaching in January 2017. My teaching responsibilities will include lecturing Medical, Dentistry, Pharmacy students and Life Sciences students.

# data[].attributes.body
I am a clinician in a community hospital.  I take students from M2, M3, SIPs, TYs, family medicine R1 to R4 & family medicine MMed.  Also some involvement with postgraduate geriatric medicine diplomas, family medicine fellowship. Then there are our own staff physicians and MOPEX MOs.  The who, how, when, what to teach is mindboggling.  I am open to any technology or methodology that can help.

The Flipped Classroom trumps other methods of teaching in certain areas.  However, there are two concerns.  One is when students fail to prepare prior to the classroom session, for whatever reason.  Secondly, is that more effort/resources has to be put into developing and maintaining the pre-classroom material.

Still I am keen to learn the methodology of the Flipped Classroom and to see how it could be applied in our setting.

# data[].attributes.body
For a start both Min Yun and myself are not faculty members. Therefore we wouldn't have any teaching experience, flipped classroom or otherwise. However we are part of the Education Technology team assisting faculty members in their flipped classroom teaching experience.

I guess one of the vital points that we found out was that it is always so much better when the faculty members themselves actually believe in the idea of flipped classroom teaching. That they believe that the flipped classroom teaching is going to be beneficial for their students.

So our purpose is to source for teaching tools, whether is it hardware or software applications, to ensure that faculty members are as comfortable as possible in their flipped classroom teaching.

We too also give faculty members a taste of flipped classroom learning. Take the Online Marking Tool for example. It is a online marking program that we use for our medical OSCE examinations. Examiners, who are mostly faculty members, need to be trained in the tool. So we have created a training video that we disseminate to them prior to the examination day. This is a form of flipped classroom learning as well.

What we hope to achieve from this course is to better understand where faculty members are coming from when it comes to flipped classroom teaching. What are some their challenges and discoveries and how we can better assist them technologically.

# data[].attributes.body
My initial response to the introduction of the flipped classroom method was that “wow, this is a refreshing idea.’. However, after reading and thinking more about it, I am reminded of my JC days (almost 20 years ago) when we were supposed to prepare for our tutorials before attending them, or we were told to read up before attending lectures. Hence, the concept may not be all that new. When students are able to prepare beforehand, the lecture or tutorial itself becomes another (and not the first) learning activity that seeks to apply and hence consolidate the learning.

Perhaps, what is different now is that there is a concerted effort to train the educator and becoming one is no longer a haphazard process based purely on passion and commitment. There is a science to being an educator and training and more training is required. Hence, this flipped classroom method is one where people have articulated the concepts clearly, coined a catchy name and then done studies to provide evidence that it works or can work.

To answer the questions, the key feature of the flipped classroom is that learning of a new topic is started at the student’s convenience, and the classroom is a time for application and consolidating. This is supposed to be in contrast to the traditional model where learning of a new topic is started in the classroom and the application part is in the form of homework done at the student’s convenience. This is assuming of course that the student would take the time and effort to start learning at home and not wait until the classroom to try and catch up on the learning. Perhaps, this can be enforced via assignments given before the classroom, like what is being done now.

Educators should consider this approach because when done properly (example, students indeed prepare before the classroom), the classroom activity makes for an engaging time, allowing two-way interaction rather than a one-way didactic teaching session. This will in turn help the student to consolidate his/her learning better.

I am primarily a clinician in the Department of Family and Community Medicine in Khoo Teck Puat Hospital, with teaching limited to different medical students rotating through our clinics once during their internal medicine posting. Hence, I am not sure how this flipped classroom method is applicable in my situation. However, I hope to explore how this flipped classroom method may be applicable in how we educate our patients in obesity management where we have have workshop sessions and group consultations.

Reflection:
I learn that preparation for the pre classroom activity is not just giving out anything and everything about the topic. We need to give this some thought and plan how the whole learning experience ought to be: the pre classroom, during classroom and post classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
Background
I am a general adult psychiatrist but not in Singapore.

Background in medical education
I previously was a busy clinician,
who had ad hoc medical students on brief postings.
then undergraduate medical education a private medical school for 2 years but have since left that.
I now offer volunteer teaching at my local psychiatric hospital to  junior doctors and involved in WHO patients rights project (which may require me to offer training sessions to hospital staff)

Journey into flipped learning
Was introduced to concept of Flipped Learning by a colleague (who was a passionate medical educator) showed me a clip of Salman Khan at TED.
I was due to lead and run 5 repetitive 4 week Mental Health rotations.
I was to provide 80% of the face to face teaching contact myself
so I chose to experiment with the flipped learning approach also driven by

1) concerned from colleagues about previous student year were felt to be "passive" learners and were struggling to apply what they had learnt, clinically.
2) my background as a clinician, meant I instinctively felt "bedside teaching" was my priority.
3) my wish not to repeatedly give same "mini lecture" 5 times at all seminars.

I really enjoyed my experiment with flipped learning.

I realised that it took significant investment in material preparation.

Also when students come prepared and engaged and ready for "higher order learning" they tend to ask more sophisticated and challenging questions which required me, as a tutor, to be more flexible, adaptable and versatile and more familiar with content and clinical context.

I also had to evolve a way of organically and subtly assessing lack of prior understanding & lack of prior preparation.

I view Flipped learning as an approach, not a one size fits all.

It is an approach that also has its detractors.

Concerns others have voiced to me
1) unrealistic expectations of tutors to prepare

2) some felt guiding students towards appropriate online resources and reading material is was inappropriate and limiting and taxing to the students.

3) hidden concerns might be
didactic lectures are easier to deliver by rote
and by those less familiar with the subject (myself included)
or those less familiar with local context (real life application)
those who prefer didactic lectures
eg"I must cover this material because if it  the students fail the exam,
the students and university will blame me unless  I can prove I gave them this lecture and I can show them these lecture  notes"

4) One colleague voiced concern of cost cutting/ retrenchment, fear of being replaced by online mini lecture if it were introduced.

Main difficulties I have had moving flipped learning out of undergrad context to other settings e.g.  busy clinical setting or staff training.
1) audience expectation ( wanted a lecture/ a talk. "I don't like to read, can you not just tell me what it is all about" "I'm just hear to listen")
2) expected attendees who have been given the pre material and have prepared are called away to attend to clinical matters.
& who who are left attend, weren't those whom you expected / didn't register to attend and haven't accessed the prep material.

Concern of mine is people who have realised they haven't prepared then chose not to attend for fear of rebuke. If one finds oneself in a medical culture where some senior practitioners still "teach by humiliation" this may be a real concern.

I enjoyed the reading material.
The 3rd link had some interesting links that linked to a "psychic website".
I learnt a new term " Just In time Teaching" sounds very similar to flipped learning.

My hopes for the workshop
1) exposure or being directed to tools that could help me with flipped learning (i.e. technology which is free and technophobe friendly)
2) also to get reassurance that low resource low technology flipping is also possible
3) Help me recognise when flip approach may be helpful and when it may not be  and recognising what the potential barriers and limitations are earlier recognition i.e. before major investment of time and effort in set up and preparation.
4) meeting other medical educators and hearing what exciting ideas and things there are doing.

4 days after session reflection
I feel 2,3 and 4 objectives were met, having had realistic expectations for a half day workshop.I am going to safely store my notes (and any slides I may receive) where I can refer to them again. Which I will do when I sit down to plan future teaching and learning projects.

# data[].attributes.body
Reading the afore-mentioned articles brought back memories of my own medical school days, specifically the pre-clinical years. In my group of about 10 students, three (P, CH and B) consistently stood out for always being well-read and prepared. They would be the students doing the dissection in every dissection session - showing each nerve, each muscle beautifully - and answering the professor’s questions in our anatomy tutorials. They participated in an enthusiastic manner too. I was always ‘two weeks behind schedule’ in my reading. My contribution to the discussions in the tutorials was minimal as I lacked knowledge and therefore confidence. Invariably P, CH and B performed very well in our tests and examinations, and were always among the top students in my cohort.

Fast forward 3 decades later to the flipped classroom concept.  P, CH and B had been practising this all along. If this method of teaching had been instituted back then, the rest of the class would have learnt more and performed better.  We would have enjoyed medical school more.  Hence I am all for the flipped classroom. I am all for students coming prepared for class, with full knowledge of the programme and activities that will be conducted during class, allowing them to participate fully in the face-to-face activity sessions with their peers and tutors. Learning is maximised and this should translate to better performance in both examinations and real world clinical practice.

I am physician faculty in a Family Medicine Residency Programme where I teach 1st and 2nd year residents specifically on Nursing Home Care. This field involves providing complex medical care, rehabilitation and end-of-life care to the very frail, very elderly population. I use a ‘modified’ version of flipped classroom where the residents are informed full details of the topics to be covered, the programme and activities for the bedside clinical tutorials, but I do not inform them which sources to glean their pre-reading material from.

I hope to come away from the May 17 session, with ideas on how I can improve my ‘modified flipped classroom’ sessions, and expanding my teaching armementarium skills in general.

# data[].attributes.body
The Flipped Classroom method may be able to address the challenge of engaging the adult medical student in the face of an exponentially expanding body of medical knowledge. I feel that the method offers an opportunity for educators to relook at their curriculum, identifying only the necessary core knowledge from a burgeoning body of medical evidence. The move away from didactic teaching and the flexibility of allowing deeper exploration of the student’s personal interests may allow educators to better engage the adult learner.

The commentaries also highlighted several pitfalls that should be looked into during the implementation of such a pedagogy. These include the need to identify core curriculum, to create interactive learning materials aligned to the curriculum, and to engage disinterested students to do preparation work.

I am a member of the Anaesthesia department’s undergraduate education group. With the increasing number of medical students passing through my department, we can no longer rely solely on the traditional one-to-one instruction by the senior anaesthetist within each operating theatre. I am keen to learn different teaching methods so as to better engage these medical students. One area that I am looking into is the creation of an acute pain management module to educate the students on the basics of pain management in the wards.

REFLECTIONS

Key Messages/ How It May Be Helpful:
1. Requires effort from educator in terms of curriculum design, content delivery and post-session feedback.
2. Requires educator to engage students especially in area of pre-course work.
3. Web-based vehicle is a good avenue because it:
A) Affords students ease of access via their mobile devices
B) Allows collection of access-related data for future improvement of course, C) Allows use of online quizzes for efficient assessment of students' learning and prompt feedback to student

Application of Ideas
Project: Acute pain management module

Student Groups: 2 distinct groups- A) Phase IV medical students as part of anaesthesia posting, and B) New anaesthesia residents/ medical officers as part of orientation lecture package

Different curriculum scopes for both groups of students. Some resources potentially common between both groups.

# data[].attributes.body
Flipped classroom is one of the "in-things" in education, but from the articles, it is obvious that support for flipped classroom in a medical setting is not unanimous. By inference, the same could also be said about other teaching methods. Nonetheless, I believe as educators, we should be armed with an arsenal of teaching methodologies, to be used as appropriate.

Flipped classroom has its advantage of encouraging active learning, peer sharing, and improving student engagement. The challenge I faced is getting students to come prepared for classes. Also, with limited resources, it is not possible to create original on-line material, and what is available on the web may not entirely suit the class.

I hope to learn from the workshop how to be more successful at using flipped classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
The strengths of the flipped classroom method is that it:
Puts the students in the active learner role which increases the level of engagement. This is very relevant today as most students learn from online material that are readily available.
Maximises the teaching time during actual face to face interaction as they are done the homework prior to the session.
The tutor facilitates the learner's learner.

The editorial pointed out that the flipped classroom method might not be able to offer the guidance that students need, to make sense of the gamult of medical information, and use it to diagnose and treat patients. But this is the same problem in the old methods.

I am the UG director for respiratory medicine, NUH and I am hoping this course will improve my skills as an effective educator.

# data[].attributes.body
To answer the questions:

I am a long-time proponent of individualised self-directed learning, and S. Khan's The One World Schoolhouse narrated the concepts of his Academy well - the flipped classroom being one of those concepts. Doing this pre-reading and thinking about Dr. Goh's questions is itself a demonstration of the flipped classroom method. =)

The flipped classroom is the natural evolution of education based on technology, and the dual goals of maximum effectiveness and efficacy. By transferring the onus of preparation and benefits of available, multi-sensory pre-meeting-material to the learners, it encourages pre-meeting thinking, integration, and evaluation and recognises the different modes and speeds that each learner has in undertaking any topic in any course.

For this to succeed, the learning material must therefore be widely available to a technologically-equipped-and-savvy learner cohort, prepared with multiple learning styles in mind, and lastly the facilitator at the meeting must be familiar with both the material and anticipate the questions asked, plus come equipped with a few "safety net" questions for the disorganised or unprepared.

How and when is learning accomplished?...from the sum result of experience and reflection.

As to the other questions raised below on 2 May: as teachers we cannot personally tutor each of 300, or 3000 students to customise our lesson to their unique style. The traditional lecture imposes a style- and time-restriction on our students as well as ourselves. Hence, what we can feasibly do to make best use of ours and their limited time, before and during: is provide them the "experience" (ie. learning material, patients, etc.), and for the during and after: give them the awareness to seek their own strength on to absorb and reflect on the experience...because each learner has different effective styles of learning.

The articles are interesting and I would point out that the author of the Considerations commentary did not offer solutions to the potential weakening of effective medical education (those problems highlighted are the same problems with the existing, old-fashioned style of teaching). In mitigation, the author did caution against simply assuming the flipped classroom does not, in itself, solve the problems and that is where the facilitators come in.

Teaching experience:
I teach medical students from 1st to 5th year, mainly in clinical aspects. I teach clinical skills and reasoning in the paediatric specialty training for purposes of both the MMed as well as the Exit exams; I teach the Allergy and Immunology subspecialty skills to Fellows. I teach other healthcare staff on other aspects of healthcare outside of the above. I facilitate workshops on EBM at NUH and also at the regional annual APEBM. In addition, I assist with personal coaching at TOUCH for children aged 3-12 years old in phonics. I focus on techniques that concurrently teach learners how to teach themselves effectively.

# data[].attributes.body
(posted by Poh Sun on April 29th, 2016 at 1pm)

1. What is the Flipped Classroom method? What are the key features of this approach? What are the theoretical and pedagogical underpinnings of this practice?
How is the Flipped Classroom method similar, and how is it different to the traditional model of publicised curriculum/reading list → class presentation + Q and A → review of notes + homework/assignment → small group tutorial/discussion/practical approach
2. Why should educators consider using this approach?
3. What are some of the pros and cons of using this method?
4. When (what settings) and with whom would this approach be effective?
5. How could one adopt this approach in one's own teaching practice?

Some key ideas for further discussion:
(posted by Poh Sun on May 2nd, 2016 at 10am)

1. What is learning? (forming connections between existing and new knowledge) - "to understand, to remember, be able to use what is taught" (see first case study in additional reading section of blog)
2. What do we do (as teachers) when our students have little, or disorganised/poorly organised prior knowledge?
3. When does learning occur? During lectures? When reviewing lecture notes? When integrating prior knowledge with new perspectives / organising principles and new ideas during a lecture presentation and follow up discussion and active learning activities?
4. How do we best use our time? Our students time? (Before, during and after class)
5. How do we encourage and support students to do pre-class preparation, participate in class activities, and undertake post-class integrative learning exercises
6. Process increases time on task, including opportunity to review material at student optimised time, place and pace, as well as increases opportunity to showcase and demonstrate understanding and ability to use new learning, showing transfer of learning, and ability to apply

At the end of the workshop, soon after the workshop - please go back to your original Padlet post, and
1. Write down the key messages/ideas that you feel resonate with you, and that you might find useful
2. Write down why you feel these messages and ideas might be helpful in your educational setting
3. Write down how you intend to use/apply these ideas

(What you take away from an educational session, what you are able to recall, and apply is ultimately an indicator of successful individual learning).

Closing remarks: (Posted on May 17, 2016 at 1000hrs).
1. The Flipped Classroom method is "one method" or "one recipe" to assist us as educators. We should work on developing familiarity with and skill in using a variety of educational methods, each with its own strengths and weaknesses, to get the job done. This includes using elements of helpful practice within each method or "recipe", or "key ingredients". For example, preparation before class helps students learn better/deeper in class. Pre-class preparation does not necessarily require a video (curated or prepared by the teacher), often an article(s) or book chapter (part of) is sufficient followed by a pre-class assignment, to be discussed further in class.
2. To use a culinary analogy, the educational needs of the student should be central to our teaching practice. Novices need more guidance and structure, advance learners less.
3. We should aim to continually build up the "learning competency" of our students (to search for and evaluate educational material, to develop effective study habits); as well as build up the educational skill of our faculty through faculty development.
4. The Flipped Classroom expands and extends our contact time with our students, and (potentially) facilitates deeper learning. The question is how we prepare students before class, and what we do during and after class. Reading around a topic, and going deeper into a topic increases a student's knowledge base and expertise.
5. The quality of the content we use, and the educational process is important. We have an important role to prepare material, curate, select and recommend educational resources.
6. The Flipped Classroom method requires more effort, and time commitment by both teachers, and students → should lead to better teaching, and better learning (which includes deeper understanding, better recall, and most importantly ability to integrate and apply new learning, with transfer from classroom to practice).
Not having time needs to be examined further. Being physically present in class does not mean a student is mentally present and paying attention or emotionally engaged while in class.
Having time to pause a video, or come back to a reading passage before class, and time to reflect on the material before class is helpful.
The payoff for educators (for undertaking this extra effort) includes - better learning from our students, building up a repository of educational material and techniques that we can reuse (or share), makes our educational practice visible and available for peer review, feedback and critique, and can form the basis for scholarly teaching, and educational scholarship.
7. "Your participation in the workshop activities will embody and illustrate many of the ideas and educational principles underlying the flipped classroom practice." We hope this workshop has given you a feel of the Flipped Classroom process, and ideas on how to apply or translate useful features of this method in your own educational practice.
The eLearning platform (Google blogger with embedded Padlet wall) illustrates the use of technology to facilitate our educational practice, and make our teaching visible
At the very least, you can see that the method or "recipe" works. The question is what works well, what could work better/be improved, and what can we adapt to our own educational practice.
8. Don't forget to add to your original Padlet post (with a post workshop reflection).
The process of reflecting on the material, and writing it down publicly, as well as taking time to read the reflections and thoughts shared by other participants is an educational and valuable exercise.

Thank you.