Flipped Learning: The Gateway to Learner Autonomy

Abstract

Over the last two decades, the concepts of learner autonomy and independence have gained momentum. This shift of responsibility from instructors to learners is the result of a concatenation of changes to the curriculum itself towards a more learner-centred kind of learning. Moreover, this reshaping, of instructor and learner roles has been conducive to a radical change in the age-old distribution of power and authority that used to plague the traditional classroom. (Little, 1991, p.4), learners, autonomous, learners that is, are expected to assume greater responsibility for, and take charge of, their own learning. Recent advances in pedagogy and educational technology have pointed to the need to rethink the traditional in-class, lecture-based course model, and unlocked entirely new directions for more models that boost the autonomous learner. Flipped learning is one of those Models, It is a new pedagogical method which utilizes asynchronous video lectures and practice problems as homework, and push all online for learners to learn on their own while class time is dedicated to engaging learners in learner-centred learning activities like problem-based learning, exercises, and inquiry-oriented strategies. In Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University (HBMSU), we applied the flipped learning by integrated it with our blended learning model; therefore, we pushed all online lectures to self-paced online videos and used class time to engage learners in active learning exercises. This paper addresses Hamdan Bin Mohammed Smart University’ Flipped Learning model, by illustrating the model anatomy and how it boosts the learners’ autonomy and encourages a learner-centric environment; intending to serve as a guide to instructors to develop, implement, coach/monitor, and evaluate innovative and practical strategies to transform learners’ learning experience. It also provides a comprehensive survey of flipped learning implementation; include: the type of in-class and out-of-class activities, the measures used to evaluate the model including, but not limited to increase learner participation, learner autonomy, engagement and motivation; improve learners’ critical thinking/creative problem solving, improve learners’ team-based skills and peer-to-peer interaction; make learners the centre of learning / encourage learners’ ownership of learning; encourage faculty collaboration, and improve learning outcomes.