Utopia.
This is a word that was coined 500 years ago by Sir Thomas More for his book of the same name and means “no place”. Since then, there have been many connotations of the word. Perhaps the most pertinent now is of “reality, if it were allowed”.
The authors of “The Flipped Classroom” infographic present an excellent and wonderful method of teaching. It could very well be reality if there were not such a thing as Common Core, the brainwashing technique meant to benumb the minds of students. It seems that some individuals consider a little education (knowledge or learning) is a dangerous thing.
It also seems that some of the concepts and techniques of Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams – two Woodland, Colorado high school teachers who began the idea of “the flipped classroom”–presaged MOOC (massive open online courses–such as those offered through Edx.org, and which is evident in Khan Academy (mentioned in the infographic and which still exists).
Or perhaps not. There is a famous study (of GM workers in Detroit, if we remember correctly) in which workers were studied for their effectiveness if something was changed. Then they were studied when the thing changed back. The findings were that the workers’ effectiveness always increased! The conclusion was that the mere fact that they were being studied–that they were engaged–increased their productivity.
This seems to form the basis of the flipped classroom in which students learn and study at their own pace, and that the concepts and ideas are developed with the help of the instructor.
Likes: We feel that we have learned a tremendous amount from this infographic! We feel engaged!
Dislikes: There could’ve been a better choice of color palette.
Created by Knewton and Column Five Media
