The Six Tips to Implementing a Flipped Classroom Successfully in Entrepreneurship

The following question should be in each and every educator’s mind at tertiary level “what is the role of the content that I am teaching in the community of interest at societal, industrial and global level?” Thinking hypothetically and using hypothetical situations all the time has led to coming up with fake solutions for fake problems. Unfortunately real problems are becoming more complex therefore a taste of real situations is imperative for students’ success. Universities are regarded as effective institutions to promote democracy but over the years they have been seen to work in isolation and mostly serving the corporate world. The flipped classroom is a pedagogical model in which the typical lecture and homework elements of a course are reversed. Prior reading of the prescribed content and short video lectures are viewed by students at home before the class session, while in-class time is devoted to exercises, projects, or discussions. This method has proven to bear very positive fruits for the Small Business Management qualification at UJ. It has managed to increase the throughput rate and bring a good reputation to the qualification. The implementation of this method is not easy as it meets a lot of resistance from students. Therefore it is imperative that the lecturer follow these crucial tips to increase the possibility of acceptance. Let me admit it brings a little bit of unpopularity since not all lecturers will be using it so you might be seen as the person who is not doing things right.

• Knowing your Students

In my experience student’s maturity levels have changed dramatically in the past 10 years. Students are much younger on entering the university in the 21st century. They bring a lot of information which could be mistaken for knowledge in general because of the influence of television and other social media networks. The education that we present to students should challenge students’ beliefs and assumptions and push them out of their comfort zone. Students are more diverse than ever in terms of not only race, gender and ethnicity, these are no longer the only key determinants to diversity but the living standards, income levels, family backgrounds, cultures, upbringing environment etc are the new norms that cannot be ignored anymore. As a lecturer you need to be vigilant to handle such a diverse crowds or cohorts. They come from different schools settings and others have spent their Grade 12 year on just been just drilled on how to pass their senior certificate. Learning to pass was their priority.   Whether they are prepared for university or not is irrelevant since they are right in your classroom and they is no time to complain you need to make use of what you have in front of you.

All this knowledge about your students will help you plan your flipped classroom activities. The initial introduction of students into your module is of importance as you have to make it clear right from the onset that all students are equally important and all their viewpoints will be listened to. As I would say in my class no one is better than me and I am not better than anyone. Building a healthy relationship with students is vital for learning. Students should feel that their input is valued and they are taken seriously. Students bring in a lot of knowledge that could be used as examples and solutions to projects given to students therefore it is pivotal for the lecturer to allow the students the opportunity to share this knowledge.

• The Importance of Group Work 

1. We are yet to come across an environment that would like require a person to work alone without any other human being interaction. Developing the students’ ability to work in groups is very important in preparing students for the business environment or working environment. Learning interpersonal skills is a process. Since students come from different environment, some come from families where they are the only child and they are used to having their way. Having to listen to others is a hard pill to swallow at times and trying to prove how smart they are sometimes. I have learned that students have poor judgement skills when it comes to selecting group members. They are also not willing to meet new members if they come with students they already know in class. Therefore is pivotal that the lecturer devise a strategy when grouping students for the first time. Students can choose their own members later. But they should be given the opportunity to network with unfamiliar students. Giving students meaningful and realistic group work increased their chances of better performance hence authentic situations have a tendency to produce better results.

• Students Collaboration

Collaborative classrooms are the learning environments of the future. Schools around the world are saying goodbye to the conventional lecture-based learning space where the students remain inert in their respective seats and the teacher remains at the head of the class. In these new collaborative environments, teachers transition from doing all the talking to purposely creating opportunities for students to learn, and facilitating their thoughts and discussions about what they learn. After implementing collaborative learning strategy in the past three years students’ perceptions of their own qualification and the roles changes remarkably. Students’ reflections have indicated that collaborations have opened their eyes to her opportunities and have gained confidence in their own abilities and qualifications. This model is advantageous in comparison to a traditional classroom because collaborative classrooms: allow respect to be given to all participants—students and teachers build community and value all contributions to deepening understanding and knowledge promote the social and emotional development of students in addition to academic development involve the active participation of learners demonstrate listening, paraphrasing, compromise, and open-ended and thoughtful questions on behalf of the teacher have access to research tools like the Internet engages and motivates students to achieve have clearly-defined goals to measure progress allow the teacher to readily move throughout the space and engage with different groups Collaborative classrooms, from conception to fruition, involve parents and students so that the greater community becomes invested in the project and excited about its outcome.

• The 360 degree Assessment MethodsStudents bring different learning capabilities, learning styles and cognitive intelligences in the classroom. To ignore all these would be fatal as some students can be regarded as incompetent. When you use flipped classroom you can introduce the 360 degree assessments methods. Students assess each other’s performance and give each other honest feedback. The lecturer uses a detailed rubric to assess students’ performance in tests and assignment. The community beneficiary also give feedback on how well the identified problem was solved or whether recommendations would be implemented. In the end the student is given an opportunity to write a test, an individual assignment, a group assignment, and a presentation. Short assessments in each contact sessions are important for students to ensure that they come prepared for lessons. In our case a multiple choice pre-test before each lesson encourages students to read through content before coming to class. Students reflections are valued there are required at the end of each term. They enable us to make further improvement on the modules and make us aware of any problems encountered by students tha may require our immediate attention.

• Using Technology to Enhance Learning

Technology provides a numerous opportunities for students to learn. My favourite is the real time response to queries. Students are required to familiarize themselves with technology right from the first year. Therefore instead of orientating students how the library works we give them an assignment that required them to speak to a librarian and send information to the lecturer via email or uLink. Facebook groups have work very well in terms of clarifying the assignment or answering questions when the students are stuck. Students groups use WhatsApp to create groups and that enables them to cut down on meetings. When you use the paperless assignment method on assignment you save the students huge amounts of printing and the university. Assignments do not go missing and you will always have records of assignments. In my case I have soft copies of assignments from 2012.

• Celebrating Success

If feels good to be praised, thanked or even acknowledged for a task well done. As a student I was looking forward to teachers comment or remarks like very good, excellent keep it up. But when we become teachers we lose track of those comments and remarks. Giving students a community service certificate does not only help them find employment but is also gives them a reason to put more effort as they should produce evidence of competency in what they did. Showcasing the projects during the annual conference in the Centre for Small Business Development and the Enactus SA competition is another way of motivating students to work harder on their community projects.

These tips have worked very well in ensuring higher throughput rate, encouraging our students to further their studies and eventually find work or provide work.