Creating a User-Generated Learning Environment through Flipping Classroom: An Experiential Pedagogy

Abstract

Participatory learning improves students’ learning and understanding of the concepts taught in a course. It can prove to be very effective in developing communication skills, higher order cognitive skills and inculcate problem solving ability among students. This kind of teaching learning environment calls for a paradigm shift, that is, to move from the teacher-centered approach to the student-centered approach. For better active learning, flipping the classroom is one of the techniques which can be employed.

My work over the years has brought me into thinking heavily about the change of the role of learners from receiver to participant in the whole teaching learning process of a subject. Besides, I acknowledge the drastic shift in the learning aptitude of students due to an easy exposure and accessibility of technology and internet. I therefore, have been experimenting with, blogs, online forums and task based approach activities for collaborative learning from time to time. The flexibility and students’ active participation were the key features which motivated me to try this pedagogy in my classroom.

The present study therefore, is an attempt to integrate flipped classroom environment in teaching of Cross Cultural Skills course which is a humanities elective course being offered to the first degree engineering students at Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani.