Gunn | Flipping Math Lectures

[Cindy Gunn]

Good morning,

 

Please find below my submission for the “Our work matters” badge.

 

Take care,

Cindy

 

Submission:

Making a difference by flipping the lecture

Four years ago a math professor at American University of Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates came to me in my capacity as the Director of the Faculty Development Center to get more information about flipping her lectures. After a long discussion about why she wanted to “flip” we brainstormed ways to apply the concept in her classes.

 

The professor elected to use videos as the pre-class mode of instruction. However, before preparing the videos we decided to find out whether or not the students would watch them, and if they did, whether they preferred videos prepared by the instructor herself or ones found on the internet prepared by others. We were pleased to discover that the majority of the students watched the videos and stated a strong preference for instructor prepared videos. We then began the process of preparing the instructional videos and perfecting the classroom activities based on the videos. 

 

The professor has been flipping her lectures for the past three years now. Since there is only one math professor currently “flipping”, we are now looking at the retention rate of the students who took the course in previous semesters with other professors and comparing it to the retention rate of students who experienced the flipped lectures.

 

Many things emerged from our initial meeting four years ago including better learning opportunities for the students, three published research papers, a promotion for the professor from assistant to associate and a lasting friendship between the professor and me. This is just one example of how our work matters on so many levels.

 

Cindy Gunn

Director, Faculty Development Center,

American University of Sharjah