Application of flipped classroom model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics towards the development of self-learning ability for students major in primary education

Le Duy Cuong 74 HNUE JOURNAL OF SCIENCE DOI: 10.18173/2354-1075.2017-0177 Educational Sciences. 2017, Vol. 62, Iss. 12, pp. 74-83 This paper is available online at APPLICATION OF FLIPPED CLASSROOM MODEL IN TEACHING THE MODULE OF THE METHODOLOGY OF TEACHING MATHEMATICS TOWARDS THE DEVELOPMENT OF SELF-LEARNING ABILITY FOR STUDENTS MAJOR IN PRIMARY EDUCATION Le Duy Cuong Dong Thap University Abstract. In this article, the author analyzes the nature and characteristics of the “flipped classroom” model and the ability to apply this model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics towards the development of self-learning ability for students. Findings from the research and experiments suggested that the use of the “flipped classroom” model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics not only creates excitement, enhances learning outcomes but also helps students develop their self-learning ability. Keywords: Flipped classroom, development of ability, self-learning ability. 1. Introduction The reform of teaching methods is actually the optimal way to influence learners in order to bring about the effect of teaching process. Therefore, the teaching theory has shown that the teaching method actively aims at activating the cognitive activities of learners, i.e. focusing on promoting the positive of learners as opposed to focus on the positive of teachers. Promoting the positive and the initiative activation of learners’ means changing the teaching method and the learning method: learner-centered approach or known as the active teaching method. In this method of teaching, the learner is the subject of the activity; the teacher is the designer, the organizer, the supporter, creating a positive interaction between the teacher and the learner. The elementary math education program has the following characteristics: Mathematics demonstrates the integration of the content of a number of mathematical elements, the core of which is the arithmetic of natural numbers. The “flipped classroom” or in other Vietnamese translations as in [7] and [9] is an advanced educational model and applied on the basis of the development of Elearning technology and modern education method [2], [3]. According to the “flipped classroom” model, learners watch lectures, videos, etc at home by Internet. Lesson hours will be used for the interactive activities, discussions to strengthen concepts learned at home. Learners will be more active in understanding, researching theories; they can access videos, lectures at any time, can stop lectures, take notes and review if needed. This helps to make learning more effective, helps students learn more confidently, and contributes to the development of self- learning capacity, which is one of 10 core competencies under the General Education Program issued by Ministry of Education and Training. Received: October 11, 2017. Revised: December 1, 2017. Accepted: December 6, 2017. Contact: Le Duy Cuong, e-mail address: leduycuongdhdt@gmail.com Application of flipped classroom model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics 75 2. Content 2.1. History of Flipped Classroom Model Flipped classroom model is one of forms of blended - learning/b-learning, which is noted and interested in recent years and being implemented in many nations in the world, especially in USA [1]. In 1993, Alison King published “From sage on the stage to guide on the side”, in which, he emphasized that teachers need to spend time in classes to organize students to understand the meaning of lessons rather than communicating information. Although the concept of the Flipped Classroom has not been released yet, King's work is cited by educators as a boost and an innovation that allows space for classroom in active learning activities. In 2000, Lage, Platt and Treglia published the work of “Flipped Classroom - the doorway to the creation of a complete learning environment”, which presented findings of flipped classroom at colleges. In 2004, Salman Khan began to record his lectures into videos, which were then posted to YouTube. From then, Salman Khan established Khan Academy; so far there are 3,250 free lectures on various subjects such as Mathematics, Science, Politics, etc posted on the web. Through this website, many teachers have exploited a rich source of materials to apply the model of Flipped Classroom [4, 7]. In 2007, two teachers are Jonathan Bergman and Aaron Sams at Woodland Park discovered software to record the presentation of Powerpoint [12]. They have recorded their direct lecture and posted on Internet for students without participating in sessions. The online lessons begin to develop extensively. Teachers use online videos to teach students without participating directly on classes, the classroom time to make exercises and conceptual understanding. From here, the “Flipped Classroom” model is formed. 2.2. Theoretical basis and the nature of flipped classroom model 2.2.1. Theoretical basis of flipped classroom model Flipped classroom is a model of theoretically combined teaching; this model is based on the theory of active learning, namely the active teaching viewpoint, access to the knowledge through Vygotsky's interactive process. From a cognitive perspective, the basis of the flipped classroom model is based on six cognitive scales of Bloom (2001). The thinking scale of Bloom (2001) indicates that “remember, understand” knowledge is low-thinking activities (period access to materials); The “application, analysis” and “creativity” based on the acquired knowledge are activities that require deeper thinking (information processing stage, knowledge building through activities learning by teachers in class). In the traditional classroom, the classroom time is limited, teachers can only guide students for the content of the lesson at the first three levels of awareness are remembered, understood and manipulated. To reach the next level, students must try their own self-study and study at home and that is a big obstacle for most students. The new model of “flipped classroom” is the traditional model, the first three levels are taught at home by the video tutorials of teachers. For the classroom time, teachers and students work together with each other to achieve the next three steps of cognition. 2.2.2. Nature of flipped classroom model With the traditional classroom model, learners are listened to lectures and then do hands-on exercises at class or at home to process information and acquire the knowledge. On the contrary, for the flipped classroom model, learners will have to work on their own prior lectures through reading materials, watching videos, listening to lectures through supportive media such as video tapes, Le Duy Cuong 76 PowerPoint presentations, and resources on the network. The classroom time will be used for homework activities, application of theoretical lectures on problem solving, group discussions to build the knowledge under the guidance of teachers [6]. This is the transformation of the activities inside class to outside class and vice versa. This activity can be summarized as follows: Table 1. The transformation activity between traditional classroom and flipped classrooms [9] Type of transformation Inside classroom Outside classroom Traditional classroom Lectures Practical exercises Flipped classroom Practical exercises Video lectures Thus, the nature of the flipped classroom model is in the direction of activating the learning of learners in order to update, improve the knowledge from the inherent knowledge of students to knowledge to occupy. The important feature of this model is the contact intensification and the interaction between teachers and learners, and among learners, the combination of direct teaching and learning through building the knowledge, creating opportunities for the personalization of educational process as opposed to substitute for a video teacher. 2.2.3. Characteristics of flipped classroom model - Students can self-control their learning, adjust their learning progress accordingly, students can stop / watch videos and discuss with their friends. - Students spend more time on class to solve learning situations, exploit and improve their knowledge in interesting ways through interactive activities. - Students receive the appropriate support from teachers during class hours. - Personalize the study of students (Students have to do a lot of exercises, look for materials to answer questions of teachers when working with video content at home). 2.3. Self-learning ability of students 2.3.1. Self-learning According to Thai Duy Tuyen (2003): “Self-learning is an independent activity that takes over the knowledge, skills and self-motivation of the brain, thinking, using the intellectual abilities (observation, comparison, analysis, synthesis, etc.) together with the motivational and emotional qualities to gain the knowledge of a certain field of knowledge or the historical and social experience of mankind, making it to become a possession of the learner”. The author Luu Xuan Moi said that: “Self-learning is a form of cognitive activity of an individual to master the knowledge and skills system performed on classroom or outside classroom by the student or not according to the program and textbooks prescribed. Self-study is a form of basic teaching in university that is highly independent and deeply individualistic, as closely related to the teaching process” [8]. Whatever the approach is taken, it can be understood that the self-learning is the process of self-learning, self-reliance, knowledge acquisition, skills analysis, analysis of books, notebooks, reference materials by appropriate methods on basis of the guidance of teachers. High or low results are depending on the self-learning ability of individuals. 2.3.2. Self- learning ability The author supposed that self- learning ability is the ability of performing academic activities effectively in both specialist and professional operation. The training process at the pedagogical college is only the initial training, equipping the basic knowledge base as the basis for the next training process. Therefore, self-learning plays an important role, decides the success of every Application of flipped classroom model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics 77 pedagogical student. Self-learning ability is a very important ability that university students must have, since self-learning is the key to the 21st century, a century of lifelong learning and social learning. Self-learning ability can be learned for lifelong. Therefore, for studying in the university, the most important is learning how to learn. 2.3.3. Expressing self-learning ability of students Self-learning ability of students is the ability to independently conduct learning activities, research and assimilate the learning knowledge from the environment into their own. According to [10] the self-learning abilities of pedagogical students include: (1). Ability of identifying, investigating and detecting problems; (2). Ability of solving problems; (3). Ability of determining the correct conclusions (knowledge, methods, solutions, measures) from the problem solving process; (4). Ability of applying knowledge into practice; (5). Assessment and self-assessment ability. The above are important criteria in the requirements of professional development of teachers teaching mathematics. Teaching mathematics in elementary schools with an overarching goal is to: Become familiar with mathematical thinking based on conceptual description, not conceptualized [5]. 2.4. Applying the Flipped Classroom model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics towards the development of self-learning ability for students in primary education major. 2.4.1. The impact of the Flipped Classroom model on the development of self-learning ability To organize teaching under Flipped Classroom model is an effective option. A research in the United States found that students spent more time studying at home to meet the demand for the Flipped Classroom model. Developmental psychologist Patricia Greenfield has stated that outside of class time, students learn much knowledge from self-learning at home [11]. Flipped Classroom is a combination of a variety of learning methods to achieve students' learning goals. Mô Learning method in Flipped Classroom model (the students by themselves find to understand knowledge through the equipment outside the classroom) Experiential learning method: Students do the exercises, handle the learning situations. Interactive learning method: Students discuss together to find to understand the problem and deepen knowledge of the lesson. Differentiated learning method: Students express their views, present their personal opinions. Lecturers and students assess the results of the lesson session Le Duy Cuong 78 With the Flipped Classroom model, the time in the classroom is for students to interact to create skills through experiential learning from the subject. Through analyzing the nature and characteristics of the Flipped Classroom model and the manifestations of students 'self-learning ability, we found that the Flipped Classroom model influences the development of students' self-learning. In this model, the activities of lecturers and students are conducted in a sequential manner as follows: Stage 1: Before class hours: - Lecturer's activities: + Analyze the curriculum and content of the subject to indicate proper issue/content for teaching in the flipped classroom. Identify goals to develop the specific competencies of the students corresponding to those issues/contents. + Create a lecturing video or the lecturer may guide students how to take online lectures. - Students’ activities: + Study the objectives of the course on knowledge and skills which, in turn, defines what capacity they need to form and develop. + To self-learning, self-researching lesson videos of lecturers at home or anywhere (on campus, on the library, lecture hall, on the Internet, boarding room etc ...) and prepare for classroom practice. Flipped learning is aimed at learners, instead of student-directed instructors, now students actively research video lectures to form their own opinions, questions around content, and before coming to class have the knowledge around the involved concept. At this stage, students will develop components at students for self- learning ability that is: To be independent and to carry out personalized learning plans in the learning process in a flexible way to meet the requirements of the Lecturer. Based on the self-study plan, students must select and use appropriately the self-learning methods and techniques in self-learning process. In addition, to have material sources to serve self-learning activities besides videos provided by the lecturers, students need to know how to find, synthesize, and exploit diverse resources in the library, the internet etc. particularly, the skills of applying information technology to the learning, self-learning and training process are developed. Stage 2: During class hours: - Lecturer's activities: Organize students to deepen their knowledge by instructing them to do their homework, to figure out best ways to do their exercises by using systematic discussion questions, exchanging, interacting between lecturers - students, and between students - students. - Students’ activities: The students practice application of the core concepts along with feedback from the lecturers and the students through learning methods: Experiential learning method: Students do the exercises, handle the learning situations; Interactive learning method: Students discuss together to find to understand the problem and deepen knowledge of the lesson; Differentiated learning method: The students give their views, present their personal opinions etc. on these methods which are very suitable for the practice and development of higher-order thinking for students. By doing this, students develop their necessary competencies, namely: communication ability, teamwork ability, information technology application ability, self-learning ability. Stage 3: After class hours: Application of flipped classroom model in teaching the module of the methodology of teaching mathematics 79 - Lecturer's activities: At the end of class, if the content of the class is not completely understood, the instructor will guide and answer students' queries via the internet. - Students’ activities: Students check the knowledge they have learned during class hours and expand their self-learning, while students assess themselves in learning and self-learning activities to draw strengths and weaknesses of themselves and have a training plan. If the contents discussed at the class are not completed, the lecturer will guide and answer questions of the students via Internet, students can expand their knowledge and career development by continuing to research the documents through the internet, books at the library, etc. After the third stage, the lecturer moves on to stage 1 to create a new lecture video or to supplement a lecture video to suit the current level of student acquisition. Students also move on to stage 1 to study the lecturer's new video. Through analyzing the learning stages of the Flipped Classroom model it can be seen, the model has influenced the components of self- learning ability. The impact process can be concretized as follows: Figure1. The impact of the Flipped classroom model to the components of the practical ability 2.4.2. Illustrative examples To concretize this content, the author gives examples of a lesson in the content of teaching methods and the form of teaching organization in mathematics in the primary schools in the Flipped Classroom model towards practical ability development for students. Flipped Classroom model Self-learning ability Stage 1: Before the class hours Stage 2: During the class hours Stage 3: After the class hours [1]. To prepare and implement an individualized learning plan in the learning process flexibly. [2]. To select and use appropriate learning methods and techniques during self-learning process. [3]. To search, synthesize and exploit resources for self-learning. [4]. To self- assess in learning activities and self-learning to draw strengths and weaknesses of yourself and training plan [5]. To use effectively information technology for learning, self-learning and self-training. Le Duy Cuong 80 Stages in the Flipped Classroom model Teaching activities Elements of practical ability are developed Activities of the lecturer Activities of the students Stage 1: Before class hours - The lecture guides students to explore the lessons on Internet via youtube. https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=oL4c4gg5CK0; https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=uhL8Di-d36c. - To give out a question system to elicit the students’ understands. + Question 1: What teaching methods and forms of teaching are taught? + Question 2: Please describe the manifestations of teaching methods and forms of teaching organization. Then please distinguish teaching methods and the form of teaching organization. + Question 3: In your opinion, how should the teaching methods be combined so that the lesson becomes effective? Please propose one pedagogical idea in the use of