What is the “Flipped Classroom” and is Singapore ready for it?

“Flip teaching (or flipped classroom) is a form of blended learning which encompasses any use of technology to leverage the learning in a classroom, so a teacher can spend more time interacting with students instead of lecturing. This is most commonly being done using teacher-created videos that students view outside of class time. It is also known as backwards classroom, reverse instruction, flipping the classroom, and reverse teaching.”

- Wikipedia

Education Today

We live in a most interesting time as far as formalised education is concerned. The role of a teacher is changing. Intellectual property of teachers is shared through open source learning, or at least this is what we are hoping will happen. There is self-directed learning, which means the freedom of acquiring knowledge is now in the hands of the students. Learn at your own time, own pace, anywhere. And now too, there is the flipped classroom! 

As an educator and a father, I have never been more excited about education then I am now. The flipped classroom is going to revolutionise education and the role of the teacher. Great news to teachers is that you now can go home earlier if you choose to and have a regular life. You can teach from almost anywhere and to anyone in any place. How exciting is that?

And just visualise this: the amusement park can now be a classroom. The shaded grass patch under a tree can now be a classroom. The park can be a classroom and so can the zoo. The kids are absolutely going to fall in love with these new learning methods. Flipped classrooms are going to be the way of the future and the world is finally taking a great step towards being a better place to live in, especially for kids. It may sound a little dramatic but it’s true.

Many of us have heard about e-learning being offered in schools and gradually in homes too. Parents are finally embracing e-learning at home and these are all great signs of improvements in our educational system. E-learning is not just for higher education; great steps are being taken for this to be implemented at the primary and secondary school levels too. The Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore (IDA) and Ministry of Education (MOE) have initiatives such as future schools for this very purpose. It is still a very young industry but portals like KhanAcademy.org and ScoreCampus.com are moving fast in their bid to provide quality self-directed education for younger learners.

So How Does It Actually Work? 

Traditionally, our teachers spend much time teaching the theoretical part of any subject matter in the classroom and a serious amount of time and effort is put into the planning and delivery of these classes. The truth is that in all this, the true essence of the subject matter is so often lost and it becomes what is popularly known as rote learning. The flipped classroom addresses this very issue. Through the use of technology, the explanations of the various theories and methods are now taught online. This in turn encourages the teachers to facilitate a class in group discussion and project work to understand the concept. And there you have the evolution of the role of a teacher. The teacher becomes a facilitator and manages lively interaction and fruitful group work.

These are really exciting times and teachers will definitely embrace this for many reasons, some being:

• They get to do what they were originally trained to do. The passion will be reignited.

• Working hours can and should be dramatically reduced for the work life balance of the teachers and their families.

• Life and enthusiasm will return to the classrooms.

The flipped classroom can happen anywhere and at anytime depending how adventurous the educators want to be. The time of the global educator is now here. What remains to be seen is how the classrooms are going to be flipped. I’m looking forward to it and yes, Singapore is certainly ready for it!

Authored by: Gabriel Suppiah for Score Campus

Introducing Score Campus

It’s truly an exciting time for all students around the world, and this is especially true for those right here in Singapore. Education as we know it has arrived at a turning point and conventional classroom-based learning is facing a revolution. The schools of the future are no longer a vague ideal. They have arrived. Here. Now. 

Meet Score Campus An online e-learning platform designed to make learning fun, simple and useful for every child, Score Campus is the result of the endeavours of a passionate group of educators that call themselves The Score Campus Team. And it promises to help students here in Singapore and the world over tackle their academic concerns via its campus concept online. It doesn’t stop there, however. As its name quite clearly shows, Score Campus is not only a place where students can learn to score in academically, it is also a ‘campus’. One that is catered to providing students with a holistic and well-rounded education, as well as creating an environment where students, teachers and parents can meet and connect, no matter where you are. 

E-Learning What is e-learning? In a nutshell, e-learning is to conventional classroom learning what mobile phones are to a payphone in a mall. It allows students to learn anywhere, at any time, and most importantly, at your own pace. As long as you have a desktop computer, laptop or tablet that can access the internet, just like how mobile phones allow you to make calls anywhere and anytime as long as you are connected to a phone network.

E-learning can incorporate many elements such as text, audio, video and the virtual environment as a whole that make learning more fun and interesting. It is a rich learning experience that is self-paced, self-directed and complete with hands-on learning for the students. As a result, it may even surpass the level of learning you might experience in a crowded classroom with external distractions.

The Score Campus Package To answer the needs of many anxious parents and students, Score Campus has begun with a complete course in Mathematics for Primary 6 students facing the Primary School Leaving Examinations (PSLE). It will progressively roll out courses for Primary 1 to 5, and concurrently for English, Science and Mother Tongue Languages.

The courses are based on the syllabi set out by the Ministry of Education here in Singapore. This is done so that there will be no disconnect between what local students are taught in school and what they learn at Score Campus. When a parent enrols their child in Score Campus, they will receive the following:

• Diagnostic Tests - To gauge how much the student knows about a particular topic
• Teaching Videos - Each engaging video is kept to a length of no more than 15 minutes
• Downloadable Notes - Specially designed easy-to-digest reference notes
• Interactive Forums - A space where students can interact with their teachers and peers
• Progress Reports - Parents can view the achievements and activities of their child

Holistic Education As mentioned earlier, academic achievements, though important, are not the be all and end all at Score Campus. The Score Campus Team is also dedicated to addressing other concerns faced by our young, such as exam stress, peer pressure, low self-esteem or even sexuality issues. They call this initiative ‘Go Score!’. For starters, Score Campus will be organising sports- and survival-based motivational camps for students and even their families. You can also expect an evolution of ‘flipped classrooms’, where Score Campus students learn important academic topics outside of the traditional classroom and even away from the computer. After all, Sir Isaac Newton did not discover gravity by sitting at his desk. Other projects are in the pipeline, such as a rewards programme to motivate students to score, apps for mobile devices that will engage students in creative thinking, and competitions where students and parents can cooperate on projects that will ignite their imagination while winning them prizes. Score Campus is not a replacement for schools or teachers. It is purely a platform that serves to help students understand more easily what they are taught, in a clear, concise, and frankly, fun and simple manner that is designed for them. It is also a place where students can be themselves anytime, from just about anywhere, and in every area of their lives, learn to... Go Score!