Lecture Two: The Flipped Classroom

The Flipped Classroom is a model of teaching that focuses on allowing the student to take charge of their own learning. The student is the centre of the model rather than the teacher, and this allows the students to explore and form their own answers to their own questions. This flipped model allows for students to explore topics in greater depth, as the flow of conversation and debate is not being controlled by the Teacher which can create more meaningful learning opportunities. The Teacher will be there to deliver content that the students can use how so they please (perhaps in the form of activities or video lessons).

Lecture Notes

But is this enough? Jacques Ranciere (b. 1940), a French philosopher born into the french revolution in May 1968, argued the role of the teacher and challenged their role in the classroom, stating that they need the students more than what they needed the teacher. In his book "The Ignorant Schoolmaster: Five Lessons in Intellectual Emancipation" he tells the story of how Joseph Jacotot was sent to the netherlands to teach french to the students, not knowing a word of Flemish. They were unable to communicate to one another as the students didn't speak any french, so he had given the students two copies of Fenelon's "Télémaque", one in Flemish and one that had been recently translated into French. The students were able to learn fluent french by working together and finding the relationship between the two languages/texts, with no input from the teacher other than the fact he had given them the text.
From this, Ranciere challenged the readers to consider the role of the teacher, and that we should consider the premise that we are all of equal intelligence and that this should be a starting point rather than a destination. The educator isn't neccesary if the group of students have a central focus.

The Flipped Classroom model definitely relates to my current practice. As a group we are given a brief to work with and our tutors are there for help if needed, but on the whole our projects and study are very self-driven. In Animation we are expected to solve our own problems and create work that fits the brief/our clients proposal. Jacques Ranciere's points are very interesting, and to some degree I agree with what he says. I think we have the intellectual capability to become educated without the role of an educator, but personally I think this role is necessary for my line of practice. I have a lot of creative freedom even with the role of a tutor, but they are there to guide me on what it is I need to do in order to succeed, just as it would be like if I was working on a commision piece.