LIKE many teachers, Cristi Derow and Jennifer Bradley have spent most of their careers giving classroom lectures to students who sat passively in their seats. The Lewisvillle, Texas, school teachers were aware that the hours they spent on preparing lessons were too often wasted on many students. So Forestwood High School, Texas, used the "flipped   classroom" method of instruction. "We've completely done away with our lecture," Derow said. And homework assignments "are all done in class," Bradley said. With the flipped concept, a student's usual homework assignment is to watch pre-recorded lectures on their computers or smart phones.They walk into class ready to discuss the topic, collaborate  with other students and work on assignments based on what they learned from the video. Free from lecturing, the teachers can use class time to look deeper into the subject and focus on difficult concept. As students change from a passive to an active role, they learn critical thinking skills, learn to collaborate and become independent learners. Instead of doing homework assignments alone at home, students are now "working together, talking about it," Bradley said. "If they don't agree on an answer, they debate it and have to justify their answers. It's a higher level of learning." Her students give the flipped classroom high marks. Sarah Lee, 14, watches the 30-minute videos on a home computer. She likes the ability to rewind the tapes if she doesn't understand a concept. She also likes being able to watch the lessons on her own schedule. One of her classmates, Dawson Depperschmidt has the same idea and thinks the time she spends in the classroom is more _ . "It gives us more time to learn at school," Dawson said. "You get more in-depth in class. What difference does the "flipped classroom"method make to students?
They have more arguments with classmates. They have to be independent and cooperative. They need to do more homework at home. They have to prepare lectures by themselves.