Flipping the curriculum in Linguistics

The shift: Creating interactive environments in large classrooms

The Department of Linguistics sees linguistics as a hands-on discipline, best learned through activities and practice. They had already implemented in-class activities in their courses, but they wanted to go further by overhauling  several of their courses using a flipped classroom model. In these transformed courses, students are given the opportunity to interact with their instructors and peers through new methods of teaching and learning.

Why flip?

In 2013, the Department of Linguistics decided to comprehensively redesign their curriculum using the flipped classroom model.

“It was a challenge keeping students engaged in large classroom settings,” says Dr. Lisa Matthewson, chair of the Linguistics Curriculum Committee,

Some of their larger courses frequently had more than 200 students in the classroom. The department wanted new teaching strategies that would help students to understand course material and remain engaged in class. Lectures and tutorials already incorporated activities, so “flipping” classrooms was the next logical step. After securing flexible learning funding, the team began the first phase of their project: transforming LING 100, 200, and 311.

The teaching strategies

In a flipped classroom, students are given first exposure to content prior to class time. In class, students engage with the instructor and further explore materials. Instructional strategies include:

E-lectures

Dr. Martina Wiltschko created video lectures with animations and visuals that explain key concepts. Wiltschko found that she was able to better explain complex ideas and move past the traditional textbook.

“I was able to give a mini-lecture exactly the way I wanted, not dependent on a textbook that I was not fully subscribing to,” she says.

After viewing the e-lectures, students would come to class prepared to discuss the topics Wiltschko wanted to focus on. The videos were also accessible anytime and allowed students to learn at their own pace.

Students as producers

Dr. Henry Davis wanted to give his students an opportunity to be creative and produce their own content, so he eliminated the traditional final exam and poster session and replaced it with performance-based evaluations.

Students produced a variety of final projects that explained linguistic concepts, ranging from rap-battle videos to puppet shows. Students who were not as comfortable with public speaking or performance could take behind-the-scene roles, such as set design or videographer.

Davis believes the projects were a successful alternative to more traditional means of evaluation. “I think these students went away with a considerably larger grasp of basic stuff than they would have done had they been sitting in an exam,” he says. “And they had a lot more fun.”

Low stakes writing

Students are often evaluated through “high stakes writing,” which includes final essays or assignments that are heavily weighted. Dr. Evan Ashworth advocated instead for low stakes assignments in which students can reflect on the course and gain a better understanding of the type of writing required. Says Ashworth: “Writing is not just an end—it’s an actual means of learning itself.”

Wikipedia projects

Ashworth also asked students to develop Wikipedia pages on topics related to syntax. Students were responsible for researching and planning the content of the entry, as well as writing, editing, layout and HTML mark-up. Students’ pages could be accessed by anyone, anywhere in the world, which students found particularly motivating.

Clicker questions

Several of the instructors used clicker questions in their teaching. Not only could clicker questions be used to gauge student understanding of course content, but open-ended questions could also be used to promote class discussion.

The challenges

The department has faced a common critique concerning flipped classrooms: by asking students to learn material ahead of class time, is the instructor superfluous to teaching?

But Wiltschko is quick to point out that the flipped classroom is not about eliminating the instructor. She argues that the human interaction between students and instructors is irreplaceable. While information can be accessed elsewhere, Wiltschko says that the value of the instructor is to help students “connect the information in relevant ways.”

With this in mind, the instructors focused on interacting with students during class time. Another obstacle they faced is the distraction that technology can cause. Many of the instructors decided to implement a no technology or limited technology policy in their classrooms. They agreed that too often, technology distracts the students using the devices, as well as those around them. The team notes that they post slides and notes online. In class, they don’t want students to worry about noting everything down—rather, they hope students will use class time to engage with their instructor and peers.

Lessons learned

The team believes that flipping the classroom will help students go beyond simply learning information and change the way they engage with course material. “We want to give them the tools to be critical thinkers,” Wiltschko says.

In their first round of course transformations, the team has already seen how the flipped classroom can enhance teaching. Wiltschko adds, “The best teaching happens when you’re interacting with the students. Interaction is crucial, and that’s what the flipped classroom allows you to do.”

Davis agrees that interaction between students and instructors is key to a successful classroom dynamic. He believes that teaching and learning should be an enjoyable experience. He notes, “[The flipped classroom] is fun for the instructors–and if it’s fun for the instructors, it’ll be fun for the students.”

What’s next

The team has applied for the next round of flexible learning grants to flip LING 101, 201, and 300. The department’s ultimate goal is to flip all undergraduate courses in their curriculum, which they hope will benefit all current and future students.

This Changed My Teaching

This case study was presented at This Changed My Teaching: Transforming Large Classes into Interactive Learning Environments in October 2014. Watch a video here.

The following resources supported the presentation: