Elon Technology Blog

Flip instruction: Tony Amoruso works to maximize in-class, hands-on activities

Tony Amoruso, assistant professor of accounting, works to increase opportunities for in-class, applied activities in his course through flipped instruction.

Flipped instruction, or a flipped classroom, is a pedagogical model in which a professor reverses his or her usual lecture and homework components in a class. For example, a faculty member who practices flip teaching typically introduces a new concept or topic by asking students to view short video lectures or to read course materials outside of class. Then, in-class time is devoted to discussions and engaged learning.

MORE: Learn more about flipped instruction by reading The Flipped Classroom FAQ (CIRTL Network).

As for Amoruso, he recently began flipping his Principles of Financial Accounting (ACC 201) course lecture-by-lecture, so his students could have on-demand access to course materials.

“Oddly enough, I was reverse-inspired by some famous online teaching resources,” Amoruso said. “After hearing rave reviews of some teaching videos, I watched several and was underwhelmed by how much they reminded me of traditional in-class lectures.”

Amoruso was enticed by the 24/7 accessibility of these online, instructional videos, though, so he decided to create some of his own.

“They were available online for students to watch over and over until they mastered a concept or lost interest,” he said. “After years of having students ask me to repeat explanations I had taken significant time to cover in class, I decided it might be more effective to simply make a video of my lectures available for on-demand viewing.”

Amoruso recently flipped the most difficult topic of his ACC 201 course by posting fairly concise videos of his typical in-class lectures online and requiring his students to watch the lectures at home.

MORE: Read more about flipped instruction from Turn to your Neighbor – the Official Peer Instruction Blog.

“This helps address one of my biggest challenges – adding more interactive learning methods to my face-to-face class time,” he said.

Amoruso said, mostly, his students have responded positively to his online, video lectures.

“The only comments students have volunteered [are] that they like having the online lectures available for repeat viewing,” he said. “They also like spending more class time doing hands-on exercises.”

If you are interested in flipping portions of your own courses and would like to learn more about this model of teaching, contact Teaching and Learning Technologies at 336.278.5006 or tlt@elon.edu.

 

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