The Flipped Classroom model in E-learning training

The two times of learning

In this recent era, the incorporation of technology into society has brought about a **radical change** in our way of life and work compared to previous generations. As a result, a rapid process of adaptation and the need for innovation has been established among us, in which we continue to work.

The obligation to acquire new knowledge and keep it constantly updated is now outlined as a fundamental objective to maintain our professional competitiveness in a global and ever-changing market. Therefore, in companies and organizations, the continuous training of individuals represents an unavoidable goal to improve and maintain their positioning.

Like the rest of the sectors, the field of **education faces this new stage**. In this sense, the introduction of new ways of imparting knowledge represents a significant advancement in the evolution and increased effectiveness of teaching processes.

Among all of them, we will talk in this case about the **flipped classroom or inverted class**. A technique that arises from the interest of young educators in adopting a renewed discourse and incorporating new technologies into the face-to-face training model. A proposal that suggests a paradigm shift in the delivery of knowledge: reversing the order of the actors involved in the process.

That is, from the model in which the teacher mainly dedicates class time to transmitting a specific content to the students so that, later and outside the classroom, they study and assimilate it, with the support of reading and viewing supplementary documentation, we move to a model that proposes a change of role.

Now, based on the delivery of a series of data and references, taking advantage of the ease and reach of new digital media, it is the student, outside of face-to-face time, who first searches and investigates the topic, to then **analyze results and discuss** doubts and questions with the rest of the classmates and the teacher.

So in this new situation, what we had called "supplementary documentation" now becomes material for searching and analyzing in this first time. A model that, above all, aims to provoke in the student an active and collaborative attitude, placing them as the protagonist at the center of their own learning process.

The Flipped Classroom in the E-learning Environment

But how does the flipped classroom technique adapt to e-learning formats?

In the inverted classroom model of distance learning, we also talk about a two-time classroom. But in this case, both are in virtual format; the first one asynchronous and the second one synchronous. That is, in the first one, based on the data stated by the expert teacher, the students investigate on their own without the need to share either a schedule or a training space. And in the second one, together with the expert, they all meet in the live virtual classroom to share results and discuss proposals.

Therefore, the only difference of the flipped classroom in e-learning environments, compared to its application in face-to-face training, is the fact that, in the second phase, when participants are in the physical classroom, this is replaced by a virtual classroom, using resources integrated into the LMS platform, such as the video conferencing room.

And in what types of training is the application of the flipped classroom recommended?

The flipped classroom is especially recommended, for example, in all those training capsules focused on projects, in which, in addition to mastering comprehension skills, the student must develop application skills. To understand it better, let's analyze a case.

We have a company that manufactures electrical components for installation in public and civil works. The selection and choice of **the solution we offer must go through the strict analysis and validation of the client's technical team**. A process that involves answering all their questions accurately and advising them on the optimal application and adaptation to the specific characteristics of their projects. Therefore, a good training of our sales team, in the product offer oriented to projects, will be decisive for the success of the sale. Let's get to work.

We have set up an e-learning course. After asynchronously teaching the models and features of our components, we then propose an activity aimed at acquiring the ability to correctly incorporate them into the design of a project. So, based on a simulated project briefing, we ask students to search for and analyze related information (projects with similar characteristics, successful cases, competitors' offers, etc.) and then present their best solution.

To do this, the flipped classroom format will work very well. In the first stage, of search and analysis, we will apply the asynchronous format. Then, with the results obtained, we will move on to the synchronous format, in which students and the expert will meet online to share and discuss their findings and proposals.

Thanks to this cross-information and the experience and point of view of the rest of the colleagues, each of their perspectives will significantly broaden, increasing their ability to respond to questions and situations that may arise in real cases. This puts them, from this moment on, in an advantageous position compared to others, to offer the best solution in the application of products in the project.

In this way, and as a result of this process, we will have encouraged the members of our sales team to incorporate a new skill into their competencies: beyond simply being that salesperson who sells electrical components, now being a competent advisor who understands and shares the issues of their clients' projects.

The Role of the Facilitator Expert in the Flipped Classroom

As in the rest of collaborative dynamics, in the flipped classroom model the role of the facilitator expert is essential. Here, they are no longer just a transmitter of knowledge. Now they are the promoter of student's autonomous learning and a stimulator of cooperative work.

The responsibility of this expert is to guide and support students so that they acquire new knowledge, apply it properly, and actively participate in presentations and debates, fostering a dynamic and interactive environment that promotes learning.

Therefore, their ability to socialize the classroom, propose challenges, provide constructive criticism, value proposals, open new lines of debate, and maintain participation at all times is of vital importance. Let's bear in mind that here students do not learn "from him", but "with him". And their intuition to guide this path, without imposing personal criteria, is essential to bring out the creativity and critical thinking of the students.

Conclusions

As we have mentioned, and favored by the advancement of technological resources - among others: the immediacy of access to information, interconnectivity, and the ubiquity of people - we are in a moment of great changes. And if we add to this the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, which we have experienced in the last two years, we can appreciate how new ways of doing things are emerging around us.

The telecommuting that we had incorporated as a temporary alternative in a crisis situation, far from forgetting it in this new post-pandemic stage, is now proposed, when the work model allows it, as a great opportunity to reconcile the personal and work life of many workers, and thus improve their quality of life.

On the other hand, today a large number of training environments, even as they recover face-to-face for most of their teaching programs, already incorporate blended learning and e-learning as a competitive value of their current educational offer.

And if we move to the business and organizational environment, we can see how many of them are strengthening and enhancing their distance training programs.

Therefore, if you are a person responsible for any of these and you are in the process of transforming and optimizing your teaching content, do not forget that techniques such as flipped classroom can improve the quality and results of your training.

Remember:

• The introduction of new ways of imparting knowledge represents an extremely important advance in the evolution and increase in the effectiveness of teaching processes.
• The flipped classroom is a technique that, by reversing the roles of student and teacher in the delivery of knowledge, aims to provoke an active and collaborative attitude in the student, placing them as the protagonist at the center of their own learning process.
• The flipped classroom is especially recommended in training models oriented towards projects, in which, in addition to mastering comprehension skills, the student must develop application skills.
• And do not forget, the dynamic expert socializes the classroom, proposes challenges, provides positive criticism, values proposals, opens new lines of debate, and maintains participation at all times. Their role is fundamental. But students no longer just learn "from them", but "with them".