Imagine a subject where you select your assignment topics, how you present them and the questions on your final exam. For Contemporary Latin(o) Americas students, this dream is a reality. What’s more, subject coordinator Jeffrey Browitt is being applauded, and awarded, for his approach.
“The more students are interested in a topic, the more they’re going to learn, and the best topics for their self-development are often ones they choose themselves,” says Senior Lecturer in International Studies Jeffrey Browitt.
“The problem with exams is students get in a complete catatonic state. They swallow a couple of Red Bulls, go in to the exam, then come out wailing or smiling and two weeks later they’ve forgotten half of what they learned. We want to embed much deeper learning outcomes.”
The Malecón, Havana. Photographer: Jack Schmidt
To do so, the Latin American studies specialist ‘flipped’ his teaching and his students’ learning two years ago. “Basically you get the students to engage in the content out of the classroom and then come in to the classroom to workshop things.”
For the past year, Browitt has used a WordPress site to upload seminar readings, examples of past assignments and the blogs of former students currently on in-country study. Two weeks before each Contemporary Latin(o) Americas class he uploads short lectures, in PDF or video format, and invites students to email questions to him for discussion in the tutorial.
“The great thing about uploading lectures well before class is students can access them in their own sweet time – in their PJs late at night, on their laptop, or on the move. And they can go over and over it until they get it.”
The idea, he says, is not for students to “tell me what they do understand because that’s wasted time. Let’s discuss the stuff they don’t understand.”
It all began in 2012, explains Browitt. “I first heard about the ‘flipped’ concept from Shirley Alexander. She gave a chat on campus about the need to move in the direction of modern teaching and learning techniques, especially student-centred learning and flipped learning.
“One of the key things Shirley said was that it’s okay to try and do these things and fail, but at least you tried and you’ve probably learned from that process.”
For Browitt, who was already interested in some of these techniques, it was the green light he needed. After “haunting flipped learning sites found through Google”, Browitt decided to synthesis and apply the principles of flipped learning to Contemporary Latin(o) Americas.
“The second-year subject services all the students who, the following year, go to Colombia, Mexico, Costa Rica, Chile, Argentina and Latino USA.
“We’re studying 21 countries which make up the Latino Americas and 500 years of history in culture and politics.” Conventional testing, says Browitt, “is absolutely ludicrous.”
Instead, students are encouraged to complete informal surveys during semester and become hands-on with their assessments – a critical literature review, cultural case study and a one-hour, closed-book, in-class test.
Playa San Pedrito, Baja California Sur, Mexico. Photographer: Jack Schmidt
For the test, says Browitt, “they co-design the questions with me. Last year we agreed on six. I chose four, I didn’t tell them which four, and out of those they answered the two they could give the best answer for, removing anxiety. They got a chance to demonstrate what had stuck rather than what remained abstract.
“People think you can’t do that, but actually you can; certainly in the humanities, anyway. The goal is to help them reach learning outcomes wider than subject-specific topics, such as self-assertion and self-direction, so they’re ready for whatever their lives are outside of the university, especially the job market.”
When it comes to the literature review and case study, “I say you choose whatever topic you want and deliver it to me in a format you feel comfortable with – SlideShare, Prezi, WordPress, Tumblr, a straight pdf or, if you’re really worried, put it in a Word doc and try to embed some images.”
Creative writing and international studies student Daisy D’Souza, says, “One benefit of flipped learning is it encourages you to learn for the sake of learning, not for the sake of getting good grades.
“Jeff’s passion was obvious and I think that’s essential for a tutor because their mood permeates the class. He was much more relaxed, open and willing to discuss students’ ideas than most tutors I’ve had before.”
Social inquiry and international studies student Gabriela Sanchez agrees. “The way it was structured, and the way Jeff approached it, really eased the pressure and stress normally experienced with uni subjects.
“Having the liberty, and opportunity, to choose our topics for each assignment definitely made the subject all the more interesting and intriguing.”
And, because 20 per cent of the final mark for each assessment was based on a personal reflection on tutor feedback, Sanchez says, “I definitely learned to become self-critical, taking in the feedback and applying it accordingly.”
It’s an approach Browitt’s taken with his teaching too. The academic has set up a separate blog, Testing ‘Flipped Learning’, to critique his work. “I not only upload what works, but what doesn’t – mistakes I’ve made, naivety; it’s all out there.
“I defy anyone to say everything they tried worked out fantastically. Most of what I try works out well but I wouldn’t claim it’s more than 80 per cent. Some things don’t work and you just have to suck it up and admit it. The question is why didn’t it work and what are you going to do now?”
In an effort to continue his own self-improvement, this year, Browitt plans to invite other academics into his class to critique his methods and undertake a Graduate Certificate in Teaching. “I’m constantly tinkering now, which I never did before.
“This year I’m going to do away with the final test and do mini quizzes each week. One Achilles heel of the flipped technique is how do you know the students are doing the pre-learning at home? So you need a bit of a carrot and stick.”
The Learning2014 Award recipient is hopeful more academics will make the switch too. “The biggest part of flipped learning is called ‘front loading’. It’s prepping the lectures so they’re ready to go up online, getting the set-readings ready, working out how you’re going to manage the whole subject, how you’re going to marry the blog to UTSOnline and run your tutorial dynamic. You have to have that all in place. Then, after that, as far as I’m concerned it’s just fun.”
South American images supplied by UTS International Studies student Jack Schmidt. For more images from his year of in-country study, visit schmidtylittlescribblings.wordpress.com
- Since 2013, Senior Lecturer in International Studies Jeffrey Browitt has ‘flipped’ his teaching and his students’ learning in the Contemporary Latin(o) Americas subject
- Students are invited to submit questions for discussion in the tutorial, choose assignment topics and how they present assignments and help select test questions
- Browitt has also set up his Testing ‘Flipped Learning’ blog to critique his own work