The Impact of Flipped Classes on Student Workloads

The benefit most mentioned by my students has been about how the flipped class makes their workloads and work processes easier, more manageable, and more controllable. Of 292 responses, 65 (22.3%) indicated some benefit to their workloads. Many students claimed that the flipped class was easier, once they got used to it. I have to tease out what my students mean by easier, as they often write easier or easy without explaining with any detail what they mean by easier ("It helps us understand better, it's easier."). The comments below suggest the many ways that the flipped classroom makes for an easier workload.

First and foremost, students seem to like the flexibility and control of doing the lectures at home when their schedules allow. Indeed, one of the big issues for these students seems to be the sense of empowerment they develop as they assume more control of their time and space. A few students even noted that the flipped class helped them deal with procrastination. To my mind, student empowerment is one of the strongest benefits to come out of the flipped classroom, and it is not something that I anticipated. However, I will seek ways to cultivate student empowerment through the flipped class, now that I know it is possible, even likely. My students have been empowered despite the absence of any intention on my part. I like that, and it builds my faith in the flipped model. As the following comments suggest, owning your own time is very important to students, and the flipped classroom provides this for many students:

• The fact that I was able to do my work on my own time and on my own pace, it made it much easier for me. It was really something interesting... Much worth the experience. Keep it .. everybody else that's going to take this class in the near future deserves to experience this.
• At first I was not in favor of how this class worked but after the second week I found it to be very interesting and unique. This was due to me taking online courses and I could plan my assignments out by knowing when things were due by having the wiki and also by being able to complete assignments such as blogs and writing documents without having to be in the classroom especially when I had to miss class for various reasons. I think the strong point about a flipped class is that it gives you the option to work on class assignments and know what is due without having to attend class. Also if you had to miss class for any reason you could still stay on top of your assignments and not really miss anything done in class that day.
• I work well in school and out of school. I liked that we were able to complete our assignments on our own and not just in the classroom with limited time.
• I thought is was good becuause for all of us busy people we can assess that at home
• The combination is great, it allows a lot more flexibility to get work done for class.
• This is a great idea. My first time with a flipped class. I was a little nervous at first because I was afraid to write in front of people. But, as class went on I found not only did this teach you more but...you had to get the work done.  I learned from others and it took the procrastination out of me.  Keep it this way.
• Different techniques are useful. I am not too knowlegable of the flipped class but to what was expalined it sounds like a good interaction activity and a test to see who is really becoming familliar with the material in class, this assignment will challenge others to stay on top of their classs duties.
• i absolutely love flipped classes because you dont have all the stress of going home and procrastinating with your work wwhich usually leads to forgetting about it... but you still have the assessments and blogs to keep your ming going.
• helps us do our homework, especially is help is needed and not understanding what we had to do. kept the class ahead with our assignments and what we had to do for that next week
• I appreciated being able to manage my own time. When I completed assignments, I was able to excuse myself from the classroom. As I shared with you in the past, I have a hard time concentrating in a noisy environment. The flipped classroom afforded me the freedom to choose my own space for assignments, and I grew to appreciate that.
• The flipped class was different for me. But It hink it helped with my busy schedule. 
• As mentioned before, the technology used in the flipped class is new to me but I think it is useful. With our busy schedule flipped classes can be a great tool
• Time management is huge when attending school and any extra time to do work is needed. The flipped class technique gives students a chance to ask questions and receive direct assistance when doing their assignment. Often students find themselves lost at home trying to figure out the topic and staying focused. With the flipped class technique, homewrok can be done at the best time possible.
• Everything was good about the flipped classroom. It gave me ample time to work on my papers and ask questions when I had to
• The flipped classroom helped me to be proactive.
• Flipped Classroom was absolutely convinient for me. It's is a great way to participate in the class when technically you're not in the classroom. It allows you to go online and do the work from your home while the teacher is helping you at the same time. This is great for when a person's ill or for any reason couldn't make it to class. 
• Flipped class was convenient because it enabled students to participate and work together even when outside of class room, the downside is everybody working together at about the same time.
• In the beginning flip classes were different and a little confusing but once I got the hang of it , it has become a good way of doing my work.
• Fliped classes were new to me but I liked the way they worked. They allow some flexibility for students.
• Flipped classes worked well for me because it was very convient with being a single mother, and helped me alot throughout the semester.
• The strong part about the flip class is it teaches what it is and how it works. Also it can give you a little more time to complete assignments. This gets you ready for online classes if you have never taking one cause it is kind of the same type of class. The weak part is if you have other classes and online classes, it is hard because there are so many deadlines to remember. You can easily miss an asignment. If you have a classes on monday and return on wednsday you kind of know that your assignments are due those days, where in a flip class, you never get a break becaus even thou classes are monday your assgnment maybe due tuesday by midnight along with other class or online asignments. This makes it hard especially if you have evening jobs, kids and outside obligations.
• This was by far my best  class this term.  I was able to work at my own pace and get things done and out of the way.  Also, I learned some very helpful strategies from this class.
• I preferred using the flipped class method because it gives you the option of completing assignments on your own schedule, before the due date. You are also able to communicate with your classmates and professors via the web if you have any questions or concerns about an assignment.
• I think flipped classrooms should stay because it allowed students to keep in contact even when they were not in the classroom. It also allowed them to keep up with the classwork and assignments.
• I think i would keep it. Because it is terrific, very convenient and helpful. I love it. I wish all teachers in this institution should Flipped their classes.
• flipped class is great, it works well for me because i can do it at  my pace, and videos along with information are provided for me to watch/read on my own time. not feeling pressured by doing everything quickly as the days progress in class.

My students seem to like learning in their own spaces almost as much as they like learning in their own time. My students like being able to do their work when and where they want, and the flipped classroom provides them more control over their time and space than the traditional class does. I will have to look more closely at why this is so, but for now I accept that it is.

• The easy way to do the class,assesment and papers in my house listening music.
• It is much easier to do your work at home, on your own time without any distractions.
• I love the Flipped class is easy and [convenient] and you learn at the same time while out class sessions,the weak part i did not have any.
• i felt strong about this because its easier to learn at home and then when i come back to class we go over it and it helps me learn even more better. so i have a strong feeling that you should keep the "flipped class".
• At first I didn't like it but now I ike it better because it gave me time to do and understand at home.
• It was confusing in the beginning but I adjusted to it when I knew what was expected of me.  Overall this was a different learning experience but taught me how to keep up with writing.  I enjoyed doing our lessons at home and having more time to ask questions in the classroom.  This worked for me.
• I loved the lectures and assingments being at home.  When you come to class and have questions while you are writing the subject matter expert was right there.  Keep the flipped class.
• Flipped classroom was ok for me because I was able to work on my work at home whenever I needed to as long as I had it completed when you wanted it done.
• we can ask questions and do a work at home
• I did everything at home and when I came to class I could ask the Professor anything I did ot understand. I loved the flipped class. I worked well with me and it wasn't so stressful like my other classes. There was nothing weak about the flipped class.
• The great thing about flipped classroom was that you can get most of the work done at home and dont have to rush in class to do so. When you come to class, everything is done or the majority is done. Atleast a rough draft. the weak part about it is that the professor isnt there to help you at home like being in class, he's always there when you need him/her. 
• Flip class is the best thing you ever created...one of my most favorite about this class.. the reason i say that is because it takes pressure of classmate if they have homework at home to do they wont have to worry about other doing homework for this class.

Those students who value ownership of their time and space also seem to value showing up to class prepared and ready to do the class work. I've read many complaints in the professional literature about how lazy students are and how often they come to class ill-prepared. Perhaps this is the case in traditional classrooms, but the flipped class seems to have some beneficial impact on student preparation. Again, this is something that I will have to study more closely in the future to see if I can tease out just why the flipped class has this effect, but for the moment, I'm satisfied that it does.

• I liked the flipped class. It was nice to complete the assignemnts and go into class and talk about what we read on our own. Again, in the begining it was a littl confussing. But, once you catch on, it is a good idea.
• I would keep the flipped classroom the same. I didn't find anything strong or weak it just made life a little easier because you knew what to expect once you arrived to class.
• I wish that I had this flipped class before I took the first class ever online. My first online class experience was horrible but in this class it was easier for me to manage my work load in the class. I really do not even know why we even needed the textbook. The professor covered everything we needed to know and then some.
• i felt strong about this because its easier to learn at home and then when i come back to class we go over it and it helps me learn even more better. so i have a strong feeling that you should keep the "flipped class".
• I liked that we were responsible for doing the reading outside of class, it's too hard to wait for everyone in class, you were expected to show up prepared. I liked that you were here to help while we were writing as well. It was a little discouraging that the assignment due dates changed. For those of us who were always prepared it's discouraging to stress to get the work done on time and not be rewarding, especially when others in the class got a week more than I did without loosing any points for being late.
• the flipped classrooms are great because we intake the new teachings on our level of comfort and then get to come into class and elaborate and question what we dont understand. The only thing i think is a little weak is the interaction between teacher and students. For example, i wish that the subject that was difficult for most of the students be elaborated more for better understandment , compared to grouping the students that are questioning the task at hand and losing interest on what they are suppose to learn. There is nothing wrong with a little more lecturing to students for a better understandment of a new subject compared to student to student interaction. 
• Flipped class should be in all classes. It was extremely helpful to do lectures at home and write down questions that I could ask the teacher next class. It also was helpful to have more of the profesors time in class to have more one on one with the students rather then waiting for class to be over or not having time to meet up with them. It was also great for the students that did not have questions it would not hold them up and their work would get done.
• It let us understand the material before class. Take our tim ewith it e-mail teacher with questions and then come to class to go over any remainder questions. It allowed for more in class teacher time. 
• flipped classes is good because we do the work and then we come to class to discuss it . and prof hamon helps us alot with our papers.

Some students appreciate the ease and benefit of doing much of their work in the classroom, especially where they can get help from colleagues and instructor. They like doing the homework in the classroom, and in my writing classes, homework consists mostly of writing blog posts, annotated bibliographies, and formal papers, and evaluating writing.

• It made the class a lot easier. I enjoyed the privilege of doing homework in the classroom.
• We accomplished more work in class without a lecture.
• It was easier getting work done in class instead of outside of class
• This was the first time I've ever had a teacher use this structure. I found it great. The videos were short which made them easier to remember. Additionally I was able to do much of my work in class, which gave me more time to study for other more difficult classes. This was great. 
• STRONG: because sometime at home you dont find the time to do your work, so the fact that you get the chance to do it in school is awesome, and also the teacher is right around the corner if you need help. everything was helpful.
• Being able to work on the writing assignment in class was very helpful.  Having the professor there to ask question or if we needed guidance was a great help.
• Although Professor Hamon was present, available to be of assistance and willing to assist at all times, relating to another student was very beneficial. The video lectures gave us the main points of the lessons and working by way of computer was a great learning tool. The only way that this type of class setting could or would be difficult to the students in the beginning is, if they are not computer literate. However by the end of the course they will be.

For some students, the flipped class eased the workload outside of class:

• It kept me not worrying about having to do too much work out side of the classroom and concentrated on what really mattered
• I liked the flipped class, because it allowed to have more time doing my homework or work.  I like doing things in class. 
• I think that the flipped class is one of the best classes that I have ever taken.  All the work is done in the class and there is very little work that has to be done out of class.  Just some reading and maybe the assessments.

For some, the flipped class eased the workload both in and outside of class:

• Worked good for this class, but wasnt something that needed a serious amount of effort so it wasnt overwhelming trying to figure something out.
• This flip class worked great for me because i never have a big homework project to do besides papers that way i can focus on my other classes and also get what i need done for english..

Finally, some students attributed the ease of the flipped classroom to our extensive use of technology. They seem to find enhanced productivity in using computers and networks, which I find encouraging. It's about time that computers started easing our workloads instead of increasing them.

• i liked the flipped class.  not so much as i didnt have to write anything down on paper.  this was good to be able to save paper.  All the work that i had to do was on the computer.  made it very easy to do.  the work was also to do at home
• I can't really say anything didn't work for me in regards to the flipped class. It actually made everything easier for me whether it was correcting essays or just learning the material. Its more organized, enjoyable, and modern than other classes. We actually benefited from the technology that is all around us and I'm grateful we used tech to its full potential.
• I think it took a bit to get used to it but I liked doing everything online, make for easy access, and I like keeping up/staying intune with technology and this made me feel like I was.

As I consider the comments my students have made, I'm impressed that they picked up most on the benefits to their own student workloads and processes. I did not anticipate this effect, but I'm gratified to find so much evidence for it. Of course, it suggests more research for me. I need to figure out why the flipped class has this benefit for students, and then I need to figure out how to enhance it. If I could get this much benefit for students without even trying, then perhaps I can get more with just a bit of effort. Maybe?