Pillar 03 · FlipPraxis Flip Forward

Flipped Classroom Transformation in Higher Education

Foundational content moves before class through videos, readings, podcasts and digital resources. Class time is then used for discussion, collaborative work, project work, mentoring and practical application, and faculty move from delivering content to facilitating learning.

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Students preparing before class and collaborating during class

What is the flipped classroom?

In a traditional course, students meet new content in a lecture and practise on their own afterwards, often when they are most likely to get stuck. A flipped course reverses this: students build foundational knowledge before class, and class time is spent on the harder work of applying it, with faculty and peers there to help.

Flip Forward is the FlipPraxis flipped classroom pillar. It follows the APEX learning cycle: Acquire before class, Practice and Evaluate in class, and Expand afterwards.

The Flip Forward cycle

Before class, in class, after class

Each cycle moves students from building knowledge on their own to applying it with support, then transferring it to new situations.

Before class
A Acquire
Build the foundations
- Short videos, readings and podcasts
- Digital resources at the student’s own pace
- A quick check that shows who is ready
In class
P Practice E Evaluate
Apply, with support
- Discussion and collaborative work
- Problem-solving and project work
- Mentoring and feedback while students work
After class
X Expand
Transfer the learning
- Apply ideas to new contexts
- Reflect on what worked
- Prepare for the next cycle

What changes

Traditional and flipped classrooms compared

Traditional classroom

Flip Forward classroom

First contact with new content

In a lecture, at the lecturer’s pace

Before class, at the student’s own pace

How class time is used

Listening and note-taking

Discussion, problem-solving, project work and mentoring

When the hardest thinking happens

Alone, on homework

In class, with faculty and peers present

The faculty role

Delivering content

Facilitating learning and coaching

Feedback

After submission, often much later

During class, while students work

The student role

Receiving information

Taking ownership of learning

Why it works

The harder thinking happens where help is available

Flipping moves the lower levels of Bloom’s taxonomy before class and keeps the higher levels in class, where students benefit most from feedback.

Create
Evaluate
Analyse
Apply
Understand
Remember

In class, with supportApply, analyse, evaluate and create: the higher-order work where students most need faculty and peers.
Before class, independentlyRemember and understand: foundational knowledge students can build on their own.

The evidence

What the research says

Across 114 studies, flipping produced a small positive effect on learning, with larger gains when face-to-face time was kept and quizzes checked preparation (van Alten et al., 2019). Flip Forward is designed around both conditions.

See the research behind the model

What institutions gain

Greater student ownership of learning
More interaction and participation in class
Better use of faculty expertise
A clear rollout path, one module at a time

How FlipPraxis implements Flip Forward

Five steps from one module to many

Choose one module
Start with a single module and one faculty cohort, so the rollout path is clear and manageable.
Design the pre-class materials
Short videos, readings, podcasts and digital resources, each with a quick check of preparation and low-bandwidth options where students need them.
Design the in-class sessions
Ready-to-run session designs for common class sizes and formats, with assessment rubrics aligned with application.
Coach the faculty
Educator Edge coaching through the first semester, plus the free micro-credential Flipped Learning: From Theory to Practice.
Measure, then scale
Success measures are agreed up front. What works is expanded across programmes with Scale Studio.

Take the free Flipped Learning course See Spark: Active Learning

Illustrative lesson plan

A flipped lesson for a university course

Introductory economics, topic: price elasticity of demand. One 90-minute session with about 120 students.

Stage	Activity	Evidence collected
Before class (about 40 min)	Two short videos on elasticity, one focused reading and a five-question quiz in the LMS, due the evening before	Quiz scores and completion data
0–10 min	Faculty review the quiz results and clear up the two most common misconceptions	Polling responses
10–35 min	Teams calculate elasticity from real pricing data	Team worksheets
35–60 min	Case: should a city transport operator raise fares? Teams prepare a recommendation	Team recommendation
60–80 min	Selected teams present; peers critique using a short rubric	Peer feedback, faculty observation
80–90 min	Exit ticket: apply elasticity to a new product	Individual exit tickets
After class	A 300-word applied analysis of a different market, marked with a rubric	Individual applied task

Flip Forward questions

What if students do not prepare before class?

Short checks at the start of each cycle show who is ready, and in-class activities build directly on the preparation, so it visibly matters. The research shows larger gains when quizzes check preparation.

Does flipping mean less teaching?

No. Faculty time moves from delivering content to facilitating learning: guiding discussion, coaching groups and giving feedback while students work.

Does it work with large classes?

Yes. FlipPraxis provides session designs for common class sizes and formats, including structured group work that scales.

Do we have to flip a whole programme at once?

No. Flip Forward starts with one module and one faculty cohort, measures the impact and scales what works.

Do we need a new platform?

No. Flipped teaching uses the quizzes, completion tracking and content pages already in your LMS. Technology from FlipPraxis is optional.

Assessing preparation, participation and application

Each phase of the flipped cycle produces its own evidence, so faculty know who prepared, who took part and who can apply the learning.

Preparation

Low-stakes pre-class quizzes and LMS completion data, worth a small share of the grade so preparation counts.

Participation

Team outputs, polling responses and assigned roles show who contributed during class.

Application

Exit tickets and after-class applied tasks, marked against rubric criteria for transfer to new contexts.

Programme view

Results across modules are mapped to course outcomes for OBE and accreditation evidence.

Works with your existing LMS

Flipped teaching does not need a new platform. It uses standard features of Moodle, Canvas, Blackboard, D2L Brightspace, Google Classroom or Microsoft Teams. FlipPraxis UniTech is available if you want more, but it is optional.

Pages or folders for short videos and readings
Quizzes with release and due dates
Completion tracking to see who is prepared before class
Discussion forums for questions before and after class
Gradebook entries for preparation and applied tasks

Start with the Launchpad Pilot

Start Small. Prove the Impact. Scale What Works.

Begin with the Launchpad Pilot, a focused cohort of 40–60 students in one course for one semester, then measure the impact and build the evidence for wider implementation.

Explore the Launchpad Pilot Request a Launchpad Pilot Proposal

Flipped Classroom Transformation in Higher Education

What is the flipped classroom?

Before class, in class, after class

Build the foundations

Apply, with support

Transfer the learning

Traditional and flipped classrooms compared

The harder thinking happens where help is available

What the research says

What institutions gain

Five steps from one module to many

Choose one module

Design the pre-class materials

Design the in-class sessions

Coach the faculty

Measure, then scale