Skip to main content Skip to main navigation Skip to page-level navigation Go to the Disability Resource Centre Website Go to the DRC Booking Accommodation Portal Go to the Inclusive Technology Lab Website
The University of British Columbia
UBC - A Place of Mind
The University of British Columbia Okanagan campus
UBC Okanagan News
  • Research
  • People
    • Student Profile
    • Faculty Profile
    • Alumni Spotlight
  • Campus Life
    • Campus News
    • Student Life
    • Teaching & Learning
  • Community Engagement
  • About the Collection
    • Stories for Media
  • UBCO Events
  • Search All Stories
Home / 2011 / December / 20 / UBC alumni explore new teaching method

UBC alumni explore new teaching method

December 20, 2011

UBC alumni and Okanagan Mission Secondary School senior math teachers Paul Janke, left, and Graham Johnson have implemented a flipped classroom where the students watch their lesson online at home and they discuss what they learned in class the next day.

UBC alumni and Okanagan Mission Secondary School senior math teachers Paul Janke, left, and Graham Johnson have implemented a flipped classroom where the students watch their lesson online at home and they discuss what they learned in class the next day.

Flipped classrooms allow students more time with teachers

Graham Johnson and Paul Janke take a radically different approach to teaching than the established norm.

The two Okanagan Mission Secondary School senior math teachers have implemented a “flipped classroom” system of learning.

Flipped learning is where a lesson is recorded, put online and students watch the lesson at home and then discuss it in class the following day. The two University of British Columbia alumni are the first in the Canadian public school system to try such an approach to teaching.

“The kids go home and watch it as homework,” says Janke. “They get the teaching part at home, and when they come to class it allows them more time to work on it with other students or a teacher.”

Johnson says the concept affords much greater flexibility for the students and teachers.

“We can meet with every one of our learners,” says Johnson, adding the online lessons are around 15 minutes long, which studies have shown to be the optimum time for a teen to focus on a subject.

“It gives us the flexibility to better meet their needs. It allows the teacher to talk to each individual kid.”

Although met with some trepidation when implemented, the flipped classroom idea quickly caught on and students, parents, the school district and other teachers now embrace the concept.

Having the lesson online also allows students who may be struggling to rewind sections they don’t fully understand, while high-achievers can work at a faster pace. The students can then bring up any difficult areas with their teachers one-on-one in the classroom.

Janke and Johnson are currently in the Master of Education program at the Okanagan campus and their supervisor, Robert Campbell, supports the flipped class concept.

“It’s a really effective way to use the students’ time,” says Campbell, who is an associate professor with the Faculty of Education. “If you are going to give them homework, this is the way to do it.”

One question being asked is whether the flipped concept could work on courses other than math.  Campbell believes it can.

“I suspect it will work very well in many other areas,” says Campbell, adding with the growing importance of electronic learning and information gathering, the education system is “on the threshold of some big changes.”

Graham and Janke are planning to host a conference on flipped classes next June in Kelowna.

— 30 —

Media Contact

Darren Handschuh
Assistant Communications Coordinator
University Relations

The University of British Columbia
Okanagan campus
Tel: 250-807-8463
E-mail: darren.handschuh@ubc.ca

Content type: Media Release
More content from: Okanagan School of Education

Trending Stories

  • Work Study opens new doors for undergraduates
  • Strengthening Indigenous community through research
  • Finding new life for plastic waste
  • Reframing conversations around earthquakes
  • Safeguarding water quality
All Stories
Contact Media Relations

About UBC Okanagan

UBC’s Okanagan campus is an innovative hub for research and learning founded in partnership with local Indigenous peoples, the Syilx Okanagan Nation, in whose traditional, ancestral and unceded territory the campus resides. The most established and influential global rankings all consistently place UBC in the top five per cent of universities in the world, and among the top three Canadian universities.

The Okanagan campus combines a globally recognized UBC education with a tight-knit and entrepreneurial community that welcomes students and faculty from around the world in British Columbia’s stunning Okanagan Valley. For more visit ok.ubc.ca.

Discover more about UBC Okanagan

Find a Program Admissions Book a Tour UBCO Facts
UBC Okanagan Campus News, University Relations

Innovation Precinct Annexation 1 (IA1)
3505 Spectrum Court
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 2Z1

We respectfully acknowledge the Syilx Okanagan Nation and their peoples, in whose traditional, ancestral, unceded territory UBC Okanagan is situated.

 

Search all stories

Subscribe to receive news by email

Visit UBC's Vancouver news room

Global and Admin Messages

News

Okanagan Campus

TikTok icon Linkedin icon

UBC Okanagan News
Okanagan Campus
3333 University Way
Kelowna, BC Canada V1V 1V7
Find us on
  
Back to top
The University of British Columbia
  • Emergency Procedures |
  • Terms of Use |
  • Copyright |
  • Accessibility