The Flipped Classroom

The flipped classroom is the somewhat liberal idea of having a non-hierarchical, student centred classroom in which the students actively engage in the ideas presented, and peer assess themselves according to their different points of view. Instead of a traditional classroom, where the teacher gives assignments and homework in a hierarchical structure that is teacher centric where the students follow instruction.

There have been a few instances of this type of classroom, mostly during the 60s and 70s, but one dates back all the way to the 1700s. Joseph Jacotot was an exiled teacher from france that went to the Netherlands to work at a job for half pay. The main problem with that setup was that Joseph and his students could not understand each other. He gave his students a flemish and french copy of an assigned book, and by the end of the book the students could understand the book and speak french as well. From that it was surmised that all men have equal intelligence and that we can teach what we don't know, as well as every person having the ability to instruct themselves. Also that the idea that "everything is in everything."

There are a few schools nowadays that grew out of these types of philosophies, such as Universite Paris 8, which grew out of a student revolt from 1968. Their battle cry was "Egalité! Liberté! Sexualité!" and they were for student autonomy and education for all.

There is also The School Of the Damned in London, which is a completely autonomous student driven university.

Overall the idea of turning the traditional educational spade on it's head is at least somewhat appealing. I feel as though it would be a little chaotic, but some people thrive on chaos.