The third pillar of flipped learning: Intentional Content.
Once again, we usually depend on an institution that somehow tells us what to teach and what content must be included. But within the content that is established, teachers have the freedom to adapt different perspectives and to present or deal with it in a number of ways.
When designing a course, a unit, a lesson or an activity, I like to think of it as a map. My goal is for students to reach a certain place but by themselves. I do not want them to get lost, I do not want them to feel frustrated, but I do not want them to sit at the back seat of my car and only enjoy the ride, either (let alone fall asleep all the way!). I want them to drive their own vehicles, to manage their way AND enjoy the ride.
Again, and quite related to the previous post on learning culture, students will face a selection from the topic they deal with, kind of clippings, always being aware these are finite but the resources to be found on the topic are actually infinite. And that they could go deeper into the subject, if they would like to.
It is also true that some students might need more help than others, and that can be catered for as well. Extra and optional activities and/or resources should be provided as well as the explicit freedom to go and search for themselves! (I believe this must be explicit most of the time, irrespective of ages and levels!)
Another aspect to bear in mind is the variety of resources: visual, kinetic, auditory, the lot. It is important to help all sort of students and we know that some need to see, others to listen... you name it.
Depending on the students' age, the length of the course, the time students have, and many other variables I believe the content offered can be more or less 'open' for them to discover. But what is certain is that whatever we offer to one group may not exactly fit another group (unluckily 😕) and what we plan and hope that is going to be great and useful, may end up being a mess for some students! I found the term FAILING FORWARD an excellent way to express this . Although Mr Miller associated it with the teachers' role as designers of learning experiences, I guess it should be applied to both teachers and students. Teachers should be restless and open to failure, as much as students need to be.
So, I give my students the map, and tell them where they need to get. I give them clues as to how to get there (for some, these clues will be enough, others might need more and find them by themselves, others might need a completely different help!) Some may take a shortcut, some may take winding paths because they enjoy the landscape, others will get lost and go back on track eventually. But I do not give anyone a GPS. I am not a GPS for them, either. If you think of it, a GPS would be to blame if you get lost or you find yourself in a dangerous neighbourhood... but flipped learning requires active and independent students, so they'll have to be in charge. They should be their own GPS.
