Designing flipped learning in initial teacher education: The experiences of two teacher educators

Abstract

The move to online learning triggered by COVID-19 lockdowns in 2020 and 2021 necessitated a rapid movement to effectively design synchronous digital learning environments. In such environments research suggests that a flipped approach to teaching and learning is most appropriate in learning environments mediated by technologies. This article examines the experiences of two teacher educators in dealing with online learning environments in a time of change and examines the shift to a flipped approach in teaching literacy units that are part of a postgraduate initial teacher education degree at a university in Melbourne, Australia. The article presents a collaborative autoethnography of the experiences of the teacher educators, shared as a set of curated narrative vignettes, and analyses the thinking that supports the implementation of flipped learning. These practice narratives are understood through the lens of collaborative learning theory which emphasises negotiated meanings and knowledge creation within groups. In post-COVID times this article points to future possibilities for a flipped learning approach in hybrid or mixed learning environments and offers a conceptual process model for designing learning in response to change. Implications for practice or policy: Teacher educators may need to reconsider learning design for online and hybrid environments. Universities may need to be more open to student-centred pedagogies such as flipped learning. Leaders and policymakers in higher education should give more attention to student agency and active learning in educational delivery.