Using Content "Flipping" to Promote Synthesis

Nurse Practitioner (NP) educators face some unique educational challenges when designing course content. All NP students are adults who expect adult learning principles to be utilized. They are highly diverse, with wide experiential and educational backgrounds. Some are returning to school after years of practice, while others come directly from undergraduate programs. Some have strong science backgrounds, while others have not studied basic science for years. Faculty must ensure that all students acquire essential information while understanding that the ultimate goal is for students to achieve knowledge synthesis; a daunting, and sometimes insurmountable task. In traditional classrooms, content is delivered by the faculty and students are often passive recipients. Although this approach ensures that content is provided, it does little meet the needs of adult learners, nor does it support synthesis or knowledge application. Flipping is an instructional technique designed to meet the needs of adult learners while presenting knowledge in such a way that students must apply and synthesize the new content. When content is “flipped”, students usually acquire the basic knowledge by watching the pre-recorded lecture prior to coming to class. Class time is then used exclusively for “homework”: problem solving, case studies and discussion. In this model, students set the pace of their own learning; they can watch and re-watch recorded content as many times as they want, skim through content they already know, and spend more time with material that is new to them. Classroom discussion offers students an opportunity to learn experientially, clarify concepts they didn’t grasp at home, and apply new information to clinical scenarios.