Why We “Flip” Our Classrooms

When it comes to learning new approaches and processes, we humans require time to link that new information to our current understanding.

That process is helped along if we are able to receive that information in a variety of different ways, making different sorts of imprints on our brains – reading it, hearing it, seeing it.

We then need time to make all those new links in our brains. We need time for practicing those new ways of thinking, putting a toe in, then perhaps diving in a bit deeper, to absorb and reinforce the connections between those new ideas and what we already know.

Unfortunately, the standard format for webinars and workshops provides very little of this. Instead, that format provides you with all the new information at once, in the live webinar / workshop setting. At the end of that designated time, you are then expected to have absorbed enough to have cogent questions, after which, the whole experience is over.

That entire system goes counter to what research has consistently shown to be effective for your learning.

At Creating the Future, our mission can only be accomplished if you are able to put what you learn into action. Our online workshops therefore turn that old webinar / workshop approach on its ear.

• First, you will receive the content in advance of any live interaction. That will provide several weeks for you to learn the content at your own pace - watching and re-watching, reading and re-reading, and using practice exercises to apply that learning to your real life.

• The live, interactive, real-time Q&A aspects of our workshops are then scheduled several weeks after you have received the content. That provides plenty of time for you to absorb the learning and try things out, as well as plenty of time to come up with meaningful questions. The interactive Q&A / discussion sessions are at least an hour (and often longer), where you can ask questions, explore possibilities and share stories with instructors who are seasoned practitioners in what you are learning.

In our experience, this approach allows time for you to learn at your own pace, in whatever way makes sense for your learning style. And it takes best advantage of our live time together, to learn and explore together, and to share stories.