Classroom as Workshop

So-called “flipped” classrooms are increasingly popular in postsecondary settings because they give students greater ownership of their learning and foster collaborative instruction. However, these approaches can present difficulties for instructors, who can feel that their expertise and authority is being displaced, and for students, who can find flipped classrooms confusing. Using the metaphor of the craftsman’s workshop as a guide, this essay presents a flipped classroom model that focuses on the “craft” of learning, in which instructors and students play specific roles and work together to understand educational content.