CHICAGO, March 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, the Flipped Learning Global Initiative (FLGI), a worldwide coalition of educators, researchers, technologists, professional development providers and education leaders, announced the first adopters of the Flipped Learning International Training Standards. Nineteen K-12 schools and higher education institutions signed agreements to adopt the standards including: Clintondale High School, the first fully flipped high school in the US; MEF University, the first fully flipped higher education institution in the world; and the University of Adelaide, ranked in the top one percent of the world's universities. The first adopters include: high schools, middle schools, primary schools, colleges and universities in the UK, Spain, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Portugal, Turkey, and the United States of America.

"These K-12 schools and higher ed institutions have led the adoption of Flipped Learning around the world, and they are now leading the education community into the Flipped Learning 3.0 era," said Jon Bergmann, Chief Academic Officer at the Flipped Learning Global Initiative. "Each is led by visionary leaders who recognize that Flipped Learning has evolved far beyond the prevailing understanding and practices in the typical flipped classroom. We are delighted to recognize them as Flipped Learning 3.0 model schools." 

The 19 first Flipped Learning model schools are:

The Flipped Learning Global Standards Project was launched in response to the growing adoption of Flipped Learning worldwide. Increased international collaboration among Flipped Learning researchers, practitioners, and administrators revealed the need for a common framework, terminology, and defined best practices.

"It is important to have global standards, which can bridge all of the practitioners and researchers around the globe. With global standards, it is easier for people to communicate, cooperate, share, or even compete," said Gwo-Jen Hwang, Chair Professor, Graduate Institute of Digital Learning and Education National Taiwan University of Science and Technology.

In addition to adopting the International training standards, 18 have agreed to collaborate with delegates from 47 countries to develop an international Flipped Learning framework for teachers, administrators, and students.    

"All of us early adopters have so much to offer, and having a message that is consistent, well organized, and tied to learning research is imperative in our quest to be able to transform teaching, schools, and lives," said Greg Green, Superintendent, Clintondale Community Schools.

The catalyst for the Global standards project was international data collected by FLGI indicating that as high as 80 percent of Flipped Learning practitioners and trainers are 3-5 years behind current worldwide best practices. "Today, most Flipped Learning occurs in the silo of a classroom, a school, a school district, or even a country.  We've found that the typical Flipped Learning practitioner is behind the curve because they are isolated," said Errol St. Clair Smith, Director of Global Development at the Flipped Learning Global Initiative. "The most advanced Flipped Learning practitioners are actively collaborating internationally. These 19 schools and universities signal that Flipped Learning has entered the age of synergistic collaboration and the era of practicing Flipped Learning in a silo is coming to an end."

The Flipped Learning Global Standards Project is co-chaired by Dr. Eric Mazur at Harvard's Graduate School of Education; Dr. Caroline Fell Kurban at MEF University; Dr. Raul Santiago Campion, University of La Rioja, Spain; Dr. Gwo-Jen Hwang from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology; and Jon Bergmann, Chief Academic Officer, Flipped Learning Global Initiative.

The initial response to the standards initiative has been robust. "MEF University was established based on the fully Flipped Learning approach and has been flipping all courses for four years; we understand the importance of training to support the development of effective Flipped Learning. For this reason, we have chosen to support and adopt the flipped framework for training and become part of the Global Standards Project," said Dr. Muhammed Şahin, president MEF University.

"Here at the University of Adelaide in South Australia and particularly in the School of Oral Health, the excitement is building as the Global Standards Project is about to begin. In our oral health school, we have led the way not only for our University but for the whole higher education sector to embrace Flipped Learning across disciplines and contexts. We feel so privileged to have this opportunity to serve as global delegates who will work together to set the standards of what it means to learn and teach in a true flipped classroom way," said Sophie Karanicolas, Associate Professor, Academic Lead, University of Adelaide CPD. 

About the Flipped Learning Global Initiative

The Flipped Learning Global Initiative, (FLGI) aims to fill the growing global need for collaboration across borders in three domains: evolving best practices in Flipped Learning, research curation and distribution, and technology selection and implementation.

To participate in the Global Standards Community or get a full list of FLGI's Global Standard for Flipped Learning, contact: Errol St. Clair Smith, Director of Global Development, at 949-677-7381, 191690@email4pr.com, or go to http://flglobal.org/

SOURCE Flipped Learning Global Initiative

Related Links

http://www.flglobal.org