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Classroom discussions and video

Video can be used as a base for discussions or other activities and has many advantages over text. A common use of video is to let students partake in a prerecorded lecture and follow up with a lesson meeting. Students can engage in discussions during the meeting, which may help them deepen their knowledge about what may be difficult for them to learn on their own. This reverse lesson model is called flipped classroom and works well with video.

Video is a beneficial base for discussion

A video can initiate classroom discussions and encourage students to problematize the content with each other, the same way as an article can. However, videos have several advantages over text:

  • A predetermined time is required, independent of students' reading speed.
  • Information is denser.
  • Video is a well-known format for today's students.

Flipped classroom using video

The pedagogical model Flipped classroom is based on a process where the students start an activity at home and then complete it together in the classroom. A common way to conduct flipped classrooms is to let students study a recorded lecture before class.

An example of flipped classroom: the students study a video with possible associated instructional questions at home. When they come to class, the teacher and students can use the time to immerse themselves in the material. The purpose is to prepare the students before they arrive to class instead of the teacher having to use a lot of time to conduct a lecture. The time is rather distributed so that students can get more individual help with questions, in-depth study, and discussions.

You can read more about the flipped classroom method on the pages Flipped Classroom .