1. Student-Centred Active Learning What do students do in SCALE UP?
Produced by the University's Directorate of Learning Enhancement & Academic Development

2. SCALE UP - the key idea SCALE UP stands for:
Student-Centred Active Learning Environment for Upside-down Pedagogy
It turns what happens in the classroom 'upside-down' because preliminary knowledge is gained before class
In class activities build upon essential knowledge using interesting and meaningful activities

3. Structure of student engagement with topics
Pre-class
Gain key knowledge Check key knowledge Clarify understanding Develop deep understanding through active exploration of key concepts Review what has been learnt about the topic, develop notes and organise handouts, notes and other information to build a personal portfolio to support revision
In-class
Flipped Learning - More than online video lectures
In this screencast I present the concept of Flipped Learning. It is a high level and flexible idea allowing the lecturer plenty of room to adapt the approach to suit their own needs.
First let's dispense with a myth:-
Flipped learning involves students watching videos online before they attend class. Some academics even believe they need to convert all of their lectures into videos and ask students to watch these before attending class.
This is not necessary.
Video can be a very rich and engaging resource, but it is not the only way, by any means, of engaging students in pre-class learning. Long explanatory videos tend not to be engaging to the viewer.
There is a lot you can achieve with time-based media out of class that would otherwise use up a lot of in-class time.
However, instead, it is critical to think about how best to engage your students before class. You also need to be realistic about what they can learn factually or conceptually online. They will take some time to adjust to the flipped methods, especially if they haven't used flipped learning before, so don't be too ambitious.
If you do decide to use video, such as screencasts or videos you have found or made, be brief. Keep the videos and the students focussed. Think in terms of building engagement through short, sharp, interesting, high impact of videos describing key concepts, processes or professional situations that create a foundation for deeper exploration in-class.
But don't rely on videos. Your aim in pre-class activities is to develop foundational knowledge that can be developed when you are together in class.
In pre-class activities your aim is to bring the whole class up to speed with key foundational ideas and information and you can use any media or methods to achieve this: reading tasks, small group activities, or enquiry-based treasure hunts, workshop activities, peer review of project work are a few suggestions or what students can do to gain foundational knowledge.
Now let's focus on a single graphic that represents the outline process or logic of flipped learning design.
Preliminal Acquisition
The aim of the pre-class activity is to ensure all students acquire a foundational knowledge relating to the forthcoming class.
By undertaking an specified activity each student will learn about a key area of knowledge. This knowledge may be factual, procedural, conceptual or metacognitive. Metacognative knowledge refers to knowledge about their own capabilities including learning capability.
Students involved in pre-class activities may be involved in reading, watching or listening or in deeper learning using enquiry-based activities, proposition making, curation, and so forth.
Liminal Threshold Diagnostic
It is important to check what students have learnt from pre-class activities using diagnostic testing. This then informs what is done in class together.
Flipped learning falls down when students do not engage before class. The use of diagnostic testing, especially if it is run as a small multiple choice test online before class, allows the lecturer to monitor engagement in the pre-class work. The diagnostic reveals to the learner how well they have understood essential concepts and tells the academic what threshold concepts need to be addressed in class before engaging students more deeply.
If it is not possible to do an online pre-test, then flipped classes should begin with a brief diagnostic activity. 'Clickers' or app-based tools like Socrative or Nearpod can be used to do this, or even non-digital Socratic questioning.
Analysis of threshold concepts (Meyers & Land)
In class,
The tutor must ensure that all students are clear about foundational knowledge. However, the aim is not to start 'lecturing' at length. Brief explanations can be given, or peer group-based activities should be designed to apply and interrogate knowledge.
The lecturer has a facilitation role in class and works alongside students groups, listening and making interventions in group discussion or activities as necessary.
In class students are expected to actively engage collaboratively in problem or project based scenarios, applying and testing their learning together.
The flipped learning method should feed forward into Post-class activities
Students will be engaged in creative synthesis - For example, they will write up and organise their notes, rework and annotate diagrams and organise photographs, and sort out handouts. They may be expected to blog, add information to wikis, and review the work and outputs of other students. The use of student 'portfolios' therefore works well with Flipped Learning.
Students will finally orientate themselves to future topics and activities.
Post-class

4. SCALE UP - What you do Pre-class
Engage independently or in small groups to learn key knowledge for each topic in critical pre-class activities.
Undertake engaging activities that equip you for taking part in class. For example, you might be asked to,
view video demonstrations, interviews, mini-lectures;
read case studies and briefing papers of key concepts;
collate useful materials;
develop a draft plan for a project; or
make something!

5. SCALE UP - What you do Pre-class/In-class diagnostic
Your lecturer needs to be sure that you understand the key concepts from the pre-class activity
You will do a quick diagnostic test
for example,
a Blackboard multiple choice test, or
in class 5 minute quiz
Note: Diagnostic activities should not be confused with assessments where you are assigned marks. They are critical to your success as a learner however.

6. SCALE UP - What you do In-class (some examples)
Apply theoretical knowledge to real problems, scenarios and experiments
Work together to clarify and develop key concepts
Interact with tutors who will set you interesting challenges and support you through a series of activities
Collaborate with peers in table groups of 3 and 9 and actively contribute to team-based discussions and problem-solving
Interact with peers and tutors to receive constant ‘feedback in action’
Take responsibility in your team as Coordinator, Questioner, or Scribe
Produce and share your work using whiteboards, technology and other materials
View and constructively critique the work of your peers in and across teams

7. SCALE UP - What you do Post-class
Collate and develop notes on what you have learnt in pre-class and in-class activities
Manage your notes, handouts and products from each session for later use creating a portfolio of revision materials
Use discipline specific tools and methods so that learning serves as an apprenticeship-type experience

8. Why SCALE UP? University learning develops two key dimensions:
Your subject knowledge
Your capabilities that will help you to succeed in life personally and professionally
SCALE UP is meant to ensure your learning is made more,
effective - you learn more and learn it more deeply
interesting
meaningful and useful