The flipped classroom model requires students to do preparation out of class, online, to prepare for hands-on activities in class. The model eliminates the need for lectures, which can be ineffective in enhancing learning and allows more classroom time for motivating activities shown to improve learning. The flipped classroom is currently receiving much attention from teachers, administrators and researchers. The project team is determining how to understand and replicate a flipped classroom model that is best for students and teachers.
While education systems and practices may differ significantly between nations, educators around the globe can learn from teaching and administrative practices in other countries to the benefit of their students at home. The internet can facilitate the sharing of knowledge, but can’t substitute for face-to-face conversation and the direct experience of another culture’s education system.
In 1999, ASU’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College partnered with the Osborn Elementary School District in central Phoenix, Arizona, to create a program addressing two goals simultaneously: How can ASU better prepare teacher candidates for their first year on the job, and how can a school district nurture and train new teachers who might then choose to remain within that district’s faculty. This initiative would later be named iTeachAZ. (Note: Beginning with the 2019–20 school year, iTeachAZ was superseded by MLFTC Professional Pathways.)