Literature Review

The flipped classroom model is gaining attention among educational

leaders and teachers around the world. The amount of literature on
the research of the impact of flipped classroom on the learning process has
increased substantially in the past few years. Most of the findings of modern
literatures of the flipped classroom seemed to be favorable towards adopting
this approach, which calls for reversing the traditional lecture-based class
into a student-centered class. According to Sophia and Flipped Learning
Network, The number of teachers who have flipped a lesson in their classroom increased
from 48% in 2012 to 78% in 2014. Of those teachers who flip, 96% said they would recommend
the flipped classroom to a colleague. This proactive teaching strategy improves the
quality and the efficiency of the teaching and learning process (Demski,
2013; EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative, 2012). Flipped classrooms that are successful
embody these traits (Cohen & Brugar, 2013):
1.
2.
3.
4.

Students lead discussions in class of outside content studies and gain more knowledge.
Students demonstrate high order thinking skills.
Students apply content to contextually real situations.
Students mentor and collaborate with one another and own the learning and can review

videos as needed.
5. Students ask deep questions and motivate one another and get to really build a
relationship with the teacher.
6. Students engage in active learning and move from just sitting.
In language teaching, lecture-based instruction can be boring and students
tend to take a passive learning role. Those who are motivated and engaged
will do well, but others will fail because they are engaged in an active

communicative learning environment. In a flipped classroom, students view

videos, complete tutorials, read texts outside classroom, allowing more time
for oral production and interaction in class (Herreid & Schiller, 2013).
Flipping the classroom can help nurture active learning, and can also
demand more of both teachers and students (Berrett, 2012). Another
important aspect of the flip class is that it promotes autonomous language
learner training rather than a dramatic language improvement. Learners are
responsible for reviewing online materials in a self-directed manner,
attempting to gain foundational knowledge before class, and then actively
applying it in the collaborative classroom. (EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative,
2012). By shifting the passive lecture material to the at-home setting,
students are given the chance to review those materials in the time and
place that works best for their own needs, and to go back over important or
unclear details as often as needed until theyre well understood. This use of
class-time can create a classroom environment which uses collaborative and
constructivist learning; blending with the direct instruction used outside the
classroom (Tucker 2012). At the Defense Language Institute, the flip class will
allow students to review content of language lesson before they come to
class, and they can review material at home at their own pace. This will allow
more time to interact to the teacher and to their peers using the target
language while the teacher gets the opportunity to correct their mistakes.

Task Analysis

Effective Language teaching involves integrating all language

modalities such as reading, writing, listening and speaking. Task analysis is
an effective way to plan the teaching of language skills through breaking the
tasks into more manageable tasks while considering the learning styles of
the learners whither they are visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. Task
analysis is also the process used to determine the content to include in the
instruction. In order to design effective instructional tools the following
factors are essential to this process, knowledge of the students, their tasks,
and their learning environment. Task analysis comes as the right tool to
guide us not only while preparing and designing the material and conduct
feasibility test. I chose the topic analysis for my project. This type of analysis
studies how students operate on the proposed FLIP curricula. It will be also use as a technique to
discover the weaknesses of the material and the possibilities to improve them.
The goal of my project is to create online interactive computer-based
modules to be delivered as FLIP curricula in which students study beyond
classroom hours. These technology based modules will help students acquire new language
skills and boost the motivation levels of the students which will increase the language
proficiency of the students. This flipped approach will help the student study at their own pace at
home, while the classroom time is dedicated to practice the acquired language skills with the
teachers and peers. The topic analysis will allow me to define cognitive knowledge since it
defines the procedures, the rules, and the principles. When using flip classroom for language
learners, one must assess the cognitive knowledge of the learner and teacher, gather facts about

the learner attitude towards technology, and define procedures and process. Therefore, after
identifying the learners style, student will be advised to go through a diagnostic assessment
session with the schools diagnostic assessment specialist in order to identify weaknesses. Based
on the diagnostic assessment report, student will be referred to the project site and will be
assigned lessons while targeting students weak skills. The project will consist of a web page
containing several language modules. Each module will integrate all language skills to include
listening and reading lessons. The student will be provided with a lesson plan to follow while
preparing the lesson at home. Here is a layout of the tasks.

1. Task 1: Identifying students learning styles: (Learning style are determined during
the first week of the Arabic program and made available to teaching teams.)
a. Subtask: Consult the learning styles to tailor instructions and assigned proper
tasks.
2. Task 2: Identify students weakness and level.
a. Subtask: Student attends diagnostic assessment session with DA specialist.
b.

Subtask: DA specialist provides thorough report identifying students

weakness and proficiency level according to the ILR scale.

3. Task 3: collect authentic teaching material

a. Subtask: Record audio passages for listening authentic material through
creative common source and permitted sources.
b.

Subtask: Capture videos for listening authentic material through creative

common source and permitted sources.

c. Subtask: Collect authentic reading material through creative common sources

and permitted sources.
4. Task 4: Organize material by ILR levels:
a. Subtask: Identify lessons ILR level.
b.

Subtask: Design tasks and activities for the collected material and upload
it to UCAT.

c. Subtask: Verify that lesson is correlated with the objective of the unit, and
able to target the weakness of the student.
d.

Subtask: Assign lessons to student.

5. Task 4: Content delivery

a.Subtask: Software needed
i.

Internet Browser: Availability of internet browser.

ii.

Audio player: Must have audio player installed to run the audio.

b.

Subtask: Delivery method:

i.

Content is made available on the Schools learning management

system, SAKAI.

6. Task 5: Students are assigned daily lesson

a. Subtask: Click the link to go to the chosen lesson slide web-based
application.
b.

Subtask: Navigate the lessons

i.

Complete lead in activity

ii.

Complete reading activity

iii.

Complete listening passage

iv.

Complete grammar review

7. Task 6: Start the self-evaluation tasks

a. Subtask: Click to display end of lesson quiz
b.

Subtask: Choose from multiple choice

c. Subtask: Answer true or false questions

d.

Subtask: Submit test

8. Task 7: Students Report about lesson learned in class.

a. Subtask: Teacher asks to demonstrate learned lesson in speaking, writing, or
presentations demo.
9. Task 7: Feedback given
a. Read feedback
b.

Repeat task 6 as needed

Students are required to have access to computer at home and internet access. Basic
computers skills are required to run the module lessons. These modules are designed to deliver
tailored lessons to students who want to excel in the language. The proficiency level for the
students is important since I am using topic analysis. The cognitive skills are detrimental in
choosing the best activities that will suit the learners. The proposed lessons will boost students
motivation levels due to many factors. Their attitudes towards learning the language will
improve because they are able to take control of their learning process with the ability to review
the lecture at their own pace. They will build on previously acquired knowledge, so these lessons
will improve their language skills due to frequent exposure to the language. The lessons also
satisfy needs of students with different learning styles. In conclusion, the topic analysis proved to
be the right tool to outline my project and gave me great insights on how to design it.

Goals
The goal of my project is to improve the Arabic language proficiency level for students
studying Arabic at the Defense Language Institute (DLI). This can be done by supplementing the
Arabic Basic Course with authentic listening and reading material delivered through and
interactive mean. These file will be delivered using audio and video file uploaded to the schools
learning management system, so students will not only cover the material at home, but they will
be able to maximize the use of target language in class since they will have more time to
practice. There are objectives involved and they range from cognitive to affective. As mentioned
above, the primary goal is to boosts students proficiency levels; however, the teachers are also
targeted as they will be trained on how to deliver the material to their students. DLI calls for the
use of technology as an integral part of the language teaching, so this program will help
minimize the impact of the lack of technology use.

Objectives
The objectives and domain levels of the instructional tasks and topics.
Topic/Task
Identifying students learning styles
(For Instructor to determine how the
program can be suitable to students)

Identify students weakness and level.

(For teacher to determine which
material to provide to students.)
Prepare authentic teaching material

Organize material by ILR levels

Content delivery
Students are assigned daily lesson
according to course objectives.

Start the self-evaluation process

Report and provide feedback in a

communicative way in class.

Objective

Domain and level

Upon completion of the

students learning style survey,
teacher will be able to analyze
the learning preferences and
adopt a proper teaching
method while using the
interactive tools.
Upon completing this tasks
teacher can rate the material
and ensure students getting
material appropriate to their
level.
By preparing the material
teacher can ensure the content
is available to students to study
at home.
By identifying the ILR levels,
teachers will be able to assign
content according to student
level.
By determining the delivery
mean, students will be able to
use proper tools.
By identifying the objective of
the lesson, teachers will be
able to explain the lesson and
activate students schemata and
take control of the lesson.
After completion of the
evaluation process the student
will be able to identify their
knowledge of the Arabic
language, and they will
communicate properly with
their teacher in class and
inquire about what they missed
at home.
After reviewing lesson at
home, students will
communicate using target

CognitiveKnowledge &
Cognitive-Evaluation

CognitiveComprehension

CognitiveKnowledge &
CognitiveApplication
CognitiveKnowledge &
Cognitive-Analysis
CognitiveApplication
CognitiveComprehension

Cognitive-Synthesis
& CognitiveEvaluation

Cognitive-Evaluation
&
Cognitive-

language in class while

practicing what they learned.

Application

References:
Berrett, D. (2012). How Flipping the classroom can improve the
traditional lecture. Chronicle of Higher Education. Retrieved
from http://chronicle.com/article/How-Flipping-the-Classroom/130857/
Cohen, S. and Brugar, K. (2013). I want that flipping the classroom.
Middle Ground, April 2013. Retrieved from
https://www.amle.org/portals/0/pdf/mg/apr2013.pdf.
Demski, J. (2013). 6 Expert tips for flipping the classroom. Campus
Technology.
Retrieved
from
http://campustechnology.com/articles/2013/01/23/6-expert-tips-for-flippingthe-classroom.aspx
EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative (2012). 7 things you should know about
flipped classrooms. Retrieved from
http://net.educause.edu/ir/library/pdf/ELI7081.pdf.
Herreid, C. F. & Schiller N. A. (2013), Case Studies and the Flipped
Classroom. Journal of College Science Teaching, 42 (5), 62-65. Retrieved from
http://sciencecases.lib.buffalo.edu/cs/pdfs/Cases_Flipped_Classroom.pdf
Tucker, B. (2012). The Flipped Classroom. Education Next, 12 (1).
Retrieved from http://educationnext.org/the-flipped-classroom/

Sophia & Flipped Learning Network. (2014). Growth in flipped learning: Transitioning the focus
from teachers to students for educational success. Retrieved
fromhttp://flippedlearning.org/cms/lib07/VA01923112/Centricity/Domain/41/New%20Flipclass
%20Survey.pdf.