By Emily Cook, TLS staff writer
When most students enter a classroom, they expect to hear a professor talking at them for three hours straight. But Professor Jeffrey Erochko is hoping to change that expectation by flipping the classroom and showing students the value of class time.
Erochko has been teaching structural engineering at Carleton University since 2013 with a research focus on earthquake engineering. In 2015, he won a New Faculty Excellence in Teaching Award for his commitment to teaching excellence and innovation. When he first developed his courses he says he decided to make them unique.
“I thought, if I’m going to do something interesting, I better do it the first time,” he says.
Erochko says he adopted a flipped classroom model of teaching, where the “lecture” happens at home in the form of videos or readings and class time is saved for more interactive, hands-on activities. He says this was tricky to implement because engineering students expect to be presented with information before working independently.
“Students are not used to preparing to come to class,” he says.
Erochko has his students watch YouTube videos with sample problems and complete readings and quizzes ahead of time. During his first year with the flipped classroom model he assigned textbook readings, which students didn’t like, so he adapted by giving them his notes on textbook chapters.
“One of the biggest challenges is to convince students that there is value in what you’re doing, in order to convince them to actually engage with the kind of learning context that you’re trying to get them to adapt to,” he says.
Erochko says students also need to be encouraged to come to class. “I think that’s the pitfall of the flipped class sometimes, that if they don’t perceive the lecture time as valuable then they just won’t come,” he says.
What works for Erochko is allowing students to get stuck on problems in class so they realize they need help.
“It’s much better for them to get that help from professionals in lecture or in tutorial than it is for them to try and struggle with that part on their own,” he says.
Erochko is now looking to incorporate an assignment where students post short videos on YouTube explaining an engineering concept or skill.
He says he is constantly adapting and changing his teaching every year, with student perception influencing the changes.
“If it’s something good I should be able to explain it to them in a way that they also agree it’s valuable,” he says.