Reflections on the Past, Present, and Future of Flipped Learning: Interview with Kenan Dikilitaş

by | Mar 18, 2024

In this insightful dialogue, David López-Villanueva interviews with Kenan Dikilitaş from University fo Bergen, Norway to discuss the development and prospects of the Flipped Learning (FL) model in relation to the introduction of Artificial Intelligence (AI). 

Kenan Dikilitaş begins by emphasizing the transformative impact Flipped Learning has had in higher education. This pedagogical approach, which reverses traditional teaching by having students complete preparatory work before class, fosters an active learning environment in various ways. He underscores how this model not only prepares students by increasing their prior knowledge but also enhances their motivation and participation in the face-to-face or synchronous classes.

Dikilitaş highlights that pre-class exposure to content helps students assess their understanding, set clear expectations, and participate more actively during class. He notes that through managing their learning activities before class, students cultivate essential self-regulation skills, introducing a sense of responsibility and ownership over their education. By knowing what to expect, students experience reduced uncertainty and better preparation for academic challenges. Dikilitaş also stresses the delicate balance required to maintain student interest. Without this balance, students might feel overly autonomous and disengage from attending classes. He points out that it is important to design preparatory tasks that stimulate curiosity and ensure active participation in class discussions.

Turning to Artificial Intelligence (AI), Dikilitaş discusses its potential to revolutionize education while also presenting significant challenges and ethical considerations. AI, according to Dikilitaş, is a valuable resource for students, offering answers, ideas, and knowledge expansion autonomously. AI provides immediate assistance, which can motivate students to start and complete tasks promptly, thereby reducing procrastination. He observes that with AI support, students tend to prolong their engagement in completing the assigned tasks and maintain focus. He argues that AI enables diverse FL formats, accommodating individual, collaborative, or autonomous learning, which can meet students’ preferences and needs.

However, Dikilitaş also highlights the need for proper training for both students and teachers to effectively utilize AI. He underscores the necessity for teachers to craft tasks that encourage responsible AI use without indiscriminate prohibition. Given that AI responses are not always accurate, students must learn to critically evaluate the information provided. Dikilitaş also explains how AI can enhance student interactions with educational content and foster critical skills. Therefore, he refers to Bloom’s Taxonomy, explaining that AI can manage tasks involving lower-level cognitive skills (remembering and understanding), which allows students to advance to higher-level critical thinking stages. Dikilitaş advocates for a hybrid approach where students engage in creation, evaluation, and interpretation stages without AI, ensuring the development of critical thinking skills. He encourages using AI for autonomous preparation, promoting the formulation of open-ended questions and diverse responses to enhance critical reflection.

Dikilitaş states that AI can offer educational materials in various formats (text, audio, video), improving accessibility for students with different needs. He points out AI’s capability to customize content to individual student needs and provide personalized support. He mentions the integration of playful elements into education through AI, making learning more engaging for younger students.

To highlight the role of the teacher in the new educational paradigm, Dikilitaş emphasizes the key role of teachers in integrating AI and FL and suggests that teachers help students navigate the ethical implications of AI use, teaching responsible practices and critical evaluation of AI-generated information. Teachers should design activities that leverage AI for lower-level tasks, while focusing on higher-order thinking skills in class. To this end, Dikilitaş advocates for fostering an environment that promotes self-directed learning, guiding students to effectively use AI as a complementary tool where they validate their own content or interacts critically with AI to produce diverse perspectives.

On the other hand, he highlights the need for ongoing teacher training to stay well-informed of new AI tools and methodologies, supported by institutional resources. Teachers must ensure AI tools are accessible and support diverse learning needs, fostering inclusive education. In integrating AI tools, Dikilitaş insists on addressing several ethical aspects:

  • Ensuring the secure and confidential management of students’ personal and academic information.
  • Maintaining student control over their learning process, with AI as a supportive tool.
  • Clearly communicating how AI works, its benefits, and limitations to enable informed and responsible use.

Dikilitaş concludes that Flipped Learning and AI, when integrated thoughtfully, can create a more interactive, personalized, and efficient educational experience. He stresses the importance of adequate training, ethical considerations, and effective engagement strategies for the successful integration of AI in the FL model. The role of teachers remains central in guiding ethical use, facilitating critical thinking, and supporting autonomous learning, thereby enhancing the educational process.