Flip the Script: Using the refined flipped classroom model to reduce the BAME attainment gap

Higher Education (HE) within the UK faces a number of significant challenges, including the need to rethink the way in which degree programmes are delivered to an increasingly culturally diverse cohort wherein white students no longer represent the majority of students but, in many instances, account for only the second or third largest ethnic group of students enrolled on a University course.Both Banks (2006) and Pewewardy (2008) observe that minority students differ in the ways they learn and communicate. However, as Morgan (2010) notes, these students only differ "from what a given culture considers appropriate or normal." Consequently, within the UK Higher Education sector, where the assumed norm has traditionally been based on provision of an education strategy targeted at a predominantly white student cohort, the concept of ?appropriate or normal? is now, rightly, being questioned. Indeed, it is an issue which HE institutions must address in order to respond effectively to this changing cultural environment. In this regard, the National Union of Students (NUS, 2009) noted that ?Black students are less likely to be satisfied with their educational experience and to attain first-class degrees in comparison to their White peers?, going on to observe that ?a simple explanation for the attainment and satisfaction gap of Black students does not exist??. The author argues that despite a number of NUS and HEA reports over the past decade that have highlighted the BAME attainment gap, few sector-wide initiatives have been undertaken so as to address these concerns. The underlying pedagogy of many HE institution liberal arts programmes has remained largely unchanged for decades. As such, the author suggests that courses which were originally designed for a cohort predominantly comprised of white students, remains the underlying model despite a distinct change in the cultural diversity of current HE student bodies. This paper examines the use of a refined flipped-classroom model across an entire undergraduate programme which has resulted in a significant reduction in the BAME attainment gap. Pioneered by Bergmann and Sams, the traditional flipped-classroom is not a ?model?, as such, but a means by which time may be saved (Tucker, 2012). It allows students to watch lectures on multiple occasions and at times that suit the individual. It also provides students with a cache of stored information to refer back to when it is time to revise. When refined, this approach provides an effective and inclusive mode for teaching and learning.