Flipped teaching has become more and more popular at Blue Valley and other schools nationwide.

This year I have two classes that involve flipped teaching, and it has dramatically helped my grades in those subjects as well as bettered my understanding of the class material.

After watching a video, in my classes we come back and discuss new information with friends in class, work on projects, do labs or ask the teacher questions.

Flipped teaching allows me to play back the video as many times as I need in order to understand the information. While in a lecture-style class, if I’m confused while the instructor is teaching, I typically don’t have time to ask a question, or I feel uncomfortable asking him or her to slow down.

With a flipped classroom, you can go at your own pace and take as long as you need to learn new information, and you are provided with a 45-minute class period the next day to clarify any questions and get busy working on the material learned the day before.

Most students feel nervous stopping the teacher to ask questions during a lesson — especially in a fast-paced, advanced-level class.

If the video doesn’t cover something you may be confused about, it is easy to pause it and Google other resources or links to help you.

Flipped teaching has also helped me when preparing for tests because I can go back to early videos to revisit earlier information I may have forgotten from weeks prior.

The whole system allows you to watch and take notes at your own pace — instead of rushing to write things down while the teacher is going too fast.

I know flipped teaching isn’t always helpful and well-liked by everyone — it can be tough when your WiFi crashes or the video has technical difficulties and you can’t watch it in time before class.

Teachers who utilize flipped teaching need to have some sort of backup option for students who don’t benefit from this learning style.

For example, one of my teachers teaches the information in class but records herself while doing it to post online. Students can either go back and watch it if they don’t understand, or if they were absent from class, it’s an easy way to get caught up.

I hope this nontraditional learning style expands and continues throughout BV and finds new ways to help all students — not just those who currently benefit.