Exploring the Flipped Learning Approach within a Mathematics Higher Education Milieu in the Era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Abstract

We have entered the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, to be successful within this era, as teacher educators, we need to transform teaching and learning. We need to use pedagogy suitable for the Fourth Industrial Revolution. This paper draws attention to the future of mathematics teacher education by showcasing a flipped learning setting. This qualitative, interpretive study was framed using Activity Theory and was located at one university in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Mathematics education students were observed while learning within a flipped learning setting. Subsequently, a sample of participants were interviewed using a semi-structured interview schedule. Thematic coding and interpretive techniques were used to analyze the data generated. Four main themes emerged. These themes are: The flipped learning approach is inhibited by the lack of material resources, the flipped learning approach is dependent on lecturer professional development, the flipped learning approach saves time in the lecture room and the flipped learning approach encourages interaction and collaboration within the mathematics lecture room. Globally, these findings have relevance when considering the role of technology-based tools within mathematics Higher Education lecture rooms in the era of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.