#  The hiccups, humility, and benefits of deciding to flip a course 

 



   ![Margo Seltzer](/sites/g/files/omnuum12666/files/styles/hwp_1_1__960x960_scale/public/2026-03/seltzer%20copy.jpg?itok=37b06S4N) 

 

**Margo Seltzer, Herchel Smith Professor of Computer Science**, flipped part of her course, CS161, "Operating Systems."  
  
*What is a flipped classroom? Reversing the typical lecture and homework components of a course – students engage with video lectures/online materials in advance to free up class time for more experiential or hands-on activities.*

## The benefits

She's sold on the benefits of flipping – significantly more student engagement, a better synthesis of the different parts that comprise a course, and more engagement with the students who can benefit most from instructor feedback.

## The challenges

Preparing materials for a flipped class requires significantly more time and making the most of in-class time requires excellent teaching staff who can think on their feet and engage authentically with students.



 

##  Takeaways and best practices 

 



 ### Learning takes place by doing, not by listening to me. 

 

 ### Pre-class Google Forms

Pre-class Google Forms ([like this one](https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1Tr2LtlrRFKR2zrkcL-oVqMjCemRBghuj0A4PYmyvdPs/viewform)) are AWESOME. They let me engage with students in an entirely different way and gather lots of interesting data.



 

 ### Flipping is time intensive

Flipping is time intensive, but you don’t have to do for every single class – you can do it for one class, a few classes, one class a week or the whole semester. In any case, try it!



 

 ### There will inevitably be hiccups.

There will inevitably be hiccups. I’ve found that full transparency, honesty, and a lot of humility will help to mitigate the disasters that can happen.



 

  

 

 

 

### Bottom line 

After flipping, she is never going back. “Preparing the coordinated materials makes me think much more deeply about what I'm teaching, how I'm teaching, and why I'm teaching. The end product is therefore better thought out.”



 

##  Related research 

 



  [### Second Life in higher education: Assessing the potential for and the barriers to deploying virtual worlds in learning and teaching

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_eric_primary_EJ836122) Second Life (SL) is currently the most mature and popular multi-user virtual world platform being used in education. Through an in-depth examination of SL, this article explores its potential and the barriers that multi-user virtual environments present... 

 

 

   [### Avatar-Mediated Networking: Increasing Social Presence and Interpersonal Trust in Net-Based Collaborations

 ](https://hollis.harvard.edu/permalink/f/1mdq5o5/TN_cdi_proquest_journals_199483011) This study analyzes the influence of avatars on social presence, interpersonal trust, perceived communication quality, nonverbal behavior, and visual attention in Net‐based collaborations using a comparative approach. 

 

 

  

 

 [ More Research arrow\_circle\_right ](/intopracticeresearch) 

 

 

 

##  Related resource 

 



  [###  2023 HILT Conference, “Teaching in the Age of AI: Nurturing Connections and Empowering Learners”. 

 ](https://hilt.harvard.edu/news-and-events/annual-conference/) Interested in discussing the impact of artificial intelligence on classrooms at Harvard? Be sure to register for the 2023 HILT Conference, “Teaching in the Age of AI: Nurturing Connections and Empowering Learners”. 

 

 

   [### Digital Scholarship at Harvard University

 ](https://dssg.fas.harvard.edu/) Drop in during Digital Scholarship Support Group Office Hours with questions. DSSG members will suggest tools and approaches and connect you with relevant resources, organizations, and researchers. 

 

 

  

 

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 See also:- [ SEAS ](/featured-faculty/seas)
- [ Into Practice Issues ](/practice-categories/practice-issues)
- [ active learning ](/activelearning)
- [ blended approaches ](/topics/blended)