Pedagogical 2.0: the case of flipped reading

Numerous studies prove that modern, student-centric approaches to tertiary education, such as blended learning, can enhance the quality of learning. However, while teaching methods have evolved, the texts from which students study remain the same. Little research exists examining the relationship between blended learning and the traditional textbooks currently in use. This article suggests taking the student-centric approach one step further by not just flipping the classroom, but also flipping the textbooks in legal education. We anticipate that the benefits that flow to students from flipped classrooms can be further realised by flipped readings. We aim to subvert the traditional approach to legal texts and adapt to the challenges of the past few years, informed by modern pedagogy and guided by our students. Our proposed approach to achieving these ends is through a novel “flipped textbook”. The article aims to shed light on the justification for the novel approach, and the method by which we aim to flip the readings. Further, the article aims to broaden the literature on student-centric pedagogy beyond examining the “active agents” of education (teachers) and towards examining the “passive agents” (here, textbooks). We hope to inspire further research and innovation in student-centric text design.