Washington college instructors are 'flipping' the way they teach

For years, Scott Freeman taught Biology 180 — a gateway class — by standing in front of his students at the University of Washington and lecturing about biological systems, evolution and the chromosome theory of inheritance.

And Freeman always received great reviews from students, even though 17 percent routinely flunked his class — a failure rate he considered "gruesome."

Freeman knew what was wrong: His students weren't adept at applying information in a new context to solve problems, and he told them so. But one day, a student threw the ball back in his court. He just wasn't doing enough to prepare her for the tests — she needed his help to practice.