Aaron Sams

Aaron Sams is one of the developers of the flipped classroom model for education, which seeks to shift lecture from classroom onto video so that teachers can dedicate class time to more interactive activities and extra help. Sams developed the idea with fellow chemistry teacher Jonathan Bergmann at Woodland Park High School, at first to help students who fell behind and later to completely change the structure of their classes. The popularity of the online videos with both students and those outside their classes has led Sams to speak at conferences and train teachers in the method. He was also awarded the 2009 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching for his work.

Biography Sams earned his bachelor's degree in biochemistry and a master's degree in education from Biola University. He began teaching in 2000, first at Los Altos High School in Hacienda Heights, California, and then at Woodland Park High School in Woodland Park, Colorado. It was in Colorado where Sams met Bergmann and began to develop the flipped classroom model.

Since Woodland Park, Sams served as co-chard of the Colorado State Science Standards Revision Committee, then moved on to become the director of digital learning at the Reformed Presbyterian Theological Seminary in Pittsburgh.

Currently, he is the founder of Sams Learning Designs, LLC, Turn About Learning LLC and The Flipped Learning Network. According to Sams, “Students can take these anywhere, even on a bus to a soccer game. They can get their chemistry lesson and they essentially have a pause button for their teacher. They can pause, write down questions and come prepared.” It also allows the student to move at their own pace and not letting them move on until they demonstrate mastery of the current concepts.

He has worked with other teachers interested in flipping their classrooms, especially in foreign language, leading training workshops on creating video lessons and other aspects of the method. He frequently speaks and conducts workshops on educational uses of screencasts and the flipped classroom concept.

Recognition Sams received the Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, the highest recognition for K-12 teachers in the United States.

Publications Flipped Learning: Gateway to Student Engagement (2014) Flip Your Classroom: Reach Every Student in Every Class Every Day (2012)