On April 14, junior Alex Shaffer, also known as @pookihead, tweeted, “I spontaneously wrote a lengthy blog post on #flippedlearning #flippedclassroom on my school blog that basically no one will see.”

Little did she know that, in less than a month, teachers from Slovakia to Singapore would read her blog post on the new educational fad, “flipped” learning.

“When I was writing the blog post, I honestly didn’t have the intention of it getting as much popularity as it did in the flipped classroom community… Having 500 views from other countries is rewarding,” said Shaffer.

Unbeknownst to her at the time, Shaffer’s tweet expressing her belief that no one would see her blog post ultimately sparked a chain reaction with worldwide ramifications. A teacher in Arizona who followed the #flippedclassroom tag retweeted Alex’s blog, followed by a retweet from Dan Welty, Shaffer’s physics teacher. Before long, Jon Bergmann, a pioneer of the learning movement, tweeted out the blog post to his nine thousand plus followers.

“When I first read her blog, it was great because she really saw the big picture. She saw that she would be able to be more responsible for her own learning, and really reap the benefits of that. It was definitely great to see her really get it and what my goals have been for the class all year, “ said Welty, who has instituted flipped learning into his classroom over the past year.

As of May 8, Shaffer’s blog received views from Canada, France, Australia, Germany, the United Kingdom, Slovakia, Singapore, Finland, and Ireland. What started out as Shaffer doubting whether anyone would read her post has turned in to a global audience.

“At least in teacher Twitter circles, it’s always teachers posting about what they’re doing, what they think their students’ feedback is… It was really valuable for a lot of teachers to see and hear her perspective,” said Welty.

Welty’s flipped classroom has generated mixed opinions from the students learning in it. Senior Mark Hatem, in a piece that came out November 27 in the Harbinger, criticized the flipped classroom for putting too much of an onus on students to take responsibility for their own learning. On the other hand, Shaffer has enjoyed the flipped learning experience, and feels as though she is learning better because of it.

“I’m going to go home before a test and re-watch all the videos because its like getting lectured again and I can just be in my pajamas or in my bed instead of having to go to my teacher,” said Shaffer.

“This class, even though I may not have had a straight A all year, is definitely my favorite,” wrote Shaffer in her blog post, which can be found on physicsphairytale.blogspot.com.