I chose the terms sink or swim as they stuck to me from the EDIM 516-The Flipped Classroom Discussion Take 2 clip as advice for any teacher interested in beginning to implement the flipped model into your classroom. Whatever capacity you start at, you have to do what you need to do and what works for you and you will either sink or swim. HOWEVER, you have a chance for success not only for you, but your students and their learning. One thing I have learned throughout the course of my summer classes is, that anything I can do to put my students in charge of their learning and their understanding will only benefit them and myself in the long run. So whether your lesson sinks or swims, there is a chance for success and don't give up.
I had heard the term flipped classroom before, but wasn't sure exactly what it entailed. As it turns out, every person defines and uses it differently in their classroom. There isn't a manual that tells you exactly how to use it in your classroom nor is there a model that will fit every group of students or teacher. Of course there are great books and online videos or tutorials as well as classes that one can take to learn more about this model, but how you use it and what you choose to do with it is open to your interpretation. The following links, blogs and videos I found from searching #flipclass on Twitter would be great starting points for me if I was about to implement this model into my classroom.
4 Tips for Flipped Learning: Joe Hirsch gives four tips for those starting out with the flipped classroom model. The tips are basic, yet he also goes into detail for each of the tips. These are great for beginners and veterans of the flipped learning model alike as they are the foundation for success.
These are his 4 Tips with my brief synopsis followed in parenthesis.
- Start with lesson goals, then build out. (Common sense right? In other words, don't make a pretty, glittery video and then realize it is too long and doesn't meet your goals. Work the other way around.)
- Use rich imagery and direct language. (You aren't going to carry on like you might during a lecture, you need to be concise, clear and provide imagery that is going to grasp your students attention and keep them engaged.)
- Make videos that reveal what students know. (Make sure you have something set up that will show that your students are actually watching the videos and taking away what you are delivering. Embed a quiz, discussion or some sort of activity at the closing.)
- Bring parents on board. (Inform parents of what you are doing in the classroom. The sooner you do this, the sooner you will have their support and understanding.)
Tips for Successfully Navigating the Flipped Classroom, by my Students: Stacey Roshan gave her students an end of the year assignment in her AP Calculus class in which they were to give tips for upcoming students. Each of the two clips included have four to five tips for students which include:
- Watch the videos when you are alert. (Not right before bed time.)
- Ask questions when you don't understand. (They say their teacher is very approachable and will help clarify and questions or misunderstandings.)
- Minimize your distractions. (Close out other tabs and focus on your work.)
- Use the embedded quizzes to ask questions when you are unsure.
- Write out the problems, they will be your notes and will help you later on.
- If you're nervous about the flipped classroom, don't be. The face to face time in class is very valuable.
- Watch the videos the day you are assigned them. You will only get further and further behind if you don't.
- Don't be afraid to pause the videos to absorb what you have just been told or to write down notes. They are there for a reason.
- Use the videos, any packets given and all notes for review. Chances are you will see similar problems on your exam.
2 Essential Documents for Flipped Classroom: Bethany Petty includes a Student Letter/Contract which outlines her expectations for her classroom in regards to the flipped model. She will be the first in her school implementing the flipped model and wants the students as well as parents to be prepared ahead of time as to what this will look like. Both parents and students will be required to sign stating they have read and understand. She plans to file this for insurance throughout the year. She also has a Parent Letter which goes into detail to her planned approach and how the students will be learning. Both would be great models to have starting out in a district where few teachers are implementing this model.
Verso App Gives Teachers a Powerful Assessment Tool for Student Engagement: Mercy Pilkington explains how the Verso app can be used to assess student engagement. It allows students to ask structured questions as well as gives the teacher discussion points for the day's lesson which are focused on the questions or struggles students are having throughout the lesson. I haven't heard of this app before, but it is one I would definitely want to look into if using the flipped model in my classroom.
Check out the app on their site here:Verso- Flip Your Thinking
Ashley, I could not agree more with your sentiment "that anything I can do to put my students in charge of their learning and their understanding will only benefit them and myself in the long run." Empowering students to take control of their own learning and achieve their goals in a way that is most comfortable and suitable for their own individual learning style is both nobel and essential as an educator looking for ways to engage ALL learners in the classroom. Too often educators try to make a one-size-fits-all approach to learning fit in the classroom, and I think we are now realizing that if we want to fully engage all learners, we must shift this paradigm to be more student friendly.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Erin! As learners ourselves, we know that we are all approach our classes and how we understand differently, we just need to remember this as we continue teaching. It's always easier to just make a cookie cutter lesson, but in the end, we end up losing students along the way!
ReplyDeleteYou chose a very powerful image to match your message... it's really great. I enjoyed reading your post as you provided a very comprehensive overview of the flipped classroom as well as numerous links... thanks for the great resources. If we have the opportunity to make changes to benefit our students then we need to at least make an attempt, and as you point out, we may fail but at least we tried.
ReplyDeleteIt would be another great learning point for our students to see that sometimes we try things and don't succeed as well, but we did try and give it our best. Students need to see and realize we are just as human as they are.
DeleteAshley,
ReplyDeleteI really liked your statement that “anything I can do to put my students in charge of their learning and their understanding will only benefit them and myself in the long run.” I agree with you that this is so true and so important to remember as an educator. The flipped classroom is one possible way to shift the focus and the control from you, the teacher, to the students themselves. I also really liked the resources you included – especially the one with the advice from students to future students!
As a high school English teacher of 11th and 12th grade students, I am always striving to make sure my students are prepared for college. One way the flipped classroom model could help is by reinforcing the idea that it is absolutely necessary to do work individually in advance to prepare for class. In some more traditional high school models, class time is used to present new information and homework is used to practice. In college, much of the students’ homework is pre-class work. Again thinking from an English perspective, students must read the assigned novel before class, consider possible interpretations, analyze the novel, and have important passages marked in their text. This is the only way they will be able to learn from the teacher’s lecture or discussion that will take place when then attend class. By introducing students to the idea of a flipped classroom earlier in their education, they may be more prepared for this type of college-level expectation.
~Alison
Alison,
DeleteI could see how this could really benefit high school juniors and seniors, especially for college preparation. It would better prepare them for the environment they will walk into come the following fall which in turn should help them be successful with the undertaking of their courses.
I love the fact that there are now resources that make the kids check in when they are doing the quizes and those grades can be easily placed into a grade book. You know who is ready for the next day before they even come in the door. It all really does give the instructor an advantage on who did their homework for the first time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I found out there were resources to hold students accountable and allow students to let you know what they are thinking throughout the online components was probably the moment where I began to think I could test this and see how it works. It would be much easier than waiting to collect the homework when students walk in, then looking it over to see who completed it and who didn't and then checking it to see who wrote down valid answers or just wrote to make it look like an answer. I'm sure it is time consuming to begin, but it seems the advantages after the initial creation would far outweigh the time put into it.
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