Why I Flipped My Classroom
When I first heard about the flipped classroom, I was a little skeptical. I really wasn't for sure if I thought it would work. I listened to a colleague who was excited about this concept and thought I would try to re-think my room. I read some articles about this concept (I have linked these to this page) and found a way to "flip" my room.
I must say that my classroom is not set up like your traditional core rooms. We have several hands-on projects and work through terms to learn it. Our district utilizes Google Classroom as a web based classroom. In the past, I used this in a small capacity in my room. This year I changed that.
This year all my classes log in to Google Classroom for assignments. They submit all work to me through Google as well. This has eliminated that horrible waste of paper and printer nightmares. The benefit from this is that I do not have mountains of papers to carry back and forth. I log in and grade and log out. Amazing!
I also revamped my teaching methods (here comes the flip). In the past, I would walk my students through a lesson. This is a long and tedious process. However, as any instructor knows, I have different levels of learners in my room. Those students that were at or past the lesson, had to wait patiently as I walked those who have never used the software through the steps. Those that have never used the software became frustrated because we had to go through steps quickly because I have only 50 minutes (give or take) to get the instruction across. Needless to say we had to go over concepts several times.
I went to a conference in Rolla last year and learned how to use Screen-casto-matic. Other school districts in the state were using this for flipped rooms and for bell ringers. At the time I found it very interesting, but didn't know how I would use this application in my room. Then my colleague told me how she was flipping her classroom by recording lessons for students as homework the night before. I knew I couldn't give "homework" lessons. Most of our students do not have the software we use in class, but I thought I would record my lessons that we do each day. I requested headsets from the students and we were set.
Now the flip...I have my students come in each day and log in. They go to my webpage that you are on right now. They then choose their classroom. They have the class calendar.This allows them to see what assignment they have for each day. They can also choose the classroom tutorials. Here I have linked the screen-cast for the lessons in my classroom. Students choose the lesson for the day. They plug in their headsets and begin. They will listen and work as I step them through the assignment. This allows them the ability to stop, rewind and review a lesson individually. No one is waiting, no one is frustrated or embarrassed, and so far no one has shut down mentally. I now have the freedom to help my students more. I can monitor what they are doing and work one on one with them. When they complete their assignment, students log into Google and submit their work to me. I receive it automatically. There are less mistakes from losing the work, not turning it in or the printer failing. I have seen an increase in turned in and completed work. In addition to the tutorials, students take quizzes and tests using my Socrative classroom. This is a web-based program that students sign into and take the tests that I have created. The program then grades and submits a report back to me that lets me see what concepts students understood and which ones we may have to go over again.
I was amazed....this is all I can say. Having taught my subject for 21 years, I have seen my students struggle if they did not understand the concept. When I first began this classroom flip, the results surprised me. The first day we began, students that I had that were struggling and were not passing my class, finished an assignment correctly for the first time. At first, I will be honest, I thought it was just a lucky shot. It was something new. However, we are now into the 2nd quarter and the results are still amazing. My students are working at their pace and without distractions. I have had my special education students thank me and tell me that this is great. I feel blessed and like I truly have helped them learn something. My regular education students are also equally appreciative. I even have a few repeat students that did not succeed the first time and are doing well this time.
It has made my home bound experience so much easier as well. My students are not losing that type of instruction and the tutorials can help my teachers there help the students. My students that are absent or sick can get their work finished and still get instruction because I am the one instructing on the tutorial.
So for the naysayers, I say try it. Just try it. It may not work for your class. But if it does, you will find you're in a whole new world. Now I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you that it means you will probably grade more. You may still have to print if your school doesn't have an interface like Google Classroom, but I believe it would still be worth it.
If you have any questions, please email me. I will try to help you in any way I can. If you are a parent, I will answer any questions that you may have.
Sites on the subject:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2012/12/11/what-is-the-flipped-classroom-model-and-why-is-it-amazing-with-infographic/
http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/
I must say that my classroom is not set up like your traditional core rooms. We have several hands-on projects and work through terms to learn it. Our district utilizes Google Classroom as a web based classroom. In the past, I used this in a small capacity in my room. This year I changed that.
This year all my classes log in to Google Classroom for assignments. They submit all work to me through Google as well. This has eliminated that horrible waste of paper and printer nightmares. The benefit from this is that I do not have mountains of papers to carry back and forth. I log in and grade and log out. Amazing!
I also revamped my teaching methods (here comes the flip). In the past, I would walk my students through a lesson. This is a long and tedious process. However, as any instructor knows, I have different levels of learners in my room. Those students that were at or past the lesson, had to wait patiently as I walked those who have never used the software through the steps. Those that have never used the software became frustrated because we had to go through steps quickly because I have only 50 minutes (give or take) to get the instruction across. Needless to say we had to go over concepts several times.
I went to a conference in Rolla last year and learned how to use Screen-casto-matic. Other school districts in the state were using this for flipped rooms and for bell ringers. At the time I found it very interesting, but didn't know how I would use this application in my room. Then my colleague told me how she was flipping her classroom by recording lessons for students as homework the night before. I knew I couldn't give "homework" lessons. Most of our students do not have the software we use in class, but I thought I would record my lessons that we do each day. I requested headsets from the students and we were set.
Now the flip...I have my students come in each day and log in. They go to my webpage that you are on right now. They then choose their classroom. They have the class calendar.This allows them to see what assignment they have for each day. They can also choose the classroom tutorials. Here I have linked the screen-cast for the lessons in my classroom. Students choose the lesson for the day. They plug in their headsets and begin. They will listen and work as I step them through the assignment. This allows them the ability to stop, rewind and review a lesson individually. No one is waiting, no one is frustrated or embarrassed, and so far no one has shut down mentally. I now have the freedom to help my students more. I can monitor what they are doing and work one on one with them. When they complete their assignment, students log into Google and submit their work to me. I receive it automatically. There are less mistakes from losing the work, not turning it in or the printer failing. I have seen an increase in turned in and completed work. In addition to the tutorials, students take quizzes and tests using my Socrative classroom. This is a web-based program that students sign into and take the tests that I have created. The program then grades and submits a report back to me that lets me see what concepts students understood and which ones we may have to go over again.
I was amazed....this is all I can say. Having taught my subject for 21 years, I have seen my students struggle if they did not understand the concept. When I first began this classroom flip, the results surprised me. The first day we began, students that I had that were struggling and were not passing my class, finished an assignment correctly for the first time. At first, I will be honest, I thought it was just a lucky shot. It was something new. However, we are now into the 2nd quarter and the results are still amazing. My students are working at their pace and without distractions. I have had my special education students thank me and tell me that this is great. I feel blessed and like I truly have helped them learn something. My regular education students are also equally appreciative. I even have a few repeat students that did not succeed the first time and are doing well this time.
It has made my home bound experience so much easier as well. My students are not losing that type of instruction and the tutorials can help my teachers there help the students. My students that are absent or sick can get their work finished and still get instruction because I am the one instructing on the tutorial.
So for the naysayers, I say try it. Just try it. It may not work for your class. But if it does, you will find you're in a whole new world. Now I would be doing you a disservice if I didn't tell you that it means you will probably grade more. You may still have to print if your school doesn't have an interface like Google Classroom, but I believe it would still be worth it.
If you have any questions, please email me. I will try to help you in any way I can. If you are a parent, I will answer any questions that you may have.
Sites on the subject:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/pascalemmanuelgobry/2012/12/11/what-is-the-flipped-classroom-model-and-why-is-it-amazing-with-infographic/
http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/