by G. Kirchmyer
“I don’t know how to help Kayla with her homework; I haven’t done this stuff in so long, and I don’t remember how anymore.” How many times have you heard a parent say something like this? Or, “I couldn’t do my homework because I was babysitting,” (or riding a bus to a game, or had to go to Grandma’s house, etc...)? These are common issues facing our students with their ever-demanding schedules. It’s difficult for them to have time to sit down and “do” homework. This isn’t a new problem; teachers have probably struggled with the notion that there’s just “not enough time” for centuries. The difference today is that we have a solution, but before we go there, let’s “flip” the scenario: How often do you see students walking around (or riding) with their earphones in, listening to their iPods? Think about it - in cars, on the bleachers, at the grocery store, at the doctor’s office, at the bus stop, even at the dinner table (ha ha!).... They would practically rather DIE than to not have their iPod! Well, “If the mountain won't come to Muhammad, Muhammad must go to the mountain.” This was Aaron Sams’ philosophy when he and his colleague Jonathan Bergmann pioneered the “Flipped Classroom.” The idea is pretty simple: the lecture part of the class happens at home, and the homework/activity part of the class happens with the teacher. Before the wide use of technology, this concept was never plausible, and it presented one of the most frustrating conundrums for teachers. How do we make the most of our time with our students so that we are able to escort them through their learning process with the most efficacy? As a biology/chemistry teacher at Woodland Park High School in Colorado, he wanted to "help students become learners who can learn for themselves and by themselves." (“Putting,” 2013) Before he came up with the idea to flip his classroom, he admits: "One of the problems that I was guilty of is that the classroom was centered around me."(“Putting,” 2013) Now, however, he is able to screencast his lectures, students can listen to or watch those lectures at home, and then he is available to assist them through the “practice” stage of the process. This is one of the most beautiful parts of this process; it allows the teacher to correct mistakes immediately. Sams reports that he no longer has D’s, and he says that “D's have become C's, C's have become B's, and B's have become A's.” (“Putting,” 2013) He also says students are more engaged and excited about learning. And this makes sense. The “boring” part of class is always the lecture, and with the ability to hear the lecture at home (without the distractions of their friends at school), students have the potential to retain more. Having the ability to do the “homework” with the aid of the teacher is invaluable. This set-up also allows for students to help one another through partnering and group-work in the practice stage as well, allowing the learning to become social in many cases, creating an emotional connection to the lesson as a by-product which, studies show, increases learning. (Davidson, 2008) Here are some of the benefits to this model:
Tech Smith reports that at one school near Detroit, Michigan, student grades have improved by 20%-40% and referrals to the principal are down 66% since implementing the flipped classroom; the one-on-one time with students is building relationships and, therefore, reducing misconduct. Of course this is not a cure-all, but there are undeniable benefits to adopting this model in your classroom. There are also some misconceptions and fears which accompany this new trend. One of the most common fears among teachers is “I don’t want everyone in the world to see me online,” or “I hate seeing videos of myself.” These are understandable and not unique to a select few: most people feel this way at first, but once you get the hang of it, you realize that you don’t have to start by creating a Hollywood blockbuster - start small. If you don’t like seeing yourself online, don’t show your face; show your work instead. Lots of teachers effectively incorporate Crash Course, Teacher Tube, Khan Academy and other GREAT online teaching tutorials for this very thing! You can even start by having students follow your blog, and then insert videos when necessary. And, depending on the medium you use for creating your lessons, you can create settings which only allow those with a password to view your videos. | To get started, you only need a computer with programs like Jing, a blog, and Google Docs. If you’ve never done anything like this before, you can start with flipping a lesson or two to get the concept. Eventually, flip an entire unit. What you want to work toward is the most effective way to use this concept: flipping an entire course for a semester or year. When you do this, students will likely express frustration at first. They have a routine that is comfortable for them, one that allows them to be spoon-fed. When they have to work harder, they may squirm a little, but if you stick with it, it’s worth it. One concern many teachers have is their students’ lack of access to technology. Greg Green, the principal at Clintondale High School in Clinton Township, Michigan, was concerned about this issue as well, so he surveyed them. What he found was that 82% of them had access to videos outside of school. Of course, students can also take advantage of technology at the school if they don’t have access at home. On a larger scale, this model can be used for flipped parent conferences, flipped open houses, flipped conferences, flipped PD, and flipped faculty meetings. If you share this concept with other teachers, you can share work to make your lives easier: divvy up who creates lessons on what. You may want to eventually have all of your own lessons, but at least this could help you get started more quickly. You may even have some students who are “experts” on particular topics who would be willing to share or create lessons for some of your flipped activities. You can even belong to PLN’s designed specifically for teachers who are flipping their classes. The implications of effective use of this model are inspiring! Co-creator Jonathan Bergmann states, “Students are helping each other learn instead of relying on the teacher as the sole disseminator of knowledge. It truly is magical to observe.” (“Putting,” 2013) Grades are improving, students are becoming more engaged, discipline referrals are down, and students are being exposed to technology in ways that will allow them to become more comfortable, confident, and competent in using technology in their own futures. This then opens the door for all kinds of learning! Once the students are in a “habit” of academic communication, they become involved with their own PLN’s, one of which could be (and should be) their own media center! Not only can teachers and students use the media center as a resource for flipped classroom lessons, but the traditional role of LMS’s can change with this model as well. Flipped lessons on how to create citations, using MLA, how to use dictionaries and encyclopedias, databases, effective search expressions, Google Docs, etc... can be created so that time in the media center is more effective as well. These flipped lessons maximize the already short slots of times that librarians get with the visiting students. And once LMS’s have that connection, they can build on it and communicate with the students via technology. School librarians also have the the expertise to train teachers and the set-up to help their teachers (and students for that matter) to create the flipped lesson. If you’re an interested teacher, your librarian is probably an invaluable tool for you in this endeavor! The flipped classroom is like a tidal wave washing over our country. It’s revolutionary, and it’s changing the way we teach in America. If you haven’t hopped on the surfboard yet, you may want to consider how this model could be used in your discipline, because it’s likely to be coming your way soon, and it’s just too effective a model to miss! Click here to view my Google Presentation. Bibliography:
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