Saturday, January 14, 2012
Over the last 4 weeks I have been experimenting with using the Flipped Classroom model with my 5th grade students. Prior to starting this work with my students I had done quite a bit of reading and video watching. For my own comfort this was an essential part using this strategy in my classroom. I felt that if I didn’t know the ins and outs of what the Flipped Classroom model is and its purpose, then it could potentially be frustrating as well as overwhelming for myself and my students.
For the sake of consistency I decided that every night the students would be required to watch a video so that it can be a habit, part of their daily routine. I use linkable to list the homework videos for the students to access.
The response from the parents has been mixed. Here is a list of general comments that I have heard from families.
Postive
- Videos allow them the opportunity to see the strategies the students are using in class
- Keeps them connected with the specific content that is being studied at the time
Negative
- Some videos are confusing.
- Not enough explanation in the video.
- Not all students have nightly access to a working computer.
- Students do not know how to take notes.
Learnings
- Creating your own video really is the best, but often unrealistic.
- In a progressive school model where students are provided opportunities to explore and discover strategies, using the Flipped model can be more challenging.
- Keep the videos short, no longer than 5 minutes.
- Prior to rolling this out as homework to the students, viewing of the videos should be done in class multiple times as a way to teach note taking skills.
- Students need to learn how to study a strategy through teacher modeling and guided instruction before being expected to replicate on their own.
Flipped Classroom Resources
What is the Flipped Classroom?
The traditional definition of a flipped class is:
- Where videos take the place of direct instruction
- This then allows students to get individual time in class to work with their teacher on key learning activities.
- It is called the flipped class because what used to be classwork (the “lecture” is done at home via teacher-created videos and what used to be homework (assigned problems) is now done in class.
The Flipped Classroom is NOT:
- A synonym for online videos. When most people hear about the flipped class all they think about are the videos. It is the interaction and the meaningful learning activities that occur during the face-to-face time that is most important.
- About replacing teachers with videos.
- An online course.
- Students working without structure.
- Students spending the entire class staring at a computer screen.
- Students working in isolation.
The Flipped Classroom IS:
- A means to INCREASE interaction and personalized contact time between students and teachers.
- An environment where students take responsibility for their own learning.
- A classroom where the teacher is not the “sage on the stage”, but the “guide on the side”.
- A blending of direct instruction with constructivist learning.
- A classroom where students who are absent due to illness or extra-curricular activities such as athletics or field-trips, don’t get left behind.
- A class where content is permanently archived for review or remediation.
- A class where all students are engaged in their learning.
- A place where all students can get a personalized education.
Where Can I Find Already Created Mini-Lessons/Lectures?
- Khan Academy – http://www.khanacademy.org/
- YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/
- Bright Storm – http://www.brightstorm.com/
- Vimeo – http://vimeo.com/
More Resources will Be Posted in Future Blog Posts
At the beginning of the school year I decided that I want to have some kind of theme or focus of study for my students to focus on over the course of the year. In an attempt to incorporate science and non-fiction literature into their daily lives, I decided to look at conservation and sustainability. Since life science is a large component to the science curriculum during the elementary school years I figured that students would have a decent amount of prior knowledge on the topic, while also being able to enrich their understanding with some higher level content.
During the month of September we spent time reading books like
- The Lorax
- The Curious Garden
- Uno’s Garden
- One Child, One Planet
- The Gardener
These books provided a great launching point to discuss what the students already knew as well as identify topics of interest to them. For example, after reading The Lorax we created our classroom Truffula Tree you see in the picture. On each leaf students identified topics of interest around conservation or hopes they would love to achieve. We also began to talk about the importance of identifying a balance between human needs and growth and nature, this was especially importance since these students live in an urban environment.
Also during the month of September I introduced the students to prominent conservationist both past and present. These included Jane Goodall, Rachel Carson, Mary Hunter Austin, John Muir, Steve Irwin and Jeff Corwin. Through learning about these individuals, their passion and projects the students became inspired to see what they could do to help save the environment in their community. The brainstorming process ensued.
The other day I was in a 3rd grade classroom and I witnessed one student recording another student’s MySpace page. My eyes bugged out of my head – an 8 year old with a MySpace page, what is happening to our children, our society?? I have never been on MySpace, in fact when the site was first launched, I downright refused to check it out. As the phenomenon spread I continued to stand my personal ground believing that it would lead to trouble. Before I new it, companies, organizations and celebrities were developing MySpace pages.
I have read countless articles about the importance of social networking and the difference between the older generations and our youngest generation, coined iGeneration and Generation Z according to Wikipedia). And I agree with most of the benefits noted in these articles, the more people you know the more opportunities you have to share knowledge and resources. But where is the line? When is it going too far? And who is responsibile for the safety of our youngest generation?
Just the other day I read an article about three teachers in Ohio who lost their jobs because the information posted on their MySpace pages was inappropriate. If adults do not know how to be responsible cybercitizens, how can we expect young children, teens and young adults to be resposible with the content of these public sites. Many would say, well…it’s up to the parent or guardian of that child to monitor their online activity. Sure, that’s an easy answer, but how often does that really happen? How is it not also society’s responsibly to protect children, our children? Students and parents need to be educated.
A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to talk with a collegueae about this very issue and the role that school and public services must play in helping to teach parents and students about online safety. Often times parents struggle to monitor their child’s online activities because their knowledge of the computer is limited.
