Post #4
Flip your
Classroom a must read for everyone! I just finished Flip Your
Classroom, by Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams. I was always so intrigued with
how this process actually works. How do you flip your classroom? I always
thought it was along the same lines as Flip this House? Cleaning and updating
an old house into something spectacular. I would love to redo and paint and
update my classroom.
The idea is to turn the learning around on the students and
allow for student exploration is the key concept here. What is traditionally
done in the classroom is now done at home, and what is traditionally done as
homework is completed in class. Having students watch prerecorded lectures from
home and complete their assignments in class with the teacher. This takes lots
of training in the beginning of the year. How could I do this? Teaching the students how to view the
videos effectively while at home and being prepared for class the next day. I show many video clips and use many interactive websites, is this the same thing?
Flipping the classroom helps both the teacher and the student
in many ways. One reason why flipping
your classroom helps is because there is no need to stand up in front of the
classroom and lecture for thirty to sixty minutes. The learning is all done at
home. Flipping the classroom also helps with technology. It doesn’t help to
create a 21st century classroom it helps students embrace digital
learning. Most students appreciate the flexibility of a flipped classroom.
Flipping the classroom also helps with struggling students, there is more time
for the teachers to walk around and help those who really need it. Another
reason flipping helps students of all abilities to excel. Especially students
with special needs, they can watch the videos as many times as they need
to. The students can pause and rewind
their teacher and process the information being learned so they can be
successful. Flipping changes classroom management because there is no room for
distraction. The class time is used for
students to complete hands on activities or work in small groups so those
students who are typically a distraction have no time for it.
I do believe that the role of the teacher is to be available
for one on one help, answering questions and helping those who really need it
instead of being on stage. Teaching first graders you are on stage most of the time. However this may be able to work. I might be able to show them a video clip in our computer lab and then apply it within the classroom. Is this the same as flipping? The learning is done at school not home.
Bergmann and Sams found that their students had a deeper
understanding of the concept being learned when they were in a flipped
classroom. The second part of this book was about the flipped mastery
classroom. The idea behind the flipped mastery classroom is that students learn
a series of objectives at their own pace instead of working on the same
objective. This concept is done at a much higher level and wouldn't apply to
me.
This book provides the logistics of conducting a flipped classroom,
from all of the equipment needed to help create videos all the way to helping
you create ways to assess students on their learning. Now the big question, how
can I do this with my first grade classroom? Is this possible? Has this ever
been done? I need to do some research to find out how. Some of the potential
problems could be that most of my students do not have access to technology or
the internet at home. On the plus side this would help to inform the parents
what their child is learning in school. If anyone has any ideas or suggestions
about how I could go about this that would very helpful. Thank you.
2 comments:
Heather-Very informative post! I, too, have always wanted to try the flipped classroom, but after administering a survey to students at the beginning of the year, I was shocked to learn that many of my students do not have a computer at home. I then figured they could watch the videos on their smartphones but found that many of my students do not have smartphones either. I do love the idea of a flipped classroom, and your post has truly made me aware of the benefits. I like the idea of having the students learn at home and then practice the skills in class where I am able to work with them one on one to help them. I wish I could try the flipped classroom but am unsure how I could with the lack of technology.
Nicole, I was just talking about this same thing, I wouldn't be able to do this, although it sounds great. Heather- you were talking about first grade and whether or not this would be an effective tool. I wonder the same thing- will they focus? Will they miss important information? Can they handle the responsibility of it? Maybe... when I taught first grade they were most engaged when I used a video to teach a skill so you never know!
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