One of the teaching methods I have applied, analyzed, and been reflecting on this school year is that of the flipped classroom. It started out as an Action Research project that I simply placed hope in since I wasn’t sure how students in a bilingual school in China would respond. What happened beforehand, during the implementation, and afterward transpired in ways that inspired me to move forward. Part of progress is moving into the unknown, and before continuing to do so I checked out some blogs and well-known sites for any tips or suggestions when employing the flipped classroom.
One idea I received was from a first-grade teacher. Her students were too young to obtain internet access in the evenings. Therefore, she thought outside the box, and she did what she referred to as the “in-class flip.” She recorded and prepared the directions and examples for a project, and then made the video (and more thereafter) available to her students in order that they could independently look back to those instead of her. This provided her as the teacher to “work with individuals and small groups to address a range of learning styles and abilities.” For more details and steps on that, check out Creative Educator, where some teachers are Flipping the Elementary Classroom.
One of several suggestions from Teach Starter was to start with one lesson to flip in an area you as the teacher feel comfortable with. I’m wondering now if that’s the best piece of advice for everyone when mulling over the start of flipping one’s classroom. When I initially tried out the method, I actually had a class do it for a complete chapter that ended up lasting about three straight weeks with at least 2-3 videos a week. The kinks for the video-watching were mostly taken care of before the chapter began, as the rest were resolved after the first class period. From there on out to the end, the students knew the expectations with the short and succinct videos within our imperfect system, and they gave it all they had. It was a few fun weeks, but I’m not sure we (the students and I) would’ve revealed all that we did with one single time of flipping. The students and I discovered quite a bit through the experience, and it wasn’t just about our content. Thus, in my opinion, I’d say “yes” to the educator who asks, “Does Flipped Learning in a Primary Classroom Really Work?” Though there are more variables and other options a teacher should consider in accordance with one’s context before taking the leap since I wonder if there could be situations where it wouldn’t be suitable.
My students shared a healthy outlook on learning in that they control their learning, and the teacher is there to guide, correct, or challenge thinking within the subject and its interconnectedness to other subjects and, ultimately, life. The flipped videos were a nice substitute for the traditional homework that the students receive daily, and they expressed their desire for the videos since the beginning for they provided foundations for the classes we met face to face. The content in the videos was starting points for learning as well, and sometimes the students even did a little independent research of their own beforehand. Ultimately, flipping the classroom has felt like a success in professional and personal ways through the year, but that doesn’t mean I should stop growing and obtaining wisdom from experts on the issue. (Hence, the two hyperlinks in this paragraph stem from Jon Bergmann.)
Jon Bergmann on "What is Flipped Learning?" on Common Sense Media
Here are some more analyses on the flipped classroom.
What do you think?
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