Week 5: The Flipped Classroom

My six word story on the flipped classroom

The one thing I learned when investigating the various ways that the flipped classroom is being used by other educators is that it looks different for everyone hence, my six word story!  As was mentioned in the video from this week’s content, The Flipped Classroom Discussion Take 2, not one educator is doing a flipped classroom the same way. 

Unfortunately, I missed the live Twitter chat but I did get the chance to explore the flipped class hashtag on Twitter.  I found that my exploration took a pretty natural journey, which I will share with you all in this post. 

First and foremost, I had the opportunity to read about all of the ways that teachers are using the flipped model in their classroom.  I tried to pick content areas or age levels that related to me the most.  The first article I found to be most relevant was article by Edutopia called “Flipping the Non-Flippable Classroom."  As an “Encore” class (which basically means not a main subject like English, Social Studies, Math or Science), I typically identify with content areas described in the article like PE.  Although I completely think that my class is “flippable”, I wanted this article to make a believer out of me.  Reading on, I was introduced to a teacher named Jason Hahnstadt who is a K-8 PE teacher in Illinois.  He was instantly drawn to the flipped model because he realized how beneficial it could be.  Like with many other subjects, some PE students were coming in with prior knowledge of basic concepts like the rules of lacrosse or how to properly exercise.  Since incorporating the flipped model, he is now spending less time going over the basic concepts and more time actually getting the kids to move and “do.” 

In addition, on his personal webpage, he shows readers how he utilizes the same flipped model not as a teacher but as a coach.  I found this to be truly significant for me because as a coach, I completely understand how this could be useful with players.  With middle school basketball players (girls), many of them play basketball all the time while others may have never played before in their life.  I can see how making videos available for the girls prior to teaching a concept at practice would give everyone more of a level playing field.  A lot of times, sports are exactly like school.  You have to practice, study and be prepared for that final assessment (in this case a game) to achieve the end goal; a good grade or a win for your team.  I found Mr. Hahnstadt’s resources and utilization of the flipped model most intriguing and most relevant to me. For those wondering, he is an example from Mr. Hahnstadt’s page of how he uses the flipped model in coaching: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_P9Rk9i0YzU (I couldn't get the video to come up on it's own... Sorry!)

The second example of a flipped classroom that I came across was by a middle school math teacher, Jessica Brown and science chair, Alicia Burge from Illiniois.  When describing how it works for them, they put it simply and say, “In the evening, students learn material either through reading class notes or textbooks, watching videos or movies online or by listening to podcasts produced by the teacher. During class, the teacher designs activities, experiments and discussions revolving around the material the students learned on their own. Because students have to be prepared in order to participate in classes, the responsibility for initially learning the material falls on them, not the teacher. Class time is then devoted to mastering information and seeking support from the instructor through interactive activities.”  I found this description to be particularly helpful.  It clearly laid out how they use the flipped model in a way that was easier to understand. 

Another thing that this article talks about is the challenges of the flipped model.  For example, Jessica notes that challenges occur when initially implemented the model because it is not widely used however, she has found the students adapt quickly.  In addition, she shares that when one student falls behind, it can often affect the whole class so it’s important to establish expectations that the entire class is one working unit; to help each other out is important.  Despite the challenges, both teachers agree they will never go back to a more traditional model. 

One thing that concerned me while reading the aforementioned articles is what the kids think.  In education, there are so many new fads that teachers are too quick to implement without carefully weighing both the advantages and negatives.  However, in the second article mentioned, a student perspective is shared.   One student says that it makes her more “independent [because] if you don’t come to class prepared it affects everyone.”  Another students says that it has given him “better confidence in learning by myself.”  I found these perspectives to be quite insightful, but I wanted to know more about the true feelings of the students.  I stumbled across an article written by three high school students who have been learning under the flipped model since seventh grade.  Some of the advantages they mentioned were an added feeling of responsibility and building better relationships within the classroom.  Ironically enough, the students do not mention one negative. 

Interestingly enough, the last article I found when exploring the hastag on Twitter was an article shared by our very own Dean Shareski called, “A Few Concerns About the Rush to Flip.” Maryellen Weimer shares a few big concerns about flipping that have plagued me as well.   One big concern I share with Mrs. Weimer is who should be taking flipped courses? Knowing that I watched the video for this week and hearing how elementary school students are flourishing with the flipped model, it still leaves me hesitant.  Currently, I have both sixth and eighth grades. I would feel more comfortable doing this with my older kids first.  My sixth graders are all over the place and being an “encore” class, I can’t imagine that my class is at the top of list when it comes to outside (or extra) work.  Like Ms. Weimer asks, “Who should be taking flipped courses? First-year students or seniors? One of the first questions we should be asking about any new method is whose learning will benefit the most from that approach.”  I think this is a realistic concern for most teachers. 

After reading so much about the flipped classroom, I know there are many positives yet with anything in life, there are also negatives.  My question to educators out there would be the following: Are you using the flipped model? If so, what do you like the best and what do you like the least? If you aren’t using the flipped model, what is stopping you? Hopefully, as a group, we can figure out how to remedy some of those concerns.  Ultimately, each of you know what will work best in your classroom and that might just look a little different than the next person… And that is OK!