It seems to me that people talk a lot about their rationale for
flipping their classrooms, and their class structure within a flipped setting,
and where they host their class site or screencasts, and a lot of other things.
And don’t get me wrong, I love engaging #flipclass folks around this – I look
forward to Monday nights so that I can do exactly that: learn from others and get
ideas from people smarter than me. (“It’s not cheating, it’s collaborating!”)
One thing I don’t hear enough, though, is a big shift that goes into flipping a
classroom. I think that people who are considering flipping need to be willing
to embrace spending more time on the skills of a subject area – and students’
ability to demonstrate those skills – and less time on the factual content of a
subject area. This will come as heresy to some, but is a shift I think teachers
need to be ready to make whether they flip their classrooms or not – take a
look at the Common Core Standards. I also don’t think it is a shift that I hear
discussed enough in flipped class circles. But hey, maybe I just don’t hang out
with the right people. Just my two cents. Thoughts?
Agreed. Flipping is all the rage now but much of what I see in how it's used focuses on the technology element. Create a 10 – 20 minute video, post it to your course page, have the kids watch, and sort out any confusion when they do the "homework" problems in class. To me that focuses too exclusively on the methodology and not the ideology. Flipping, in my mind, shouldn't refer to flipping homework to classwork and lecturing in class to lecturing at home. Flipping refers to a change in focus – a flip from teacher input to student output, a flip from a focus on teaching to a focus on learning, a shift from teacher's responsibility to teach to a student's responsibility to learn. Besides if everybody flipped, a student would go home to watch 2 hours of video. Would that be effective?
ReplyDeleteI'm trying to create some short videos showing different ways of approaching the flip. In one video, I've posted two representations of Lady Macbeth's sleepwalking scene (stage and screen). Students are asked to watch the videos and then comment on their differences. In this video, I want to focus on the potential for interactive assessment, a means of assuring that students engaged with the homework.
http://testingbloghrc.wordpress.com/2012/08/16/the-first-test/
In the second video, students have submitted introductions to a prompt about a novel. In the video, I upload one student's intro (with permission ;) and offer feedback on its construction. Does the intro make me want to read more? Is it persuasive? Is it logical? This video focuses on the flip as an opportunity to provide formative assessment to students.
In the third, I focus on combining the exit card strategy and flipping. After a discussion about writing lead-ins for quotes and the proper integration of quotes into essays, I ask students to write on an index card one thing they now fully understand that they did not perhaps beforehand and one thing about which they are still confused. Using the exit cards, I created a video clarifying any misunderstanding for students to watch for homework that night. Students who got it can opt out. Students who are struggling to comprehend take ownership of their own learning and watch.
I hope I'm on the right track to make the shift about increasing learning and not about technology.
Holly-
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing - sounds like you're well on you're way! Your statement about flipping being an ideology, not a pedagogy really resonated with me. Check out http://www.morrisflipsenglish.com/1/post/2012/07/so-you-want-to-flip-your-class.html. In my mind, flipping isn't a pedagogy, it is a way of thinking critically and reflectively about your classroom. Your final sentence, though, is exactly right: this isn't technology for technology's sake, it is about what is best for our students and their learning.
Best of luck this year - I'm looking forward to following along!
-Karl