The
idea of a flipped classroom is all the rage lately, but is it really as
revolutionary as they claim?
Before
researching it, I had a shallow understanding of flipped learning, as many
people do I fell into the trap of thinking that video lectures and flipped
learning were synonymous. The bare bones explanation of Flipped teaching I had
heard previously was that you “flip” when students do homework with when they
are lectured to. This was achieved in my understanding by assigning video
mini-lectures as homework, and using the freed up class time to work on
homework. This way students could work with the teacher when they were
struggling with a concept, instead of coming back the next day with ingrained misconceptions.
This
is close to what flipped learning is, but it is not the whole picture. After
reading a blog following Robert Talbert’s , a GVSU Professor, experiences and thoughts
about flipped teaching I realized I was missing a crucial part of what flipped
learning is supposed to be. Flipped learning is supposed to focus on the student,
and their ability to self-regulate learning. Talbert states that we shouldn't be spoon feeding things to students, that learning has to be driven and
regulated by the students themselves. Many people argue that some students
cannot teach themselves, which seems like a very strong point. However, Talbert
countered with an equally strong point, that the most important things we learn
in life are self-taught; things such as talking, and eating to name a few.
There
are many pros and cons to the flipped approach.
Pros:
Frees
up class time to work with students where they are struggling
Allows
students to work at the right pace for them
Allows
students to revisit lecture points they may have missed
Cons:
Students
won’t watch the videos outside of class
Not
all students learn well from watching lectures/videos
It
is just a “fancy” way to lecture, no real change was made
Not
all students have access to technology
Doesn't allow for student exploration of a topic
Students
will be lazy and not keep pace.
Flipping
pros are hard to argue with, and as such some educators have videos created to supplement
their class, but not replace lecture time. As for the cons, there are some strong points
here. However many articles and educators for flipped classrooms would argue if
you are going beyond the basic idea of “flipped” just being recorded lectures.
You still have to get creative in the classroom, help students interact with
the material in a way they couldn't in a non-flipped classroom. Some options
are to let students explore a topic in class the day before assigning them to
watch videos that clarify things they haven’t self-learned. To prevent students
falling behind, teachers will still need to make deadlines to keep student on
track. One of the best arguments I saw was that some communities don’t have enough
technology to successfully pull off a flipped classroom. That is a very good
point, and although there was some kooky suggestions on how to get around that,
they were not very practical.
Overall
flipping is an interesting idea, which I believe I will be partially integrating
into my classroom. Perhaps a Flipped Friday?
This
article lists the pros and cons of flipping your classroom. I included this
because it helps show both sides.
This
article is a list of positives and negatives to flipping a classroom. I
included this because it helps show both sides.
This
article discusses how you would start to flip your classroom if you had not
flipped before. It gives a positive view on flipping and helpful tips.
This article was about the
main arguments against flipped classrooms. I read this to help balance the
abundance of good articles I was exposed to before researching.
I like the idea of flipped teaching, where it puts some of the notice on the students to learn outside the classroom, and I will admit that I am looking at this subject through Elementary Education shaded lenses. However, by taking time away from the classroom lessons and providing more time to complete assignments during school time is counter-intuitive. Students need to be equipped with problem solving, and self learning skills before this can be implemented.
ReplyDeleteI will say as well that this style I believe would work better in a Secondary education setting, so don't get me wrong I think it is a great idea for students to have access to a teacher to be able to ask questions about homework, and to make sure they get it right. But, as one of your articles stated that one of the con's of this style is that students will likely not do the work outside of the classroom that they should. While I think this can be beneficial to some degree in spurts, I see this to a certain extent as a cop out by not providing in class lessons, and instructions. But, I do feel that this allows for students to learn aspects of a subject that truly interests them.
I love discussions on anything at all, because it allows me to learn and understand different perspectives. So my question does become can this style of teaching be at all effective for elementary students, and if so what does the starting point look like?
I agree with you statement that students need to be equipped with problem solving and self-learning skills, however I do wonder if this model could help build those traits within students. From what I read, the flipped model is all about student centered learning, so instead of focusing on the teacher teaching, it focuses more on the learner. It sounds like in many cases; the goal of flipping is to help students develop their problem solving by giving them more teacher guided time to work on homework problems. I have recently heard a rash of complaints on the web and in person from parents voicing concerns about not being able to help their students with elementary math because we have changed the way it is taught. Flipping in this case would not only help the student, but also clue parents into what exactly their student is being taught. They parents could watch the video with the student, and the student could work problems in the classroom with other students or the teacher.
DeleteI personally disagree that the method is a cop out, solely due to the amount of time and effort it takes a teacher to create a flipped lesson. Lesson planning takes a lot of work no matter what, creating videos, even short ones, must take a lot of effort. I also think that it creates more time for instruction, not less. If students listen to the short video at home it opens up more class time for discussion, and questions. This may lend itself to more complex topics though. I do agree with you that the con is a pretty big roadblock, at least when we lecture in class they hear the information.
To be completely honest my mindset is so often in middle school or secondary that I hadn't previously considered what flipped learning might look like in an Elementary setting. That being said I did a little research and came up with this website. (Warning this website is run by one of the creators of the flipped model, Jon Bergmann, so it most likely biased.)
http://jonbergmann.com/flipping-the-elementary-classroom/
It offered some great insight on how one might use the flipped model in an elementary classroom. The main point of this article is "Don’t flip a class: Flip a lesson." He then created a bullet point list showing how, and specifically where in a lesson flipping may come in handy. As he says in the article, flipping is "another technique in your arsenal". You don't have to use it every day, for every subject. I specifically liked the part where he mentions, creating a short video of something you have to repeat a lot. I can see teachers being able to use that type of flipping at any age. If you are curious what others have to say, the comments section on the article has both positive and negatives stories from teachers who have tried it in their classroom.
This blog, http://www.readingrockets.org/blog/55627, makes a great point about using the flipped model as a way to help students gain or refresh background knowledge the day before a lesson. It is almost an anticipatory set. Her use of the flipped model to expand background knowledge sounds great in theory; I would love to try it out myself.
You said you thought flipping could be beneficial in spurts, do you think you would use it? How so? If not, why not?
I liked the blog link that you provided in your comment. The line that I liked the most was, "Don't flip a class, flip a lesson" I think this is a more practical approach when dealing with this structure in an elementary setting. I also came across another blog that posted ideas on how to flip their classroom with elementary students.
Deletehttps://insidetheclassroomoutsidethebox.wordpress.com/2011/09/12/flipped-classroom-in-elementary-school/
One of the statements that was made in this article ws the simple idea of demonstrating to the students what note taking looks like when watching the video. The author talked about watching a video in the classroom, and stopping often to ask questions, or make statements that were interesting to the teacher. The idea is to model proper behavior when participating and working at home.
Also I liked that in this post the simple idea of offering your classroom before or afterschool to students who need access to computer to watch the video and take notes.
I think I would use it but more in the model as I had described. I would use it more for specific lessons rather than flip my entire classroom. But if the lessons go well, I am sure I would be more willing to move more towards this model.
I really liked the article you linked, it gave a lot of great pointers. I agree with you that their best point was the part about modeling what we want students to do before we expect them to do it. I agree that choosing certain lessons to flip would be more effective than flipping your entire class.
DeleteYes, simply flipping a class without proper modeling for expected student behavior will lead to trouble. Just because you tell them to do it before coming to class doesn't mean they'll comply.
ReplyDelete