Math classes seem to be the ideal place
to implement a flipped classroom. Currently,
students listen to a lesson then have only enough time to answer the easiest
homework questions. So at home, they’re
stuck trying the harder questions on their own, often doing them wrong and
getting frustrated. As a result, we make
after school programs like Homework Club which is 95% students who need help
with Math homework, so it might as well be called Math Club. The problem is, everyone’s time is precious,
so Homework Club is normally only a 2 day a week thing. So students can’t benefit from this homework
help every night.
Enter the implementation of the
flipped classroom. Students watch videos
at night on the lesson, watching it at their own pace and stopping it to take
notes or write down questions as necessary.
After that, there is a short quiz that students must answer on the video
either online that night, or at the start of class the next day. Because these are evaluated, the students will
typically watch the videos (there are other solutions to ensure students watch
the videos, but I won’t get into that here).
The remainder of the class time is devoted to homework, so students have
far more time to not only answer the easy questions, but the hardest ones as
well. The benefit here is that now the
teacher is available to help. The
student also has peers for assistance as well.
The last few minutes of class can be used doing a little review, having
students answer a few questions on personal whiteboards/clickers/etc., or even
a Q&A. Students learn best by doing,
so why not use your class time wisely and give it to the students to work
through the problems? But of course, no
system is perfect…
I know most people become
teachers because the want to
teach. Removing the lesson from the classroom poses several
problems. Teachers no longer get
feedback from the students as the lesson progresses, making it more difficult
to know what students aren’t getting and removing the option of explaining a
concept in a different way. Having
students do a mini quiz before they start the homework helps, but not
entirely. There’s also the time delay
between students learning a new concept and putting it into practice. Some information is bound to be lost. In addition, unless you’re using somebody
else’s videos (and
stats have shown that students are not impressed with Khan
Academy), teachers now have to make their own.
The amount of time spent learning how to make a video and actually
making the videos can be a real turn-off.
For non-tech savvy teachers it can also be a real challenge.
Some teachers also find the
flipped classroom causes a real disconnect between the teacher and
students. The teacher’s role now becomes
that of a facilitator; your entire class time is essentially spent wandering
around and helping. The students no
longer really see you as a teacher (unless maybe if you make your own videos)
but more as an assistant. There’s seems
to be a loss of respect if teacher’s don’t use their own videos; it leads to
the mentality of “Well, if they can’t even put in the effort to make their own
lessons, why should I put any effort into watching it?”. It is up to the teacher to really make sure
to connect with every student during homework time and make a positive learning
environment, which some simply don’t know how to do with a flipped classroom.
Ultimately, teaching isn’t easy
and it’s up to each teacher to figure out what works best for them and their
students. Good luck to all the teachers
out there; be flexible and never stop learning!
