When an IEP (Individual Academic Plan) is written for a student input is gathered from all of the student's teachers and from the parents. Yesterday a parent's input was shared with me. I don't have the paper so I can't quote it word for word but it basically stated that they thought the way I'm delivering my instruction is "Awesome!" They went on to talk about how good it is for their child to be able to rewatch the instructional video when she doesn't understand the concept the first time. They also said it has been helpful for them (the parents) to be able to watch the videos as well because it gives them the information they need to be able to help their child.
Hearing this started my day out right! Of course I asked the person who shared this information with me if she would make sure my principal saw it as well. It felt a bit uncomfortable asking her to brag about me, just as it feels uncomfortable now as I'm writing this - bragging about myself. However, I recognize that part of succeeding in any business is making sure the right people know of your accomplishments. I write this blog not to help me succeed but rather to share and encourage others to step out of their comfort zone and try something new!
This simple recognition from a parent gives me the proof I need to continue doing what I'm doing. I believe that if this flipped classroom is helping one student it must be helping others as well. I'm not done yet though! I have plans for improving how I am doing things but I am trying to be patient with myself. I must remember that I can't do everything at once. So, for right now I'm going to focus on getting all of my lessons into video and continue to develop my moodle. The next step will be developing activities/games/centers for each unit in preparation for being able to run my classroom in a manner that is conducive to greater differentiation. I can imagine my classroom with multiple "work zones" based on students' mastery of the content. It may take some time but I know I'll get there!
Saturday, October 26, 2013
Saturday, October 19, 2013
Substitute!
I have been sick for the past three days. The first two days I went to work thinking I could make it through the day only to discover that my body had other ideas. :-/ My doctor convinced me to take the third day off.
Having a substitute is never fun. Our plans for substitutes must be much more detailed then we need personally and we must remember to include important details that we just know - things like Joey must finish the quiz the class took yesterday or don't let Kimmy get discouraged, she needs her confidence built up, and remember to take the class to the assembly, etc...
Another challenge with having a substitute is that we never know if the concept has been taught as we want it taught and did the students really understand the concept. Regardless of how qualified a substitute is we often find ourselves repeating the lesson or going over it briefly so that we can move on confident that our students know the material.
A flipped classroom offers an additional challenge that I hadn't thought of before.
Having a substitute is never fun. Our plans for substitutes must be much more detailed then we need personally and we must remember to include important details that we just know - things like Joey must finish the quiz the class took yesterday or don't let Kimmy get discouraged, she needs her confidence built up, and remember to take the class to the assembly, etc...
Another challenge with having a substitute is that we never know if the concept has been taught as we want it taught and did the students really understand the concept. Regardless of how qualified a substitute is we often find ourselves repeating the lesson or going over it briefly so that we can move on confident that our students know the material.
A flipped classroom offers an additional challenge that I hadn't thought of before.
- This is a new idea for substitutes too and they don't necessarily understand how to manage it.
- What do you tell the substitute to assign for homework? I regularly change what I was planning for homework based on my assessment of how well the students have learned the concept. Are they ready for the next instructional video or do we need another day of practice?
Student reaction
I decided that the best way to ensure my students knew how to function in a flipped classroom was by modeling for them. So, we watched the first instructional video together, in class. I taught them the importance of pausing the video to take notes and rewinding the video to listen again to something they didn't quite understand. I taught them how to take notes and write down questions that pop in their head as they watch the video. When I asked them what they thought of this new way to do things in the classroom they expressed excitement. "You mean no more boring math worksheets for homework?" one student asked. I told them I couldn't promise that there would never be a math worksheet for homework but that they probably wouldn't have many, that I would assign whatever I thought was best. Yes, I've learned to keep my options open with my students! ;-)
The true test of my students' interest and commitment to this model came the days proceeding that initial day of introduction. The first day my students were assigned a video to watch only about half of the students did so. Many came in telling me they had technical difficulty or didn't understand how to access the video. So, I showed them again! I also had the students who hadn't watched the video do so in class right away. I let the other students play on Sumdog or MangaHigh while they waited for their classmates. I felt they deserved a reward for doing the right thing when so many had chosen not to. I think it also motivated those students who didn't do their homework because they realized what they missed out on as a result.
The next day only about 1/4 of my students didn't do their homework and each day it kept dwindling down more. There seems to be a few kids who habitually don't do their homework, this is nothing new and would likely still happen if they had a worksheet to do. I have one student who does not have regular access to a computer at home, he gets a DVD to watch on his TV. :-) The only challenge with that is that I'm horrible at remembering to burn the DVD!
I recently figured out how to have my students respond to the videos on Moodle. I'm very excited about this because it makes it much easier for me to know who truly watched the video and I believe it helps the students engage in the concept and express their understanding. I have learned so much about student misunderstandings through their responses. Many of their responses have helped me learn about my teaching, what I need to change and when a video needs to be rerecorded.
The true test of my students' interest and commitment to this model came the days proceeding that initial day of introduction. The first day my students were assigned a video to watch only about half of the students did so. Many came in telling me they had technical difficulty or didn't understand how to access the video. So, I showed them again! I also had the students who hadn't watched the video do so in class right away. I let the other students play on Sumdog or MangaHigh while they waited for their classmates. I felt they deserved a reward for doing the right thing when so many had chosen not to. I think it also motivated those students who didn't do their homework because they realized what they missed out on as a result.
The next day only about 1/4 of my students didn't do their homework and each day it kept dwindling down more. There seems to be a few kids who habitually don't do their homework, this is nothing new and would likely still happen if they had a worksheet to do. I have one student who does not have regular access to a computer at home, he gets a DVD to watch on his TV. :-) The only challenge with that is that I'm horrible at remembering to burn the DVD!
I recently figured out how to have my students respond to the videos on Moodle. I'm very excited about this because it makes it much easier for me to know who truly watched the video and I believe it helps the students engage in the concept and express their understanding. I have learned so much about student misunderstandings through their responses. Many of their responses have helped me learn about my teaching, what I need to change and when a video needs to be rerecorded.
Starting up
I heard about the flipped classroom concept about two years ago and quickly recognized the benefits. At the time I was a third grade teacher so I knew it would take significant time to prepare everything needed to flip my classroom. So, it got put on the back burner until I was moved to the middle school the following year. Once in the middle school it didn't take me long before I was talking with my principal, seeking the permission I felt I needed to change my teaching methods to this style. Initially he wasn't thrilled with the idea and many fellow teachers thought I had made a mistake in seeking permission. They may be right but I knew having the principal's support would make my efforts go more smoothly.
That February I attended PETE & C, a technology conference for teachers and had the opportunity to listen to Aaron Sams speak. If I wasn't sold on the flipped classroom concept before his keynote speech I certainly was after. I was so interested in flipping my classroom I attend Sams breakout session and every session I could find on the flipped classroom concept. I returned to school determined to flip my classroom! I was certain I could get my principal's support and had a solution to every possible challenge he saw in this method. Finally, I gave him a copy of Aaron Sams book, Flip Your Classroom. An encouraging dialogue began with my principal as he read through the book. Then, it became a district supported initiative! This was a wonderful coincidence that helped my principal turn his concerns into support. Almost overnight he was asking me what I needed to get started with flipping my classroom.
Before school ended that year I was equipped with a Wacom Bamboo tablet which allowed me to write out mathematical problems and digitally record to be able to demonstrate to my students in the instructional videos I create. During the summer our district's technology director surprised me with Camtasia software that makes the job of recording and editing those recordings tremendously easier than any screen capturing software I've used before.
It was time for me to start creating instructional videos for my students. Since this is my second year in 6th grade I already had my lessons created, complete with flipcharts created with my ActivInspire software. Those lessons have saved me a lot of time and energy because they give me the foundation for each instructional video I record.
However, recording my lessons and getting them posted in a format easily accessible for my students was another challenge. My first challenge was technical difficulties with the Camtasia software and/or the internal mic on my computer. Every time I recorded my voice sounded robotic and slow. Thankfully I found that if I used an external mic the problem was solved. So now my students get to see me wearing a headset with attached mic, making me look like officially tech-ed out. :-)
My district had established Moodle as a place for us to house our digital curriculum. So, learning moodle became a new challenge for me. Honestly, at this point I was feeling a bit stressed out since the school year had begun and I felt the need to quickly learn the new tools I had been given so that I could get my flipped classroom up and running. I had an idea of how I wanted my course designed for my students and initially I couldn't figure out how to make it happen. Thankfully I stumbled upon an online moodle course that answered most of my questions.
I continue to learn new things to improve the implementation of my flipped classroom and I have more ideas for improvements but I'm trying to be patient. I remind myself that every year I make improvements to what I had done the previous year and that this flipped classroom is no exception. Will I be rerecording many of my videos? Absolutely! Do I plan to introduce more "center" work in the classroom? I think so. All of this takes time, which I don't have an unlimited supply of so I will keep plodding along doing the best I can with the time I do have.
That February I attended PETE & C, a technology conference for teachers and had the opportunity to listen to Aaron Sams speak. If I wasn't sold on the flipped classroom concept before his keynote speech I certainly was after. I was so interested in flipping my classroom I attend Sams breakout session and every session I could find on the flipped classroom concept. I returned to school determined to flip my classroom! I was certain I could get my principal's support and had a solution to every possible challenge he saw in this method. Finally, I gave him a copy of Aaron Sams book, Flip Your Classroom. An encouraging dialogue began with my principal as he read through the book. Then, it became a district supported initiative! This was a wonderful coincidence that helped my principal turn his concerns into support. Almost overnight he was asking me what I needed to get started with flipping my classroom.
Before school ended that year I was equipped with a Wacom Bamboo tablet which allowed me to write out mathematical problems and digitally record to be able to demonstrate to my students in the instructional videos I create. During the summer our district's technology director surprised me with Camtasia software that makes the job of recording and editing those recordings tremendously easier than any screen capturing software I've used before.
It was time for me to start creating instructional videos for my students. Since this is my second year in 6th grade I already had my lessons created, complete with flipcharts created with my ActivInspire software. Those lessons have saved me a lot of time and energy because they give me the foundation for each instructional video I record.
However, recording my lessons and getting them posted in a format easily accessible for my students was another challenge. My first challenge was technical difficulties with the Camtasia software and/or the internal mic on my computer. Every time I recorded my voice sounded robotic and slow. Thankfully I found that if I used an external mic the problem was solved. So now my students get to see me wearing a headset with attached mic, making me look like officially tech-ed out. :-)
My district had established Moodle as a place for us to house our digital curriculum. So, learning moodle became a new challenge for me. Honestly, at this point I was feeling a bit stressed out since the school year had begun and I felt the need to quickly learn the new tools I had been given so that I could get my flipped classroom up and running. I had an idea of how I wanted my course designed for my students and initially I couldn't figure out how to make it happen. Thankfully I stumbled upon an online moodle course that answered most of my questions.
I continue to learn new things to improve the implementation of my flipped classroom and I have more ideas for improvements but I'm trying to be patient. I remind myself that every year I make improvements to what I had done the previous year and that this flipped classroom is no exception. Will I be rerecording many of my videos? Absolutely! Do I plan to introduce more "center" work in the classroom? I think so. All of this takes time, which I don't have an unlimited supply of so I will keep plodding along doing the best I can with the time I do have.
What? Why?
When I decided to flip my classroom a few people asked me to keep them informed about how it goes. So, that is the reason for this blog - to keep those interested in how my effort to flip my classroom is going.
For those of you who are unfamiliar with a "Flipped Classroom" I will try to explain it briefly. Basically it is providing the instruction to students outside of the classroom in a comfortable setting of their choosing and using class time to guide students through using the skills and concepts. Aaron Sams explains it best in this video:
"To help students to become learners who can learn for themselves and by themselves," Aaron Sams
"I walk around the classroom and help kids," Aaron Sams
So, why did I decide to do this?
For those of you who are unfamiliar with a "Flipped Classroom" I will try to explain it briefly. Basically it is providing the instruction to students outside of the classroom in a comfortable setting of their choosing and using class time to guide students through using the skills and concepts. Aaron Sams explains it best in this video:
"To help students to become learners who can learn for themselves and by themselves," Aaron Sams
"I walk around the classroom and help kids," Aaron Sams
So, why did I decide to do this?
- The flipped classroom gives me the time I need with my students.
- As I facilitate their learning in class I am better able to catch their misunderstandings and incorrect procedures before they turn into bad habits.
- Helps me to build relationship with my students. Teacher/students relationship effects student learning.
- Parents can watch the videos with their children to better help their children understand and learn.
- Allows time for students to work collaboratively. Collaboration is an important skill to hone for the professional world.
- Students can rewind and replay the video when they don't understand something I said. They can't rewind me and have me repeat word-for-word what I just said in class.
- The videos are available any time a student needs to refresh their understanding of the concept.
- Students take ownership of their learning!
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