My Reflection on the Experience
At the beginning of the last school year, my second year as a teacher, I was first introduced to the concept of a "flipped" classroom. During our staff development days, before the students arrived, a few teachers were discussing the topic and planning on incorporating it into their classroom. Upon first hearing it, I thought the idea seemed a bit ridiculous. Would students that had trouble completing a worksheet actually go home and take the time to watch lectures on-line? What if the students did not have access to a computer? And of course, what would be their excuses for not completing the home activities? It seemed like much more work than it was worth and I was already overwhelmed as a new teacher. It was not until this school year that the idea started to become a little more interesting. Teaching Anatomy and Physiology for the first time, I found that much of the material was difficult to lecture on in class. I did not want to simply stand in front of the class and recite the names of the bones for students to copy down. Instead, I started to wonder if a "flipped" classroom would make the process run a little smoother. When this capstone assignment came along, I knew the research I wanted to conduct. Not only did I want to learn more about how to create a flipped classroom and the best ways to incorporate it, but I also wanted to discover if the process was right for my classroom.
Throughout my research, one of the best concepts that I came to understand was that there is not one exact way to flip your classroom. Basically, the reverse instruction can be tailor-made to meet your needs and the needs of your students. Too often, a flipped classroom is simply described as lectures at home and homework in the classroom, but it can be much more! First, a flipped classroom is a tool for keeping students on schedule if they have frequent absences or if I have to miss a day. Students can access the lectures and materials at home and come back to school stress-free and on the same page as the rest of the class. Moreover, when I have to miss school for professional development days, I can have the substitute show an on-line lecture and the students can continue on with their in-class activities. A flipped classroom allows students to have a multitude of ways to access information. Different learning styles can be taken into account and various resources can be used. Instead of my students only hearing how I explain a concept, I could obtain videos from other faculty members or find videos on-line from professors around the world. Students can use the video that best suits their needs. Finally, students can learn at their own pace. Not only can students review lectures, pause at points they are having difficulty with, or rewatch the video to study for an assessment, but they can excel at their own pace as well. If students have mastered the content they do not need to be held back by their peers. They can begin watching the next set of videos and start the in-class activities. Of course, goals will need to be set for all students and moving too far ahead would hinder the group learning component; but much more material can be covered with gifted students, while still keeping the rest of the students on track.
For my classroom, this experience has shown me that a flipped classroom is possible and within reach. Now I can provide a video that describes the bones of the body and their components and students can work together in class to identify them on diagrams and the skeleton. I will have more time for students to have lab practicals in which they assess their knowledge by identifying the bones on an actual skeleton, rather than simply labeling pictures on a paper test. Also, when we get further into the school year and the students begin cat dissections, they have the videos to refer back to. The class is set up that we learn much of the content during the first semester of the class and in the second semester we put that content to use through dissections. In the past, this could be a problem because the students may not have retained all of the information and will therefore suffer when it comes time to dissect and be assessed. If students can look back at the lectures the night before a laboratory, they can refresh their memories and be better prepared for the next day. Furthermore, students will have more time for group collaboration, projects, and student-teacher discussion.
I look forward to incorporating the information I have learned in my classroom. My plan is to put this knowledge to good use and revamp my lesson plans over the summer so that I can start fresh next school year. Not only do I feel this will help my students' learning experience, but I think it will also allow us to explore so much more information and improve student collaboration. What once seemed like a daunting, ridiculous task, now seems like the classroom of the future. Hopefully as I get on board with the flipped classroom idea, I can influence others at my school to do the same.
Throughout my research, one of the best concepts that I came to understand was that there is not one exact way to flip your classroom. Basically, the reverse instruction can be tailor-made to meet your needs and the needs of your students. Too often, a flipped classroom is simply described as lectures at home and homework in the classroom, but it can be much more! First, a flipped classroom is a tool for keeping students on schedule if they have frequent absences or if I have to miss a day. Students can access the lectures and materials at home and come back to school stress-free and on the same page as the rest of the class. Moreover, when I have to miss school for professional development days, I can have the substitute show an on-line lecture and the students can continue on with their in-class activities. A flipped classroom allows students to have a multitude of ways to access information. Different learning styles can be taken into account and various resources can be used. Instead of my students only hearing how I explain a concept, I could obtain videos from other faculty members or find videos on-line from professors around the world. Students can use the video that best suits their needs. Finally, students can learn at their own pace. Not only can students review lectures, pause at points they are having difficulty with, or rewatch the video to study for an assessment, but they can excel at their own pace as well. If students have mastered the content they do not need to be held back by their peers. They can begin watching the next set of videos and start the in-class activities. Of course, goals will need to be set for all students and moving too far ahead would hinder the group learning component; but much more material can be covered with gifted students, while still keeping the rest of the students on track.
For my classroom, this experience has shown me that a flipped classroom is possible and within reach. Now I can provide a video that describes the bones of the body and their components and students can work together in class to identify them on diagrams and the skeleton. I will have more time for students to have lab practicals in which they assess their knowledge by identifying the bones on an actual skeleton, rather than simply labeling pictures on a paper test. Also, when we get further into the school year and the students begin cat dissections, they have the videos to refer back to. The class is set up that we learn much of the content during the first semester of the class and in the second semester we put that content to use through dissections. In the past, this could be a problem because the students may not have retained all of the information and will therefore suffer when it comes time to dissect and be assessed. If students can look back at the lectures the night before a laboratory, they can refresh their memories and be better prepared for the next day. Furthermore, students will have more time for group collaboration, projects, and student-teacher discussion.
I look forward to incorporating the information I have learned in my classroom. My plan is to put this knowledge to good use and revamp my lesson plans over the summer so that I can start fresh next school year. Not only do I feel this will help my students' learning experience, but I think it will also allow us to explore so much more information and improve student collaboration. What once seemed like a daunting, ridiculous task, now seems like the classroom of the future. Hopefully as I get on board with the flipped classroom idea, I can influence others at my school to do the same.