Doing the Flip...C&I 579 Blog #1A

The Flipped Class as a Transition to Deep 21st Century LearningPosted by jbergmann on May 10, 2012 in Flipped Class

http://flipped-learning.com/?p=725#comment-537

The Progression:
1.  Teacher Flips a lesson or a unit and find it to be successful
2.  Teacher decides to flip the whole class
     a. (At least at the upper grades.  At the lower grades I don’t see teachers flipping a class, but
         rather, flipping selected lessons).
     b. Often this step takes an entire year as the teacher needs to focus in on making the videos
        —assuming they make all of their own videos.
3. Teacher realizes they have more time and begin to explore engaging activities.  This is where the magic of the flipped class happens.  When the teacher moves away from the stand and deliver approach and realize there is more to learning than disseminating content.

Phil’s Response:

So I’m at step 1 (or trying for step 2 for next year). Like all of the blogs and Twitter feeds I’m getting, I’m feeling overwhelmed, but I’m sure I am ready to take the first steps on the journey.

How sure, I dropped one of my graduate classes this summer to have the time to start recording videos for my students. Tomorrow I’m off to see about getting my software and microphone ASAP, I’ve got work to do so my students can learn, and not who, what, when, and where, but WHY? Why are these facts important…today? How are they relevant in my students’ lives? How can I get them to figure it out on their own?

Wish me luck, persistence and faith in this endeavor to make learning better and more meaningful for those that count, my students.

That was my response to Josh, but it felt incomplete to me...my finished thought:

I’ve used my Universal Reading Questions for several years now and it is time to take them to a new level. Students always had trouble with the last one, “Can you think of a similar situation from the past or the present?” I plan to add: OR What is the relevance of something from the reading to today’s world, to your life, or the lives of your friends or family?’ I hope this will get them thinking and get them to make the experience more meaningful. With a flip (and 1:1 next year) I can have students research the background and make the connections themselves, instead of me showing them to them. Next year, I hope to be the one guiding them.