Unit 7 - Flipping Out

A photo from Pixabay via Pexel

One thing that is really interesting to me is how people structure the classroom to achieve the desired outcomes. I’ve mentioned before that one of the guilty pleasures of substitute teaching is getting to see a variety of classroom management techniques and “try them on” to see how they might work. 

I had the chance recently to spend a few months in a “flipped”
mathematics classroom.  A flipped classroom is one in which the content lessons of the course are given, usually via video, reading or listening activities that occur outside of scheduled class time. Students access the material on a technology portal and may have some scaffolding if notes are required. The expectation is the student comes in with the notes on the background material completed. 

In the math class, it might be a lesson on adding fractions on video with note scaffolding. Student are to arrive in class with this completed. An introductory activity like solving a problem, writing a response or a “think-pair-share” happens at the beginning of the class. Students are asked to relate any issue they have with the content for the teacher to address, as a whole class or in small groups. The teacher then gives the practice assignment and circulates around the room as the students work, answering questions and occasionally teaching individuals or small groups. Before they leave, students do an exit ticket on the topic and are assigned the next video.  Some students who finished early have already started on it. 

In theory, I could see this working for certain ESL classes. If it was a task based lesson on buying groceries for CBL1/2, a short video on related vocabulary with a scaffolding sheet could be the “flipped” portion. Students could arrive at class to a simulated grocery store activity, use flyers to create a grocery list and budget, role play as store clerk and customer etc after the teacher addressed any issues. An exit activity of telling the teacher what’s in a grocery basket could be a formative assessment. 

Of course this would require a number of things of the teacher.  It’s a lot of work to make the videos and set up the technology for a class. (There are some pre-made videos that could be used.) I found it useful to model watching a lesson and doing the notes for new students.  It was interesting to note some students didn’t think of rewinding many times if they missed something or didn’t understand, which is a key advantage over live lessons.

The students need devices and reliable access to internet. This may be a barrier for some. They would need to be taught how to navigate this form of learning. The advantages to students would be more time available to participate in discussions and more contact time available with the teachers. One study found the outcome can be students not only improving test scores, but becoming more “autonomous” in their learning. 

Kvashnina, O.S., Martynko, E. A. (2016, February). Analyzing the Potential Of Flipped Classrooms in ESL Teaching. Retrieved from http://journals.sfu.ca/onlinejour/index.php/i-jet/article/viewFile/5309/3846

It’s something I’d like to try.