The Flipped Class: Semester-in-review

One semester down...the results!

Last Friday marked 18 weeks with the flipped class with my 4th block AP Government class and 9 weeks with my 3rd block AP Government class.  While I am fortunate to have my students for 27 weeks, I thought it would be a good time to get some formal feedback on the flipped class.  So, below is a quick summary of what the kids enjoyed and/or disliked as well as things I plan to change and questions I still have!

Positive Feedback:

How confident do you feel about the material after watching the video, but before coming to class?

 

How confident do you feel about the material after watching the video and after coming to class?







 What is the most helpful part of the flipped class

watching videos by Ms. Becker		34	61%
10 minute question/discussion time		16	29%
Study Guides		9	16%
textbook reading		3	5%
in class discussions		41	73%
in class simulations		20	36%
online simulations		7	13%
Other		2	4%

What have you liked best about the  flipped class this year?  Why?
The videos are really nice because when you're done reading out of the book you may not be sure about some things, then you watch the video and it clicks. Once you come to class and have a discussion about the topic, you can't really forget it.When you have to miss school do to illness or other reason you don't fall behind because you are able to still watch the videos and do the study guide Being able to learn everything twice. Once at home, and again in class! Less lectures, more responibility to students to get the work done themselves, easy access to help.  I like the videos a lot. I find them really informative and easy to understand. They really make the material much easier to learn. I'll be honest...I was really skeptical at first, but I love the flipped class. The best part for me is that I can pause to take notes, and having really solid notes has been really beneficial.
I like being able to control how fast i watch the videos and being able to sit at home comfy in my sweats and do my work instead of in class where i tend to zone out a lot.  How in class were not really doing work but discussing what we've learned.  Being able to learn more in class about current events.  It's totally new and innovative. It has developed a calm atmosphere in the classroom as well. It's a government class, so being able to talk about the work in class and relate it to everything that's currently happening is extremely helpful.   Being able to re watch the videos if I find I really have no idea what is going on in that standard. I catch things I didn't the first time because it was rushed or I was tired or not focusing the best. It's not a second guess of trying to remember what you said in class Everything it's pretty easy going and allows for more in class fun.  It makes it so we have more time to critical think in class and you can pause the videos. But you can't pause a class.
I liked being able to watch the lectures multiple times if needed.  The in class simulations because they really help me understand the concepts with deeper knowledge
That there is more time to do simulations and activities during class, also I'm more engaged during class because its not just a long lecture to listen to.  I've liked the discussion that he flipped classroom allows because it brings the students together. How you can watch the videos at home and then watch the news or something on T.V and relate all the information you learned in the video and use it in real life and understand it more clearly and be more confident the next day in class.  It gives me a chance to learn material, then discuss material in class in a way that really relates to issues in the world. I remember things better as we apply vocabulary into classroom discussions and have time to be engaged in current events in the world outside of school.


Negative Feedback/Things to Change
 
What was the least helpful part of the flipped classroom?

watching videos by Ms. Becker		2	4%
10 minute question/discussion time		5	9%
Study Guides		9	17%
textbook reading		29	55%
in class discussions		0	0%
in class simulations		3	6%
online simulations		18	34%
Other		1	2%

What part of the flipped classroom would you like to see changed for the rest of the year?
Well something little was when you tried typing in one of the videos, cuz you typed a lot and it was hard to focus. It is hard though when your nights are really busy and you can't fit in the videos when they're extra long.  I liked it when we took a quiz everyday.  Some sort of way to track if somebody is watching the videos.   Less textbook reading, if possible. I hate textbook reading and I think the videos do a better job of teaching the material.  Having a list on edmodo that tells us the really important stuff we should know. Kind of like objectives but more direct to the material.  Shorter videos.  I would like us to go over the videos a little more , but I like it when we put the vocab stuff to real life situations , and we don't do that that much right now , so if we could do that more it'd be great !  A little lecturing about the important stuff  You often apologize when you think you're talking too much or lecturing us, and I actually like it when you occasionally "lecture" us.
The videos aren't bad but honestly I like listening to lectures in class. You always say sorry when you lecture for a little bit but that's how I learn best. So I guess just don't be hesitant about talking and writing things on the board. Also the simulations don't help at all.  Make the study guide more useful, or at least have the students answer questions that create a deeper amount critical thinking rather than just find words and fill them in.  Summary of videos and reading after the 10 minute discussion by you. It sticks better if the teacher reinforces than hearing it from others.  Keep it to 10 minutes. And maybe we could do more projects. "If you didn't watch the video don't be part of the discussion. The only reason I don't like the discussion is people don't know what the video was about and just sit there while I talk to myself   I don't really grasp the videos that well, and I'd like to keep going over topics. I'm often not sure what to ask in class and on the videos.  I don't really liked he online simulations. I don't feel like I get anything out of them.
When I don't understand something I feel I don't always have the opportunity to understand it. The question disscussion time doesn't always answer my questions and I feel it needs to be presented to me or lectured on again like we did at the beginning of the year. Take a quiz on each video. This helps me see exactly what I missed so I can study.  I would like a little more lecture because government is hard to understand and a 10-17 minute video doesn't really get me to the level of understanding that I really need to succeed. Shorter videos. Review things from the video.

Potential Change: 

• Watch video the night BEFORE the lecture and then textbook the night after.  
• Create a better study guide (I use the pre-made book study guide) that will allow students to use a WSQ format on the videos.  
• No more online simulations (pre-made by textbook company!)
• Integrate a post-video quiz and use those results to guide a 5-10 minute lecture in class after the general Q/A session in small groups.  
• Integrate vocabulary from the videos into class simulations more effectively.
• Keep the videos at 10 minutes-I have gotten up into the 12-15 minute range, which is too long.   

Questions

• What do other "flipped" AP teachers use as homework?  Just  videos?  Or reading too?  
• What is an appropriate amount of homework for AP students-isn't the point to prepare them for college?
• What is a video site that I could use where I could embed quizzes right into the video?  Also, how could I track their views without being overwhelmed?  
• Would a quick notes check each day be too "childish" for AP kids?

MIFLIP Conference (1st annual!)

MIFLIP Conference

I spent much of the  first semester feeling like I was on an island as a flipped instructor.  Communicating with my flipclass tweeps (twitter PLN) was the only outlet I had to communicate with others who were flipping.

THAT ALL CHANGED THIS WEEKEND!!!!

I attended a FREE (YUP...FREE!) flipped class conference held in Byron Center.  I found out about this conference on Twitter (of course!)  I was literally giddy last week in the days leading up to the conference to finally meet all of my #flipclass PLN.  

The Conference did not disappoint!   Not only were there great pre-planned sessions, but also several in the EDCAMP style (post what you want to learn/facilitate about) and talk to other educators about that topic!  The topics are determined the day of the conference!

Things I learned at the conference 

•  There are so many passionate flipped educators in Michigan (and I am following them all on twitter now!)
• Before implementing a flipped class, you need to teach students how to watch the video.  This might take a week or two in the class.   Teach when to pause, what to summarize, and how to ask critical questions
• 20% assignments-students choose a topic that falls under a power standard and determine how to best show they know that standard.  
• Google forms is a quick and easy way to track student viewing progress each night.
• If you create an ibook (need a mac with ibooks author), students can see the book and videos without wifi!
• There is no excuse to not flip.  Clintondale High School flipped their entire school with no budget, no new computers, no wifi, and over 50% of students with free and reduced lunch.  Their math test scores went up 8% in a year!
• Symbaloo is a GREAT place to store bookmarks for students.
• Collaboration with other passionate educators is just what teachers need half way through the year!
• There is no one right way to flip.  It is all about flipping from teacher centered to student centered.  "The one doing the reading, writing, and talking is the one learning"
• Educators from my high school (Charlotte) are getting excited about the flip.  There were at least 6 of us there and I know they are excited to try the flip! 

 This week marks the end of our first semester.  I plan to survey my students about their likes/dislikes in the flipped classroom and let you know next week!  Stay tuned!        

Becoming a better teacher....one tweet at a time!

Oh Twitter...a place for seeing what friends are eating, what celebrities are up to, and for sports fans to go crazy about every little thing.  Right??

Well, yes, but there is SO much more, especially for education professionals!  I have learned more through Twitter this school year than in probably the last several years of PD combined!  I have even learned how to implement it in my classroom (teenagers LOVE twitter!)  Here's a snippet of what I have learned and how I use it in class!

Professional Learning and Twitter

• There is a hashtag for everything.  A hash tag categorizes your tweet.  For example, I might tweet out a link to this blog.  I will include the hashtag #edchat #flipclass and #edtech.  This means when anyone searches on twitter for those hashtags (which is REALLY easy) they will see my posts and anyone else who posted to that tag.  Here's a link showing various hashtags that you can search at anytime!  Are you a social studies teacher (#sschat)?  Do you LOVE the flip class as much as I do?  #flipclass  Do you like to talk about education on Saturday mornings?  #satchat

• Even better, many of these twitter groups meet each week to discuss an education topic.  For example, every Monday night for 8-9pm, there is a flipped class discussion at #flipclass.  All you have to do is search for #flipclass and add your thoughts (or just watch the conversation).  It is amazing how many connections you will make.  After these chats, I often follow the people that I have chatted with (and they follow me)

• Once you are following someone (or organizations related to your field-almost every professional organization has a Twitter Account), you will see all of their tweets.  Most of these tweets include links to articles on improving or reforming education.  Many of these are shorter even than this blog for a quick read!  I follow yummy math and ASCD just to name a few. 

 Twitter and the Classroom
I quickly found out that my students were obsessed with twitter, and with 1:1 iPads they can check it anytime they want!  I have decided to let them follow me, only because I use it as a school account and only tweet/re-tweet school-related tweets.  If I wanted a personal Twitter account, I would simply create another account and would be able to block students.  

• Inside class, students can answer discussion questions by tweeting to #apgov1 (first semester) or #apgov2(second semester).  I made up these hashtags and you could do the same for your class.  This way all of the students can search for the hashtag and find all the comments from your class!  Twitter limits students to 140 characters so they HAVE to be consise in their answer.  I have never seen a more engaged class than when we use Twitter!

• Outside of class, I use twitter as a review tool.  The night before unit tests, we schedule a time where students can post questions to the class hashtag. I act as a moderator by going through the unit chapter by chapter.  If no one has questions, I put out questions for students to answer.  I have received a great deal of positive feedback!   

I could go on and on about twitter as a professional learning tool and as a classroom tool (and I will in later posts!)  Questions?  Contact me...I'm on twitter @t_becker10.  Just search for me and follow me!


 

The flipped government class...15 weeks in

This fall, our district handed out over 1000 iPads to students in grades 7-12 to keep for the year.  It was quite a massive undertaking before school started with both positive and negative feedback.  I was happy to be part of the roll out team, and knew that rather than fit this technology into what I already do, I needed to use it to improve my teaching.

This summer, I read a lot about the flipped class.  I joined a Monday Night Twitterchat via #flipclass (8-9pm) and have learned more in the first 15 weeks of this adventure than I did all throughout my undergrad teaching program!  I have learned from research, from others mistakes, from my own mistakes, and from my students! 

Here's a quick update as to where I am and how I have flipped my AP US Government course.  I plan to continue with weekly updates as possible! (it is my New Years Resolution :)

Two years ago, I created a standards based course by using  the College Board's AP Government outline to write standards for each unit.  Students are given these standards at the start of each unit and all assessments (formative and summative) are broken down by standard.  In fact, students are allowed to re-take tests and only have to re-take those standards that they did poorly on!  This was the (somewhat) easy part as my entire district was undergoing this transition.

This past summer, I decided I wanted to try and flip my class.  So, I started by using Showme and Educreations to develop short videos on each standard.  I find that educreations is the more user friendly of the two!  Anyway, each video is 10-15 minutes long (most are close to 10) and is based on the standard.  Students watch these videos at night, complete the textbook reading, and complete a study guide.  These videos are then all housed on edmodo, which all students have access to.  For students without wifi at home, they use the app called Roadshow where they can download the video at school and watch it at home!

The videos were the easy part-I just used my notes from my lectures from year's past.  The hard part was filling the time in class.  Here are some successful activities my students have done during class, that we would have never had time for before!

• simulations from the online textbook.
• Analysis of current events from the perspective of our textbook reading (Health Care Bill, Election, Fiscal Cliff)
• Analysis of multiple choice questions on formative and summative assessments.
• Mock Congress

Here are problems that I faced and solutions (If I have come up with one yet!)

• students not keeping up on videos each night (checking in with each student daily to see notes)
• quickly assessing student understanding of the video content at the start of each block (tried daily quizzes-took too much time, am now going to require each student to post one question about the video each night)
• students rushing through in-class activities and not really wanting to critically think and take the necessary time to develop appropriate solutions (this has faded over time).

I plan to attend the #flipclass conference in Michigan on January 19th to learn even more from people far more experienced than me.   click here for information!