7 years ago the high school student I was nannying for began telling me about her math class. Her high school had starting using Khan Academy. At the time, I was finishing my last semester of college and had already known I was going to begin my teaching career the following year. 7 years ago, I thought that this "flipped" classroom was ridiculous and took the art of teaching away from the classroom. Today, my feelings and thoughts are very different.
Today, I think that the flipped classroom is a very creative and innovative way to differentiate learning for struggling students and provide more 1:1 coaching for students. When watching the videos on the flipped classroom, it made me think about a technology tool I use in my own classroom. I am a kindergarten teacher and the majority of the students are English Language Learners. Many of my students' parents have expressed that homework is difficult because the parents are not sure of how to pronounce the letter sounds of the names of the sight words. This got me thinking, so I created a YouTube Channel where I could record videos that students could use to practice work during homework time at home: https://www.youtube.com/channel/
I have 75 subscribers and even have other teachers from around the country who have reached out to me and said that they found me on the suggested page and now share these videos in their classroom. How cool is the Internet?!
These videos have helped me a lot during instructional time. Prior to these videos, I was constantly spending minutes reviewing sounds, sight words, and other phonics routines with my class whole group. Now, it is easier for me to differentiate phonics. For example, as the year progresses, we no longer need to focus on letter sounds, but for my group of students who still need that support, they can practice these routines with my videos both at home and during Independent Work Time while the rest of the class is working on their targeted sounds and sight words.
I think the flipped classroom is an awesome tool. I'm not quite sure of how convinced I am of how this may become the new future, however, I do see how this allows a teacher to spend more direct 1:1 time addressing individual student needs. I still do think that teaching is an art and that the beauty of teaching and learning comes through the rich discussions during instruction. But, I do see the value in a Flipped Classroom Model as a tool to differentiate, but not the end all be all. A big challenge I think is important to name is that a flipped classroom requires students to have access to technology. If students do not have access to internet at home, this model is not possible. Access to technology is a current problem in my classroom and as a teacher I am constantly trying to brainstorm ways to get old iPhones or iPods to donate to students/families. Grants are another option to look into for getting technology for classrooms.
PBS NewsHour. (2013, Dec 11). What a 'flipped classroom' looks like [Youtube video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gp63W2F_4
