First of all, it is painfully obvious to me now that anything I do in terms of flipping my classroom, I owe to the generosity of other people. First there is Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams. Flat out the inspiration for what I am undertaking. It started with a tweet on twitter and now I stand at he edge of a new career in my old profession. I am inspired by their work and hope to share and build my own vision what education can be today.
Also, Dave McCollom of Techsmith. Thanks to his generosity and help getting the proper software, I am ready to get flipping.
The coolsest thing is- I have never met or spoken to any of them. I think Jon and I would get along (he seems to be a triathlete and I have dabbled in that too.) But the fact is they are across the country. But I am inspired from afar I guess.
As far as the retreat goes, after pushing forward into student-directed classes in my Honors Biology class, I have pulled back. I really need the time to get organized and give the students the clear direction (learning objectives) that I just don't have at my fingertips right now. There are three weeks to go this trimester and I plan to teach in my old stand and deliver fashion. During that period, however, I will be planning my comeback! Creation of video podcasts and organization of learning objectives and activities are at the top of the to do list. There is much to be done, but I am confident that with the tools I have now, the support of the vodcast and mastery learning community and my new found energy, the winter trimester will be an exciting time!
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Tuesday, October 19, 2010
Into the Breach
I can see myself explaining the changes in the class. "Rather than standing in front of you and explaining all of this stuff, we are going to explore it all together." I can hear my rationale. "In the end, it isn't really about learning photosynthesis, but learning to learn. Learning to adapt." I can hear my heart beating. "Holy cow, can i actually do this?"
As for them, they seemed willing. They get it, but at the same time they show neither excitement at the idea of taking their education into their hands or annoyance at the teacher explaining the new rules of the game (which are somewhat vague).
I dove into the world of student-driven education today in my Honors Biology class. As we head into what is one of the most complicated units (photosynthesis and cellular respiration), I have put learning into the hands of my very able students. They will learn the core of the material through their text and a slew of resources I have shared with them. They have videos and screencast lectures. They have labs and worksheets and focus questions. They have piles of material to choose from. (Oddly enough, my classroom laptops were missing, but I'll get to the bottom of that.)
The concept is sound and my preparation is sufficient to get this ball rolling. Tomorrow, when my students arrive to class, I won't be up front. They won't all be doing the same thing, but rather they will begin a more authentic educational experience in my class.
It both excites and scares the crap out of me. :)
As for them, they seemed willing. They get it, but at the same time they show neither excitement at the idea of taking their education into their hands or annoyance at the teacher explaining the new rules of the game (which are somewhat vague).
I dove into the world of student-driven education today in my Honors Biology class. As we head into what is one of the most complicated units (photosynthesis and cellular respiration), I have put learning into the hands of my very able students. They will learn the core of the material through their text and a slew of resources I have shared with them. They have videos and screencast lectures. They have labs and worksheets and focus questions. They have piles of material to choose from. (Oddly enough, my classroom laptops were missing, but I'll get to the bottom of that.)
The concept is sound and my preparation is sufficient to get this ball rolling. Tomorrow, when my students arrive to class, I won't be up front. They won't all be doing the same thing, but rather they will begin a more authentic educational experience in my class.
It both excites and scares the crap out of me. :)
Monday, October 18, 2010
Starting to Flip Out
I am looking at changing my teaching in a huge way. I have been teaching for 15 years (or so) and recently had my eyes opened to how ineffective I have been. Well, that is actually too strong. I am actually a good teacher. I work with analogy and can usually guide the students to a decent understanding of the material. But I have recently learned about Reverse Teaching (I am sure it has many names...and that may not even be one of them). I am very green at this, but the idea seems to be that the traditional classroom in which I am center stage giving a lecture is transformed to one in which the students are guiding their own learning with my assistance. Unfortunately, I am not sure how to make the transition. For every idea I have, I have 10 questions (or alternate ideas). I am going to try to use this blog to guide my own process and (I hope) serve as a template for others who may venture this way in the future.
I came across the concept that I will build my class upon through a Ning called Teacher's Vodcasting Network. A couple of very enthusiastic teachers there, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, seem to be a driving force behind this idea, at least in terms of Chemsitry. Being a Science teacher, I find their efforts VERY inspirational. So here I am finally getting my feet wet in what I will call Flipping My Classroom.
The concept: If students can have lectures as homework, we will have more time in class to:
I have to admit that this has been a bit of an obstacle for me. I am very technology literate and excited about creating some vodcasts (video podcasts) to bring my ideas, style and classes to life. However, I have been struggling to find the right combination of technology and programs to get rolling. So, I finally decided to take advantage of the work of others. Right now I am going to lean on sources like Khan Academy and YouTube (careful screening, of course) to fill the gap until I can get my own ideas off the ground. (I am leaning towards a set of lectures that plays out a bit like the Common Craft videos. Simple and effective.) One very cool thing is that I posted a couple videos on my class wiki and before I even pointed them out, I had a student comment on the cool, helpful video (Khan Academy's Cell Parts Video). It seems that they will respond to the information presented until I can get my ideas off the ground.
The Activities (aka Class Time):
At first, this seems to be a an easy one: do more hands-on learning and investigation. Labs related to the topic du jour, worksheets in which students practice skills, larger scale projects, review. Again, I am a bit intimidated by the ramifications of all this extra class time. How much needs to be prepared ahead of time and how much can we do "on the fly"? How will the students react to the change in class dynamics? (In my early attempts to work in this fashion, students did NOT like it. Yikes.) Where the heck am I going to come up with all of this material? Hmmmm, still working on that one.
The Evaluation (theirs, not mine):
At this point, their overall evaluation (grades) will be based on fairly traditional quizzes, worksheets/practice, tests and lab projects. I think different methods of evaluation will benefit me in the long run, but I am OK putting that off for now. Funny, it seems like much is getting "put off," but I figure the worst Flipped Class will be as effective as my traditional class if I believe Carl Wieman...and I definitely lean that way. I am, after all, still helping students build their understanding of Biology and Chemistry.
Obviously, I have a ways to go, but I feel good that I am moving. As I gain some momentum, I am hopeful that I will be able to fill in the gaps that I have at the moment.
I came across the concept that I will build my class upon through a Ning called Teacher's Vodcasting Network. A couple of very enthusiastic teachers there, Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams, seem to be a driving force behind this idea, at least in terms of Chemsitry. Being a Science teacher, I find their efforts VERY inspirational. So here I am finally getting my feet wet in what I will call Flipping My Classroom.
The concept: If students can have lectures as homework, we will have more time in class to:
- Explore the topics we study through hands-on work (labs, activities)
- Work on gaps some students may have in their understanding
- Do projects or research that relates to our classwork
- Work through problems
- My guess is there is a bunch more that I can do and can't wait to see what comes to pass.
I have to admit that this has been a bit of an obstacle for me. I am very technology literate and excited about creating some vodcasts (video podcasts) to bring my ideas, style and classes to life. However, I have been struggling to find the right combination of technology and programs to get rolling. So, I finally decided to take advantage of the work of others. Right now I am going to lean on sources like Khan Academy and YouTube (careful screening, of course) to fill the gap until I can get my own ideas off the ground. (I am leaning towards a set of lectures that plays out a bit like the Common Craft videos. Simple and effective.) One very cool thing is that I posted a couple videos on my class wiki and before I even pointed them out, I had a student comment on the cool, helpful video (Khan Academy's Cell Parts Video). It seems that they will respond to the information presented until I can get my ideas off the ground.
The Activities (aka Class Time):
At first, this seems to be a an easy one: do more hands-on learning and investigation. Labs related to the topic du jour, worksheets in which students practice skills, larger scale projects, review. Again, I am a bit intimidated by the ramifications of all this extra class time. How much needs to be prepared ahead of time and how much can we do "on the fly"? How will the students react to the change in class dynamics? (In my early attempts to work in this fashion, students did NOT like it. Yikes.) Where the heck am I going to come up with all of this material? Hmmmm, still working on that one.
The Evaluation (theirs, not mine):
At this point, their overall evaluation (grades) will be based on fairly traditional quizzes, worksheets/practice, tests and lab projects. I think different methods of evaluation will benefit me in the long run, but I am OK putting that off for now. Funny, it seems like much is getting "put off," but I figure the worst Flipped Class will be as effective as my traditional class if I believe Carl Wieman...and I definitely lean that way. I am, after all, still helping students build their understanding of Biology and Chemistry.
Obviously, I have a ways to go, but I feel good that I am moving. As I gain some momentum, I am hopeful that I will be able to fill in the gaps that I have at the moment.
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