The Flipped Classroom

As it becomes increasingly well-known, the flipped classroom has turned heads as an innovative way to reach the 21st century learner.  Many people have seen the videos describing it.  We've seen what it is, what it is not, and what it can be.  Many people have addressed the pros and cons of the flipped classroom already.  I will briefly mention these and then discuss a way to slowly implement it that I would like to try in the next year or two.
The flipped classroom is a great way to reach the new smarter balanced standards that are may or may not be implemented at a district near you this year.  The teacher can effectively become the facilitator of learning instead of the main tool for students.  It forces a classroom to become more student-centered.  In the case of a science classroom, it also can potentially emliminate the issues that almost everyone has had in the past:  not having enough time to cover each topic fully and - in my case - really get a lot of hands-on learning accomplished.  Students will have the chance to learn at home at their own pace and use the class time to apply the knowledge and further explore the concepts, or gain clarity by asking questions and allowing the teacher to be a supplemental resource wihtin the classroom and not the focal point.
On the other hand, there are problems that can arise from flipping a classroom.  I can imagine the amount of time it will take for students to remold  their brains and adjust the new way of doing things.  Its hard enough to get students to complete tasks at home on a daily basis as is, to make that a necessity for learning could be difficult and quite an adjustment for the kids.  It also requires technology at home that not every student has, even though that is becoming increasingly rare.  Alternatives must be addressed in the circumstances.  Also, it requires a re-tooling for teachers.  Teachers who have spent years creating a course that has been successful would need to spend a lot of extra time creating videos and developing new plans for the classroom.  Not everyone would welcome this change with open arms.
Now, to implement this into the classroom, I have a strategy that I may try soon.  To alleviate some of the stress, I would consider starting small.  Don't flip your class completely, but flip a few units at a time and adjust from there.  Upon the first implementation you can imagine the bumps in the road that will come up.  Speding a summer creating a whole curriculum only to change it after a few weeks would be counter-productive.  Starting small is my best plan.  Perhaps a unit or two in each quarter or trimester or whatever fits each schools format.

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NETS T Standards and Value of Technology in the Profession

 As we've seen in recent weeks, clearly technology is alive in  education.  It appears some in an older generation and even some in a newer generation are fighting this fact.  That fight is not only a losing battle, it's a battle that should be lost.  Three 21st century learner deserves teachers willing to keep up with them.  In the NETS T standards we see where teachers should be in their quest to impart knowledge creatively and effectively through three use of technology.

Each of the 5 standards gives us a guide as educators.  The first standard essentially tells us we should be modeling the use out technology.  We should not only bee instructing students, we should be instructing to learn using technology through the use of technology.  As complicated as I may have made that sound, this is probably the easiest to accomplish and one that most teachers are at least making an effort to accomplish in every district I know of.

The second standard involves creating assignments or assessments incorporating technology.  As much as all teachers would love to be doing this all the time, this is one of the more difficult things.  We need to take the time to make this a regular practice.  The more we keep up with this standard, the better we'll be at all the rest.

The third standard seems to emphasize the use of technology to collaborate with students and parents as well as to organize our own thoughts and activities.  Online calendars are an adequate way to cover this standard but we can certainly expand this into other modes of collaboration.

The fourth standard emphasizes that we preach and model responsible and ethical technology use.  It also states that we should use tools and resources that are appropriate to our audience.

The fifth one, to me, simply implies that we constantly use and explore technology to stay up on current trends and resources.  Professional growth not only comes through taking classes, but also by simply playing and trying new things.  Some work, some don't, but growth only comes in when we maker the effort.  Failure cab giver us some of our best lessons.

3 Lesson Plans Incorporating Technology Use

Tool Trifecta

Lesson 1 (Physical science – middle/high school)  Qualitative vs Quantitative Observations

Objective:  Students will be able to understand the difference between qualitative and quantitative physical observations given examples and provide their own examples in an experimental setting.

Resources:          Go Animate video introduction: http://goanimate.com/videos/0uEtqo28yr94

                                Sophia.org tutorial link for extra help: http://www.sophia.org/qualitative-and-quantitative-observations/qualitative-and-quantitative-observations--2-tutorial

Worksheet giving examples of observations in which students must identify which is qualitative and which is quantitative

Nuts and Bolts Lab experiment (assorted nuts and bolts in petri dishes of which students will record observations)

Procedure: 

1.       Teacher will introduce the terms qualitative and quantitative and ask each student to write down a definition and turn it in.  Teacher will look at these while the step 2 proceeds.

2.       Without further discussion, students will watch the quick, cheesy GoAnimate video defining qualitative and quantitative observations. (http://goanimate.com/videos/0uEtqo28yr94)

3.       Students will complete the worksheet identifying different observations as qualitative or quantitative while the teacher shows the picture giving students an example of qualitative observations.

4.       Students will complete the lab activity by taking each petri dish and recording several qualitative and several quantitative observations.

Student Assessment:  Students will be assessed prior to the lesson using the initial definition collected at the beginning of class and at the end of the class by collecting both the worksheet and the ab activity observations.  Any students that continue to show a lack of understanding will be directed to the short tutorial video on Sophia.org (http://www.sophia.org/qualitative-and-quantitative-observations/qualitative-and-quantitative-observations--2-tutorial)

Reflection: After the lesson is over the teacher will evaluate whether or not the goanimate video was a successful introduction and whether this lesson needs to take a full class period or if it can be incorporated into other topics like physical vs. chemical changes and/or element, compound, mixture discussions.  If the students seem engaged all class period, then the lesson was successful and necessary.  If students seem bored and if everyone performs exceptionally well, the lesson should be incorporated into other discussions.

Lesson 2 (High School Chemistry)-Atomic Theory and Atomic Models

Objective:  Students will be able to identify the key scientific discoveries that influenced the changes in the atomic model over the past several hundred years and be able to describe the model of each scientist.

Resources:          A computer or tablet (to access google and the teacher’s glogster presentation: http://www.glogster.com/mdehaan003/atomic-models-pinboard/g-6kjld3tml4c315i73hgsia0 )

Notes from previous day describing each model and the scientist/discovery behind it

Access to a wiki on which group can share information.

Procedure:        

1.       Students will review the PowerPoint notes they were given on the previous day and observe the glogster collage example the teacher provided

(http://www.glogster.com/mdehaan003/atomic-models-pinboard/g-6kjld3tml4c315i73hgsia0)

2.       Students will then be assigned to groups in which each student will create a separate collage for each scientific discovery that provides a detailed explanation of each model and discovery.

a.       Each collage must include the scientists brief background, the individual discovery, the new model of the atom based upon the discovery.

3.       Students will share and combine all glogster collages on their wiki for the teacher to grade and for all members to use as a study guide for the upcoming test.

Student Assessment: The student’s grade will be based upon the detail and creativity in their portion of the Glogster collage.  Points will be assigned for the accuracy of their descriptions and the amount of information in each description.  This assignment will be followed by a quiz on the atomic models and the individual discoveries.

Reflection:  After the assignments are complete, the teacher will look at the grades for each individual student and the detail in his or her work. Based on these observations the notes and assignment will be assessed as effective or not.

Lesson 3 (High School Chemistry)-Stoichiometry Introduction

Objective: Students will be able to solve stoichiometry problems step-by-step beginning with understanding balanced equations and mole ratios and finishing first with simple mole-mole problems and eventually three step problems.

Resources:          Background info on how to balance equations and the parts of an equation reactants, products, coefficients).

                                Computer with speakers or head phones

                                Calculator and periodic table

Procedure:

1.        Students will be given a quick quiz on conversions, balancing equations and calculating moles and molar mass.

a.       The teacher will decide whether or not students are prepared to continue on to this lesson or if it is necessary to review basic principles again.

2.       If students are prepared to move on, they will be given a list of three chemical equations that will first need to be balanced properly.

3.       Students will then access the 1^st of 26 podcasts (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qEibF3UOO1U&list=PLEoPtHpxZ434g-omLHszKFJCu1rLqJtbo)

a.       This tutorial walks students through basics of stoichiometric calculations.

4.       After the tutorial, students will attempt to solve the simple stoichiometric calculation with the first equation on their sheet.

5.       The teacher will walk through the classroom to see if students are on the right track.

6.       The last two calculations will be done either together or on their own depending on the evaluation of the first problem.

7.       Students can follow the following link at home to have an additional tutorial on stoichiometry. https://www.khanacademy.org/science/chemistry/chemical-reactions-stoichiometry

Student Assessment:  This generally is an assignment topic that takes several days and lots of practice to master.  Students will be evaluated in this lesson based upon their ability to identify mole ratios and solve problems using the proper steps.  Particularly at the beginning, students must show ALL work so the teacher can find areas of concern.

Reflection: The effectiveness of this lesson will be discovered by looking back at student attention during the podcast.  If this podcast did not keep students attention, then alternate measures will be taken.  The examples and practice are more than likely a necessary evil but there could be different steps that must be tried to make things easier.