The flipped classroom inverts traditional teaching methods, delivering instruction online outside of class and moving “homework” into the classroom. Students watch lectures at home at their own pace, communicating with teachers and peers via online discussions. Concept engagement takes place in the classroom with the help of the instructor. Educational technology and activity learning are two key components of the flipped classroom model. They both influence student learning environments in fundamental ways.
Flipped lessons can be very effective in a math classroom. Many math concepts are challenging for students, resulting in struggles and frustrations while attempting traditional homework. Students have no one to ask questions or discuss their homework with at home (unless their mom or dad happens to be a mathematician…). With flipped lessons, students are completing the "homework" in the classroom, where the teacher is right there for support.
My Example
You may have noticed that my App Flow is actually designed for a flipped lesson. Students are asked to do some research about triangles and post one idea to Linoit. (This lesson assumes a 1-1 environment, where students each have their own iPad that they bring home each night.) Then, in class the next day, students explore triangles on a Geoboard iPad app. Finally, students demonstrate their knowledge by creating a short video on how to find the area of a triangle using the app Explain Everything. I decided that this lesson was a great one to flip because instead of me, the teacher, telling students all about triangles, I had them explore triangles themselves. This allowed for class time to be spent digging deeper into triangle concepts, while I am there to help students with any struggles they might be having.
Flipped lessons can be very effective in a math classroom. Many math concepts are challenging for students, resulting in struggles and frustrations while attempting traditional homework. Students have no one to ask questions or discuss their homework with at home (unless their mom or dad happens to be a mathematician…). With flipped lessons, students are completing the "homework" in the classroom, where the teacher is right there for support.
My Example
You may have noticed that my App Flow is actually designed for a flipped lesson. Students are asked to do some research about triangles and post one idea to Linoit. (This lesson assumes a 1-1 environment, where students each have their own iPad that they bring home each night.) Then, in class the next day, students explore triangles on a Geoboard iPad app. Finally, students demonstrate their knowledge by creating a short video on how to find the area of a triangle using the app Explain Everything. I decided that this lesson was a great one to flip because instead of me, the teacher, telling students all about triangles, I had them explore triangles themselves. This allowed for class time to be spent digging deeper into triangle concepts, while I am there to help students with any struggles they might be having.
Other Examples
Pre-AP Geometry, Clear Brook High School, Harris County, Texas
At the beginning of the school year, geometry teacher Leticia Allred told her Pre-AP Geometry class that their only homework would be watching 15-minute YouTube videos and taking notes. The videos, made by Allred and fellow geometry teacher Mandy Shrader replace class lectures, which students like 14-year-old freshman Alyssa Bell say were easy to miss information in due to chatter among other students. Learning topics such as triangle classification or using slope to identify lines at home, the students are able to use class time to practice what they’ve learned with traditional schoolwork—but with their teachers freed up for additional one-on-one time. Shrader says 81% of students passed the first test—up 20% from last year.
AP Calculs, Bullis School, Potomac, Maryland
First, Stacey Roshan sensed the stress some of her students felt with the subject. Then, she discovered Camtasiascreencasting software at the Building Learning Communities Conference. Now capable of easily recording her screen and audio and sharing these videos with her students, Roshan decided to flip her class. At the end of the first year, 78% of her students scored a “4” or “5” on their AP exam—up from 58% the previous year—and none scored below “3.” The results were so impressive, her mother, Wendy Roshan, an AP Calculus teacher at Virginia’s Madeira School, adopted the format for her own class.
Read about these and other examples of successful flipped classrooms here.