The First 12 Weeks

Hi PLN!  Back to blogging, finally!  As I began to flip my physics classes last school year (March-June 2013), this is my first venture into a full school year of the flipped classroom.  I am over 12 weeks into it and I wanted to share my observations of my students and myself.*  

(* I should comment on my workflow as I also have a classroom set of iPads (25) and have gone paperless.  Students utilize Edmodo to get video lessons and classwork (problem sets and activities).  Students upload work to me via Google Drive shared folders where I grade their assignments using the "comments" feature.)

My Students:

are more self-directed

may at times work at their own pace (finish one thing and continue on to the next)

talk more about physics (with me and with each other)

teach their peers how to solve physics problems or use technology (the iPad)

have opportunites to solve more advanced problems than students last year who were not flipped

are being more creative!

are discovering new ways to present their learning

are having more fun in class and are collaborating

re-watch videos to prepare for tests (both in class and at home)

I should say how lucky I am to have such great students at my high school.  They quickly adapted to the new style of learning.  They arrive to class, get their iPad from the cart and resume working wherever they left off last class.  (I joke that they have been trained well!)   Sure there were stumbles along the way for some, but I feel everyone is on board.  I think some students thought that since they had the video lessons, they could cruise through the class with less effort.   Those students quickly realized that the videos may not be enough and they should still seek extra help after school just as they have in any other class.  The videos provide them with the base knowledge for the class, but the additional class time then allows for more extension of the concepts.  

A funny thing happened last week.  A student stayed for extra help on a Friday and left his notebook in my room.    How could he possibly prepare for the test on Monday without it?  In most classes this would have been a disaster!  However, in my class he could go online and watch the videos for content, go into the folders on Edmodo to review all of the activities and problems, and login to Google Drive to reference the graded activities and labs.  (He actually scored his highest test grade of the year!)

With all the talk of students collaborating on Edmodo, I wondered why this was not happening with my students.  This finally became a reality last Sunday evening the night before the Conservation of Energy test.  I saw students respond to a problem solution post with more questions about those problems.  One student responded he was not getting one of the answers and then another student gave him the hint.  He responded to her post with a "thank you," and was well on his way to solving the problem.  

I think one of the biggest compliments I have gotten was a student saying how class flies by each day.  I asked her, "What if I lectured?"  She replied, "Probably not so much."  

As a Teacher I:

am always challenged to keep videos interesting

take time to create video lessons

take time to create new activities/rewriting previous ones

take time to create in class problem sets

take time to grade student assignments on Google Drive

find that a 40 minute lecture can be replaced by a 10 minute video

sometimes feel isolated, thank goodness for my PLN!

see real results from College-Prep physics class, 90% average on last quiz!

You can see how often "time" appears in the list.  I admit I feel more tired at the end of the day than when I stood in front of the room and lectured all day.  The increased class time allows for students to ask more questions on problem sets and activities, thus I am walking around the room more from group to group and student to student.  I also put in more time after school to create new lessons (both video and in class).  Tired, but satisfied by knowing how more actively involved my students are in their learning.  

One challenge I have is making sure students see how much more they are learning now compared to my non-flipped students of the past.  Sure they can compare my class to others they have during the school day, but they don't have another physics class experience to relate to.   (Any suggestions on ways to do this are appreciated.)

It has been very exciting to see all the things that you (my fellow #flipclass Ts!) have said happened in your classes come true in mine.  Yes, everything they say is true!   This is still a work in progress.  I do see my instruction taking my students from the S to the R in the SAMR model (more on that later).  I am also beginning to see the real possibilities in working towards flipped mastery down the road.  Thanks to all of you for your inspiration and motivation by indirectly challenging me to flip my classroom!