Micro-Conversations in My Flipped Classroom

5 years ago when I flipped my classroom, I was challenged with one thing - what was I going to do now that I wasn't in front of the classroom at the whiteboard?  I had to get out there now into the sea of students to help them, and seemingly without a life raft!

Not only was I not ready, but my students were not ready.  To foster an improved flipped learning environment I rearranged lab tables to promote more student collaboration and I also placed stools around the room for me to sit on as I interacted with students.  I remember the first day of school being at the front of the room going over the syllabus and then proceeding to sit down on a stool in front of a table of students.  One of the students backed up his chair away from me and I made the joke, "Am I too close?"  This was a shift as students were used to having the teacher far away in front of the room, while they sat back at their desks.  As awkward as this may have been for me and my students, some great things were about to happen . . .

Let me ask you a question - what are the biggest fears for a student in a traditional classroom?

Being called on to answer a teacher's question in front of his/her classmates and being wrong

Asking a "dumb" question in front of his/her classmates

In a flipped learning environment these fears are removed.  As I walk around and help students, they are more comfortable asking me questions one on one.  Flipped learning gives me this time to have these micro-conversations.  

If you walk into my classroom on any given day, you will see me talking to students, individually  or in small groups.  When a student has a question, I may sit down on a stool next to their table or sit with them if there is a spare chair.  Other times I may respond to a student's quetsion with a question and then tell them I will "do a lap" around the room to give them time to think deeper about my question and come back to them.

These micro-conversations involve:

responding to a student's question

asking a student a question to probe deeper thinking

asking a student to give more evidence of his/her learning

differentiating a problem or task for a student

So what is my life raft these days?  Chalk markers!  I use them to write on their lab table and give a "mini-lesson" to them.  These micro-conversations allow me to personalize learning and differentiate on the fly for each student.

I write on the lab tables more than I write on the classroom whiteboard.  The shift from lecturing all of my students to having micro-conversations with individual students has enabled me to better personalize learning.  It is definitely safe to say that  I talk to every student every day.  I know where each of my students is with their content knowledge/skills and can take them from where they are giving them the necessary feedback at the time they need it.

How do you create opportunities to get you know your students better?

What strategies do you use in your classroom to allow for more micro-conversations?

Please leave your comments below.  Thank you!