Presenting the Flipped Classroom (part 1 - presentation to teacher leaders)

Today I got the amazing opportunity to present my flipped classroom to about 25 teacher-leaders at my school.

I took a poll via a Google Forms survey before the presentation so I could see where my colleagues were coming from in terms of knowing about the flipped classroom. 16 of the 25 teachers replied, and this is what they said:

Have you heard of the flipped classroom?

Yes, and I know what it is 7 - 44%
I've heard the phrase but don't know what it means 1 - 6%
No, never heard of it 8 - 50%

Only four of the 16 teachers that responded had tried something they thought was "flipped classroom" in the past. This is what they said:


Chemistry teacher:
I have a lecture that I record and have the students view before coming to class. Then we use class time to work on problem solving instead of lecturing. My students did not like it because they like the interactions that we have during lecture.


AP English teacher:
I've tried in my AP Language class to get kids to do the close reading at home so that we can do the writing about it in the classroom. However, I've only done it on a limited case as I've found our kids are not as used to doing "homework" in English (as they are in Math) so they do not do the preparation necessary. I haven't tried to fully implement it at all, but have read about it from other AP teachers (AP English listserve).


Music/Choir teacher:
"ex.1 Sudents are asked to find video examples of a performance of a piece we are working on. They are asked to list adjectives they would use to describe the performance, as well as to decide what aspects of the performance might be helpful to be used in our performance.


ex.2 Students are asked to prepare different sections of a piece. They are to come back as an ""expert"" on that section. In class, they are to teach their section to their group."


P.E. Teacher
Methods of video taping have been going on in Physical Education for years. A flipped classroom is just a new name for video taping your lessons or classrooms, the idea has been around since 2004. With the use of utube the idea of a flipped classroom has made the process easier to get your ideas or lessons presented.


With that knowledge, I was very excited to share with my staff what I was doing with flipping my classroom. I presented the prezi that was posted yesterday.



The response to the flipped classroom presentation was phenomenal. Most of the teachers were very interested and intrigued, and even those that had "heard" of it before saw the "flipped classroom" in a new light for what I think it is really meant to be. Our principal asked the group if this was something that should be presented to the whole staff, and most of the teachers said "definitely!". So, I may be able to continue to share this teaching strategy with even more teachers! I love being able to share things that are "working" in my class with others! What great collaboration!

Most of the questions after the presentation were with regards to:
1. What technology can make this happen?
2. How do make sure students watch the videos/how can you hold them accountable?
3. How much time does this take?

I also gave all the teachers the links to several sites, including
#flipclass on twitter
flipped-learning.com
flippedclass.com
flipteaching.com
cybraryman.com/flipclass

I sent out another Google Forms survey this afternoon that asked three simple questions:

1. After hearing about it, what do you think about using the flipped classroom in your classroom?
2. What are your biggest concerns about flipping your classroom?
3. What questions do you have about the flipped classroom (as specific to your content area/grade level or as general as just the concept overall) do you still have after the presentation today?


I will post the results of that survey with some comments once I receive most of them back (I've only got 5 right now since I just sent the survey out after school today).


Here are just a few teaser comments:

Math teacher: I'm waiting for a great training so I can get this revolution started!!

English teacher: Crystal, your presentation on the flipped classroom was inspiring and awesome! I can see why the students would love this AND I can't wait to try it myself!!!

English teacher: I'll need to find some examples of how this would work in an English classroom for some of the content I'm teaching. Just taking some time to find examples, which I'll do on my own.

Music teacher: Flipped classroom lends itself well to music classrooms, and can be used in different ways. I wish I had thought about it when I was teaching AP Music Theory because the students were at so many different levels, and it was truly difficult to get past the teaching of content and to actually apply the concepts.

MY QUESTION FOR YOU...
Please comment with all the TECHNOLOGIES you use to make your flipped classroom happen. I would like to generate an extensive list to be able to share with my staff (and other readers). Along with listing the name, if you could include a short description and/or a link to a website that explains how to use it, where to download it, buy it, etc. In addition, if you could provide a link to one of your sample videos created with that technology, that would be great! Thank you for your time!!

Until next time (with some more comments and feedback)...