Math Analysis Student Thoughts on #flipclass (part 2) - 7.5 months in

The following are responses to the survey I gave to my Math Analysis students after approximately 7.5 months of flipping my class (first 3 months was "disorganized" flipping, the last 4.5 months have been more focused/structured on what I really want my flipped class to look like). 

The survey was given via Google Forms.  I had 69 of my 72 students complete the survey.

After each question are just a few personal reflections and thoughts that came to mind when I considered the results.

See the closed-ended responses from my students in the first part of the post here: 

See my Algebra 1 responses here:  Closed-ended    Open-ended

 

 

What have you liked best about the “Flipped Classroom” this year?   (a lot of repeats, but I left them all in and bolded ones that really stood out to me)

• The flipped classroom is preparing you for college because you have the responsibility of watching the lesson or procrastinating and know nothing.
• I've liked that they are in Youtube and that we can literally play them over and over. We have control over lecture.
• The videos and working with groups
• Getting to watch video's at one's own pace.
• i am able to pause and go back
• Makes the students responsible for their education and forces them to have to put in the time to be able to understand the material .
• That we get to have help on our homework during class, The help we receive in class and that we can get help for our peers
• The fact that at home we can take our time to learn the concepts and have a large amount of resources from which we can get help from.
• The ability to watch videos more than once.
• Be able to go back to the videos later on when we need help.
• I like being able to ask questions in class with my peers and with the teacher.  I also like having the videos available online if I ever need to refer back to them. I like the forms for our online wsqs too, easy to submit
• i really liked watching the videos and learning from it instead of learning during class. that was very helpful especially when it got to really difficult concepts.
• What I like best is that if I don't understand I can rewind the video to see the part again and make sure that I didn't miss anything. I also like that it's there for me to go see later if I ever get a brain fart or just confused.
• The best thing about the "Flipped Classroom" was that it allowed for more interaction, and it offered us more opportunities to get help from others. In class, we could work with our groups and they would help in answering our questions.
• the ability to try what we learned in class
• The thing I have liked best about the flipped classroom is being able to get help on the PQ's in class and also making student videos.
• I have enjoyed the ability to go back and relearn the material by myself and if i didn't get it i could ask questions in class for help.
• I have liked the fact that we can review the video over and over until we understand the concept, but if we do not understand the concept, we can ask the following day for help about the concept with the discussion. If that does not work, we can ask you for help if needed.
• that i get to work with my classmates and we help each other out and explain the concepts to each other in our own words so that we can all understand the material.
• i have liked that we are able to rewatch videos to review or just because we need to watch it one more time.
• What I have liked the most about the flipped classroom is when im stuck in a material or i dont fully understand I can either rewatch it again or ask for help the next day.  What I liked about the flipped classroom is the fact that we are able to watch the videos as much as we need but at times i do wish we did traditional classroom lectures. However I like the fact that we are given more time during class and are able to discuss it with other people.
• We are able to do everything on our time even though not too late managing our own time.
• The fact that class is way more exciting now. Now that I am used to it, I realize that I can just get help from my teacher when I need it., The fact that we can ask for help from our peers and the teacher at the same time.
• I like the fact that I am still able to learn even when i can't be at school, the videos are always useful to me when i need them for review
• just being able to control my pace at learning the material.
• I like the fact that we can rewatch the videos as many times. This helped me a lot during take home tests. Also, I like working in groups during class because my classmates help me understand the concept even though I work at a slow pace, I always manage to understand.
• I liked discussing.
• I like how your learning is put into your own hands. I feel it makes me a more responsible student. It feels like college to me. Like you do your learning when you want as long as its done by the end of the week then your good.
• Class is 'home' so when I get stuck on a problem I have a class full of people and a teacher not just my parent who can't remember everything.
• I liked how the flipped classroom helped me understand and not feel rushed to learn a concept. I was able to take my time and re-watch anything that i did not understand the first time.
• I've liked having videos for help and reference more than for actual learning.
• I like that homework isn't really homework but just watching videos.
• This year I liked that if I did not understand or remember something I could just go back to the Unit videos to go over or review the material again. I also think the summary helps me review the material and organize what I just learned.
• i have liked how the classroom is much more interactive, meaning i get to talk a lot more in class while also having to take more responsibility for my work, it doesn't get boring in class.
• I have liked that we could learn at our own pace at home. I love that we could go back and fastforward when we need to. I like that I could use the videos whenever I need to study and refresh my memory.
• I like that I can be able to do all of this on my time.
• you can always review the material at home if you didn't get the concept the first time
• Easy to manage! On my own time and very convenient!(:
• it allows us to learn on our own time, I like that it allows us to talk in class about what we learned
• I like how the videos explain a lot of things. Before flipped classroom the time where we learned was wasted because I would zone out and not pay attention because it was boring. Now that we have the flipped classroom I think that they are short and to the point. I can learn at my own pace.
• Having it their when ever we needed to go back and look at it.
• got the chance to with with groups and discuss any problems you didn't understand.
• I like the fact that we get to work with one another in groups. It is helpful to learn from others because they might be able to clarify something.
• I liked the videos. They were there for support and it became easier to learn at your own pace.
• The thing I like best about the "Flipped Classroom" this year would be doing PQs in class with my group because I can ask questions and you would have time to answer some questions i would have too.
• i like that we can learn the material before the day which can give us a heads up. and if we don't understand we can always discuss in class to get help.
• Doing the PQs in class instead of at home.
• One thing I've noticed over the past couple years, since I've always been a grade ahead of most people in my math classes, is it's really hard to find someone who can help you with the homework when you don't have any classes with them and with the Flipped Classroom I don't really have to worry about it because I can get all the help during class. I also feel like it has sort of forced us to be independent students, although we're constantly working with those around us it showed us that we don't always need to be asking our teacher, regardless of who it is, for help but that we can figure it out ourselves. Lastly, sort of along the lines of us being more independent, most math classes have to essentially freeze when the teacher is out but with the flipped classroom we know what we have to do and we have all the resources to do what we need.
• What i really liked was that i take responsibility for my learning this year instead of it given to me, and even though i thought this flipped classroom was a joke at first, it helped me learn the material thoroughly and clearly and actually helps me and seniors on our responsibility, preparing us for the future in sort of a way.
• we get to watch lessons at home
• What i liked best about the videos was that they are always there to look back to and that i can learn at my own pace. What i also like about the videos is that if i don't get something, i can rewatch the videos again.
• Being able to work with whoever we think can help us.
• I could take quizzes whenever I wanted to.
• I like that I can catch up and learn the material at my own pace.
• I like doing this because i can always go back to the videos for example when we do our test and we don't remember about the review i just watch the videos and refresh my memory on how to do them.
• Getting to go back and watch the videos if I need more help and being able to pause and rewind the videos.
• just being able to do the work in class
• Just that it has truly put the responsibility on us the student to make sure we're keeping up with what we have to do. I like how the videos do help when reviewing for test like our final exam.
• I like the fact that we have the opportunity to ask for help from our classmates and from Mrs. Kirch if we suddenly come upon a question while working on the PQs.
• the whole concept of it is just different and i like that a lot. i like how the videos are always available to you when you need them, I'm just the one not taking advantage :/
• I have liked how having access to the material from class is on the internet in video format made from other students
• For the fact that we can rewind and skip through out the videos if we misunderstood something or understand it well it enough. We can always go back and learn the lesson again without the teacher being able to reteach it.
• I enjoy the fact that I am able to re watch the lesson if I do not comprehend it the first time around.

What part of the "Flipped Classroom" would you like to see changed for the rest of the year?

Student-made videos

• No more student made videos. Or maybe just as an alternative.
• i actually liked the quizzes because i was able to check my progress and my understanding of the concept on the spot rather than waiting for the videos to be graded.
• I would like to be able to make student videos for all of the concepts but have a video or two due at a certain date and not all of them at once.
• More student videos, less/no more quizzes.

Online WSQ

• the online WSQ is much longer and i dont like that too much going on b/c i do have other classes and time is valuable.  [The only difference between the handwritten WSQ and the online WSQ is that I ask the students to finish the sentences "The part I understood the most is..." and "The part I am still confused about is..."  Everything else is identical, so I'm not sure why this student thinks it is longer.]
• To be honest i found the handwritten summary in our notebook more convenient  then the online WSQ.  [I find it more convenient as well for in class discussions, but student accountability is lacking because I don't read everyone's WSQ every day and a lot of students get in the habit of writing crap down because they know it won't be read.]
• The online wsq's-I preferred handwritten wsq's instead. (the submitting process) or maybe you should start like that from the beginning so it could be a routine and by having to change the way most of us are used too. [Agreed - whatever I decide next year will just be routine and the way it is... I changed way too much stuff around this year]
• The part i would like to see changed is the "online WSQ" because then we would have to write the wsq again or print it out which would waste paper. We can just do the wsq by hand so that we wouldn't have to do additional stuff.
• I would like it to continue they way it is, submitting the WSQ online forces us to actually be thoughtful when it comes to the writing about what we learned and the questions we have. The WSQ online I feel helps me keep myself on track. [My purpose in doing it online!]
• I would like the online wsq to be optional, at least sometimes. I used to watch the videos on my ipod but now I have to use my computer because of the online wsq. [My challenge with requiring it to be submitted online - this is a valid issue because many students watch the videos "offline" and now have to go on a computer to submit]
• I think the online WSQ is just a pain but i like it because you are aware of who did there hw and it a fair process.
• [Thoughts - I could require the online WSQ from the beginning of the year, but for individual situations I could allow them to physically turn in a hard copy instead.  That way the accountability is still there.  Also, if I tell them from the beginning of the year that they must be able to hold a discussion about the questions even without their handwritten answers in front of them, that might force them to think more about the material in a way they will still remember it the next day. ]
  

Class Time

• i would like to do some concepts in class, i think it would be nice to learn in class again, not through videos! (i still like flipped classroom:))
• Not having videos to watch everyday. With some of the more difficult concepts, we should learn them in class., No more videos please :) [This comment comes from one of my constantly complaining students. So, unfortunately, I don't really take many of her complaints to heart.  I don't see how learning the more difficult concepts in class is more helpful because you don't have time to individually grapple and ask questions with it.  I could see introducing the more difficult concepts on video and still planning for more of a whole-class discussion the next day, like I've done several times... but I am really going away from any initial delivery of content during class time.]
• i would like to see more discussion time during class time with the whole class or like going over a problem the first five minutes of class or something like that.  [I've been trying to do a whole-class intro to the lesson, whether that be a mini-discussion or a sample problem, at the beginning of class]

General/ Random ideas and thoughts

• I would like to see the WSQ being discussed at the end of the video because it would help us answer the questions. [I could see this being a good thing to do at the end of the video as a summary; although I don't want to answer the questions for them...]
• I think just doing flipped classroom once in a while not all the time I just kind of don't see the point, it's making the class harder than it has to be. [One thing these students don't realize is that we started the flipped classroom right as the material was getting harder.  Units A-D are complete review of Algebra 2, and Units E-I are a partial, but more complex review.  We started the flipped classroom near the end of Unit F.  So, the material was getting harder, naturally, and some students are blaming it being harder on the flipped classroom when instead it's just because of the content.]
• The part would be making the quizzes a thing again it is a good way to prepare for the test.
• I'd like to see a change back into taking quizzes, i feel like those show how much each student knows the best before they take the test. [We didn't do quizzes for Units Q,R,S,T.  I am definitely going back to quizzes for U,V.  Next year I will do quizzes for R and S - they needed it!]
• I think I would like to see the answers for the PQ's and the PT's available online. I'm not sure if they are on Edmodo or not, but nothing showed up when I tried looking for them (to check my work) for some recent units. [They usually are, but I haven't done a great job of making sure this year. Too much on my plate!  One thing I hate about this comment is the fact that this student didn't send me a message to ask for the answer keys - they just looked, didn't find, and gave up. Ask me!]
• have the videos all on one, not split apart [I experimented for Units Q,R,S on having multiple "short" videos instead of one "long" video.  Videos are still 15 minutes max total time.  This will be one of my "end of year" survey questions on how the students felt about it.  There are pros and cons to both ways.]
• I would like to see you actually check the homework. I know that you trust us to do the homework, but it would be more beneficial to us if you would check the homework. [Some days I check, some days I just have the students self-evaluate.  I'd rather them do it for the learning than do it for the "blue signature".  But, I guess they are still teenagers :)]
• Some of the thing is that I think you should do flipped classroom at least 3 times a week and do regular once a while because it gets a little boring watching videos everyday. [This shows that many of my students define the "flipped classroom" as "watching videos" and not for what it is supposed to be.  A huge misconception I need to work on for next year. I don't see how my classroom can be "half-flipped".  Does this mean they have to watch videos EVERY night?  No... they are given a week's worth of material and have until Friday to get it done.  That means, if they wanted, they would only have to watch videos 1-2 nights a week.  But, they choose not to.  A choice I should probably emphasize more next year.]
• I do not find  the question portion of the WSQ useful because sometimes I don't have any important questions to offer. So I end up making a very similar question to the WSQ. Therefore, I think it should be optional or maybe students should be required to write at least 2 questions on the online WSQ every week just in case they choose to not do it all when given the choice. [Like I've mentioned before, I need to do a better job of teaching/modeling the art of question-asking. It's a hugely important skill I want my students to develop]
• I think some questions on the WSQ are kind of hard and I'm not really sure what the answer is so I'm not sure what to fill in. [Good :)  That means our in class discussion will help you :)]
• The Quizzes in class as well as on your own time i feel don't help. I work on pq's all of class time as well as other math assignments and feel there is no time for quizzes. I don't think quizzes help either, i think the primary focus should be pq's then boom test. [A student who needs time management help... I need to find a way to support this, because many students fall into this category.]
• an optional video wsq would be nice because some people learn by talking it out in comparison to simply writing it out [I gave this option earlier in the year and nobody took me up on it.]
• no wsq chart ! only cause i don't do homework and its affecting me,  other than that everything is good. [no comment...]

Nothing to be changed...

• There is nothing that I would change I think they are good how they are.
• There isn't anything to change since things are fine as it is right now.
• I think the flipped classroom is as good as it is.
• Nothing. I like it the way it is.
• Nothing because its already helpful.
• I really don't need anything to change, everything is fine and I am keeping up with the class especially when I'm not in school because of sports. I wouldn't change anything.
• there nothing that i would like to change. only that i would like to have less technical difficulties when watching the videos.
• I wouldn't change a thing.
• The flipped part. Joking aside, it seems pretty good where it is.
• I like everything about the flipped classroom as it is.

What could Mrs. Kirch do for you to help support you more in the "Flipped Classroom"? (some great ideas here!)

• Mrs. Kirch already does too much for the flipped classroom i couldn't think of anything.
• Longer discussion about math related things. Like if someone asks a important question to actually highlight it and talk about in class. Go over examples?
• I think you've done enough
• More wsq questions that make one think.
• For the students have a live chat thing for like 30 min for the students who don't understand a certain concept or part of one
• I think we should have a minimum of a number of problems done by the end of the class in order to ensure that every student stays on task through out the period., Calling home if you didn't watch the videos
• review to the whole class critical parts of a concept no matter how advanced each student is.
• Just go over the concepts to both refresh our memories and clarify. Maybe put a required "challenge" question for each concept that puts all the parts of the concept together. Then work it out in class and see what students did right or did wrong. That way you can see the most common errors. 
• nothing more. what she's doing now is above and beyond the help we need.
• I like how all the videos are organized into playlists.  Please keep that forever and ever! :)
• i think you could just continue the discussions and maybe do more with the whole class. i think songs would be helpful too (for formulas and stuff) :D
• There is nothing that Mrs. Kirch could do, I think she is already doing enough.
• Something that might help would be to add bonus videos of questions that would resembles questions on the test. For example, on the take home tests there were a couple of tricky problems that we didn't necessarily cover in the videos or in class.
• check on how we are doing with the concepts more often
• I would like Mrs. Kirch to add more jokes or fun facts in the videos to make them more funny especially if the videos are long.
• Give more time to learn harder concepts so we can understand it better
• I think what would help support the flipped classroom is checking the homework more in class.
• I think it wold be to try to solve more difficult problems of the concepts because the homework problems aren't as simple as the video ones.
• continue doing the class WSQ discussion at the beginning of class and continue to come around to each table to test us on the material from that night's videos
• i think Mrs. Kirch is doing everything she can to support us in flipped classroom.
• I like the fact that Mrs. Kirch gets a group of people to teach what they dont understand and i wish she would do it more often if possible.
• Do more of the interviews it was a good test.
• I like it the way it is right now. , I think she is doing fine.
• Well there is nothing much to do, I'm doing fine, I'm learning my material. I think Mrs Kirch can open a chat room to ask her questions and so others can see what questions were being asked
• i would like to continue the in class discussions, they help a lot.
• I like take home tests, I think they allow students to use the resources we have available. Also making videos, because they allow others to watch what we learn.
• It would be nice for Mrs. Kirch to do more student videos because they are fun.
• I think that having a walk through of a pq in class for the whole class to work on together would be a good idea. like you asking what we think the next step should be and calling on us the letting us work on the other pqs instead of a group wsq discussion
• I like that Mrs. Kirch has been walking around helping us with the practice problems. It has helped me a lot. Also, I like using the online WSQ and I find it more organized than if I wrote it in my notebook. Last of all, I think the chat session on google are very helpful me. So please continue to create the chat sessions.
• i like the idea of making videos, just try not to make us do so many as to have us come after school and during lunch just to finish them
• I think that maybe we should go straight to our PQs  when going to class. Or maybe also we should at least have like 5 minutes to solve the first  problem on our own and then we could go over it as a class all together. 
• Review problems at the beginning of class.
• i like how when multiple people are having trouble on one part of a concept she forms a little group in class to teach.
• I think you should take more general questions and address them as a whole in class the next day.
• I think that it is going quite well and Mrs. Kirch is doing great with it.
• she's doing everything right
• I think she is doing a WONDERFUL job. I think more teachers should be like her.
• Maybe do one example as a class when we are working on a hard concept, or pull out a group.
• There doesn't seem to be any other things that you help me in. The ideas that you have thought up has help me enough as it is.
• keep having the videos the day before so we can all get to class to really master it and understand it well enough to teach another student.
• I really like the discussion questions better than just summaries because I would often leave out some extremely important pieces but with the questions you created I know exactly what you really want me/us to focus on.
• She could go over at least one more example in class to clear up any frustrations in the lesson
• To call our parents when we dont do the wsq
• Continue walking around the room to make sure we are heading the right way.
• Everything is helpful and everything on the flipped classroom is good enough for me to understand the concepts.
• I think the flipped classrooms are fine the way they are. I am able to understand the concepts the way they are.
• go over problems more often in class when a majority of students don't understand a concept still.
• Have little class sessions more often for some groups that might not have fully understood the process the night before. I find the sessions in class helpful because you are able to go in a slow pace and explain everything thoroughly.
• I like having additional problems done on video for reference. Also, i think its better to keep the video at the maximum of 8 minutes each per video so that we aren't too worn out.
• Mrs. kirch does enough already. Shes an amazing teacher. Anyone would be lucky to have her.
• I would say that she is doing her job very well and the students who want support will always have it
• Can go over and do or give hints on some PQ problems whether we understand it or not. This is will help us have a jumpstart and gain some knowledge of knowing what to do.
• nothing in particular. You're doing a great job!

Any other questions, comments, concerns, or suggestions?

• Your doing a great job Mrs. Kirch. Keep it up. :]
• I like that you address our questions on the online WSQ right away.  Thank you!
• maybe take home tests can be just a little bit shorter hehe :p and I feel like we take A LOT of tests we pretty much take one EVERY week
• I enjoy the take home tests because im not rushed to finish :)
• Great Job with the Flipped classroom :) it has been quite the success
• Using edmodo is great! But sometimes it's very hard to search up specific resources when needed.
• i appreciate the effort you give to make sure we as students understand. which is basically 24/7. i feel like you spend to much time on us that you forget about your husband. so start spending more time with him. :)
• Taking quizzes would improve test scores.
• I like that there are always many resources for us to learn the material.
• yeah mrs. kirch I'm sorry for the student I've shown to be all year.  you don't deserve it and i should of put more effort. your doing a great job at what your doing with the class, probably the best teacher I've ever had.