FlipCon15 Learning & Reflection

There were a lot of amazing sessions at FlipCon this year.  So many, in fact, that I have a ton of virtual archive watching to do in the next few weeks.  They all seemed to overlap with each other!  ;

I was able to attend three sessions (besides the two I presented).  I attended two great sessions that had direct applications to the math classroom.  The other one was on students generating the content for the class.  I am really excited to bring some of these ideas to the teachers I am working with.  Several of them will also apply to non-math classrooms as well.

 Leveraging The Flipped Classroom to Increase Writing and Discourse in Mathematics

bit.ly/flipcon15discourse

Zach Cresswell, Tara Maynard, Delia Bush

Ideas Shared:

1. "Backs to Front" - students partner up, one facing the front screen and the other with their back to the screen.  The teacher projects a list of 4-5 vocabulary words or concepts on the screen.  The goal is for the person with their back to the screen to correctly identify what the word or phrase is.  You can do this in a couple different ways.  The person facing front could just be allowed to use words, could use hand motions, words and hand motions, or with drawings.  Another option instead of having just words / phrases on the screen would be to have pictures.  The person facing front has to describe the drawing for the guesser to draw themselves.  You can have the drawing visible (so the person facing front can adjust directions accordingly) or have the drawing hidden (so the person facing front has no idea what is being drawn and if it is correct).   Whatever way you do it, it's important for the person with their back facing the front to give feedback to the person facing the front and tell them what they could have said to make them understand it better.
2. Handling homework questions - Since most of the teachers I work with spend quite a lot of time going over homework questions, there were some great suggestions here.  Instead of asking the question, "Which ones did you not understand?" or "What would you like me to go over?", ask the question, "Do you feel comfortable enough with the problem to explain it in class to your group".  You could gather this information via a Google Form before class (even if they do it the first minute of class it would work), or you could make a frequency chart with sticky notes or "x's" on the whiteboard.
3. Thinking and Questioning Prompts- Tara shared a handout she has for question frames and starters.  I had gathered a bunch from online but this is so much more concise and (I think) easier for students to understand.  I'm very excited to share this with my math teachers, especially since I am actually leading some of the ELD training at my district for the math content area this fall!
4. Number talks - I've seen number talks modeled multiple times at different workshops and have come to the realization that they are valuable at all grade levels, not just elementary.  In addition to number sense and strategies, they are very good for working memory (how much information a student can hold in their head at a time).  One strategy I had never heard before with number talks is that after a student holds their thumb in front of their chest for having a solution, they are asked to think of another way - and they would hold up TWO fingers if they had TWO strategies, and THREE fingers once they had a THIRD, etc.  This keeps everyone thinking and working during the number talk time, and it helps kids to undrestand that there are multiple ways to represent problems and not just "one right way".
5. Zach shared about his Pre-Calc blogging, which he does a combination of reflective blogging (what was difficult about it? What did you gain from it?) mixed with specific prompts.  I am hoping to get a couple teachers on board with having their students blog, even if it is just through a Haiku wikiproject or something more "closed".  He even shared his blog scoring rubric for Pre-Cal and Calc!
6. Vocabulary Tic-Tac-Toe - put 9 words  on a Tic-Tac-Toe board.  The students choose any Tic-Tac-Toe direction (horizontal, vertical, diagonal) to use all three words in a sentence that relates them to each other. 

The Inquiry-Based Flipped Classroom

bit.ly/flipcon15inquiry

Zach Cresswell

There is a website called gifsmos.com that allows you to make Desmos graphs into GIFs!  This is so cool!

Zach shared a sampleweekly plan for his "inquiry-based" flipped classroom.  This is the practical stuff that teachers need in order to see how it could be implemented in their classroom!!!

Flipping Content Creation

bit.ly/SGCFlipcon15

Lindsay Cole

I think the most interesting thing about this session (besides it was facilitated by my awesome roomie!) was that it wasn't just about student created videos - it was about student created content… the students actually create the content that is used in the class!

A few key notes (see her slides as well for more details on the process)

• The biggest difference between project/presentation and Student Generated Content (SGC) is the AUDIENCE
• When creating rubrics, have a "4" for the perfect score, but then add a column for a "5" for pushing it to the next limit / challenging students beyond

FlipCon15 Family Reunion

I just got back from FlipCon15 in Michigan (after taking a few extra days to visit family before coming home) and the biggest thing I am struck by is how my #flipclass colleagues are not just "colleagues" or even simply "friends", but truly "family".  As I sat in the Flint airport getting ready to fly back on Thursday, I had a similar feeling to that when I said goodbye to my husband and 2 year old for the week... it's hard to say goodbye to those who you are so close to and who truly understand you!

How did this happen?  How do people who I only see once or twice a year become the ones who truly are my second family?

I started reading other teachers' blogs when I started teaching in 2007.  I (for some reason) was always afraid to comment on them or to join in the conversations.  I enjoyed gleaning some ideas but also staying somewhat far away from the action.  I attempted to start a blog myself, but didn't really know what to write about (now I realize I was trying to start a blog to write for others, instead of simply writing for myself)...

Fast forward 4 years to when I started flipping my class.  I hit a point after a couple of months where I was committed to it - and I needed / wanted to document my journey so I could look back and effectively evaluate the shift in teaching I was exploring.  I'm really not sure when I finally decided to hop on Twitter - I had an account but had tweeted once in 2-3 years.  I do remember tweeting out my first blog post called "My Favorite WSQ" and having Jon Bergmann retweet it.  My husband got woken up early that day with shrieks of excitement!  I can only laugh at that now...

Through the #flipclass chat, Twitter and Blogging in general, I was able to meet so many people who were trying out similar shifts in their classroom.  We were able to share ideas, struggles and successes, and build a community.  I was able to go to ISTE2012 in San Diego with a few other teachers from my district, and I was so excited to meet some of these "famous" people that I had met on Twitter over the last 5-6 months.  To say I was starstruck would be putting it lightly.  However, meeting these rockstars in person developed those connections and relationships further.  We weren't just "tweeps" who knew each other online - we were becoming friends. The "Cheesebucket Posse" was formed.

I joined in FlipCon12 virtually and connected with several other teachers through the Twitter backchannel.  It was a few weeks later that I was at home alone (the husband was out on a guys' camping trip) and started chatting with Cheryl, Andrew, and Karl on Twitter and GHO.  Little did I know that that week was the foundation for the most supportive group of teachers I would ever meet.  As the school year started and I encountered some tough situations with nasty people online, they were there to support me, encourage me, and speak up for me when I had no words.  As I stepped out of the blogging world for a while in dealing with the joys of being pregnant, I remained connected to the community through their friendship.

The "circle" has continued to expand, and it was so exciting planning for FlipCon14 in person (Post 1, 2, 3, 4).  It was my first "real" presentation (I had done webinars, workshops at my site, and a few other much smaller things), so I was nervous about that.  However, the excitement that stemmed from anticipating finally meeting so many more of my #flipclass PLN overpowered any nervousness that existed.  It was a whirlwind, exciting time connecting with people face to face and solidifying relationships that had been formed online.

After FlipCon14 I took my new position out of the classroom and stepped away from the #flipclass chat (mainly due to the timing of it - it's hard to cook dinner for a one year old and participate in a twitter chat at the same time).   However, I found other ways to stay connected through random Twitter conversations, Voxer groups, and sporadic blogging.  There was no way I was missing out on FlipCon15 and another chance to connect in person with my #flipclass friends.

As the day drew closer to fly out to Michigan, I'll be honest that I wasn't quite feeling it. I worked an extra week the first week of summer, flew out to ISTE2015 and was away from my husband and Grayson for a week, and was only home for a week before knowing I'd have to leave again.  I was excited to see everyone, but kind of feeling blah about spending so much time away from my "real" family.   There is something strange that happens when I see my #flipclass friends in person though... it's like all of that goes to the wayside and I'm just so excited to be there.

FlipCon15 was a whirlwind... from arriving late on Sunday night and going to the "boys" side of the dorm, only to have someone open up "my" room and then say, "Hey, I know you, I follow you on Twitter!" to having someone walk me back from the parking lot who had absolutely no idea who I was or anything about my experience with #flipclass (I'll admit, that's kind of nice sometimes...).

I tried to sleep in Monday and adjust to the time change but it was not to be. I got up and went to help out with the Boot Camp sessions that were going on.  Monday night we got to drift down the river (thankfully the rain passed us by!).  It was great to have conversations with people who I hadn't really talked to much before.  The conference itself flew by - I got to present twice (WSQ chats, Formative Assessment) and attend some great sessions.  I'll blog about my takeaways in another post :)

Wednesday night several of us that were still around went out to dinner and then to Starbucks to hang out.  Did you know that it's still light outside in Michigan at 9:30pm?  It was so weird.  It was Wednesday night as I was preparing to say goodbye (or "see you later") to my #flipclass friends that I realized we are so much more than friends.  These people are my second family.  They somehow understand me, constantly encourage and challenge me, and are just fabulous people to be around.

FlipCon is so much different than the other conferences (ISTE and CUE) I've attended.  It being a smaller conference obviously helps - but it's also about the people.  Attending "virtually" is great for the learning and online connections you can make.  But, once you make those connections in person, it's just different. It's more than "my online Twitter friends".  It's family.  A lot of people don't understand it - how can you spend so much time and money to connect and share with these people you just met online?  It's because they have become my family, and FlipCon is a chance for a once-a-year family reunion.

I didn't take that many pics (I left that up to others and then saved their pics), but here are a few from my camera...

Meals in the MSU Cafeteria... who knew they could be so good? ;)

Friends on the Bus - Ken & Lindsay

Friends on the Boat - Kate & Ken

Dedication. 5:30 am "before" the insanity workout with Lindsay - Roomies Rock!

We know Brian Bennett... do you?

I roped two of them into it... this is the "after" with Delia.

FlipCon15 Session: Formative Assessments on the Fly RESOURCES

I had a great time finishing up #FlipCon15 by leading "Formative Assessments on the Fly".  Because this could be seen as more of a tool-based session, I really tried to make an emphasis on not getting excited about how "cool" or "fun" these tools seemed, but to always consider them in the light of "How could these tools give me a window into student thinking?" and "How would the data from these tools allow me to change or modify instruction to improve or deepen student understanding?"

I had a lot of links for participants to go to as they used each tool from the "student" perspective and I displayed the results of the "teacher" perspective on the screen.  I used two methods that I think worked well.  At the beginning I gave them a bit.ly to a OneTab set of tabs that they could then just open all of them up at the beginning.  In addition, I had bit.ly's for each of the tools they could go to as I instructed them to.  I made the bit.ly's very easy to get to (bit.ly/kirch1, bit.ly/kirch2, etc) and I think it worked well.

The tools I showed included asynchronous ones (students don't have to be in class, teacher doesn't have to "start" and "stop" it) like AnswerGarden, TodaysMeet, Padlet, and GoFormative, as well as synchronous ones like PollEverywhere, Socrative, and Kahoot.  We didn't get to do the student version of Kahoot because of time (I planned for this because most people have heard of Kahoot so I put it last).

Slides (with lots of links embedded)


  Resources and further learning (from pre-work)



Resources from the Padlet Wall

Created with Padlet

FlipCon15: Winning WSQ Chats RESOURCES

We had a great first session at FlipCon.  I facilitated a session called "Winning WSQ chats".  This session was less focused on the WSQ strategy (I briefly went over it for 10 minutes) and more on how the WSQ helps to prep students for discussion time in class - and what those discussion activities can look like. 

For each discussion activity, I discussed the purpose of the activity, when to use it, "teacher tips" and things I've learned, and then took ideas and questions from the participants for a couple of minutes.  You can see all the notes on the Slide Deck.

Session Description:
WSQ (Watch-Summarize-Question) is a strategy to help students engage with flipped learning videos. Its purpose is to help support students come to class ready to dive into deep discussions and high-level learning activities. The big question lies: What are those discussions and activities?
This session will explore different types of launching activities that the teacher can design for students that will really give them the opportunity to demonstrate TWIRLS (Thinking- Writing- Interacting- Reading- Listening- Speaking) in class.
Topics will include Peer Instruction with Digital Assessment Tools, Student-Created Work and Blogging, Inquiry / Discovery Activities, Hands-On Group Activities, and Traditional Group Discussions.

If you attended (or if you missed the session!), please check out the resources here:

Slide Deck - reference for descriptions, examples, links to student blog examples, etc.

• Pre-Session Form - even now, please use this to submit your own WSQ chat ideas for others to see
• Results from Pre-Session Form (see others ideas for discussions / "WSQ Chats" here!)

Traditional Discussion visual
Hands-on / Kinesthetic visual
Inquiry / Discovery visual
Student-created work & blogging visual
Peer Instruction visual

More information on the WSQ strategy (only briefly touched on during session)

1. Access my WSQing document here; this link will take you to page 12, where I start talking specifically about WSQ chats.  Please read through pages 12-15. If you are not familiar with the WSQ at all, please read through the entire document from the beginning.
2. Watch my webinar archive “Designing a Flipped Learning Environment” here.
3. Visit the links included on my “WSQing your Way to FlipClass Success” resource page here.