The Flipped Classroom: Will you be "Flipping Out?"

In November, I facilitated a professional development workshop for secondary mathematics teachers on technology integration, based on Marzano’s instructional strategies, with positive feedback and implementation of the Flipped Classroom by several teachers.  The LiveBinder for the presentation is in a previous post.  One strategy that yields a 20% gain in learning is Homework & Practice.  However, research shows that students should adapt skills while they are learning them.  Speed and accuracy are key indicators of the effectiveness of practice.  That being the case, what does it say about students who get home and become stuck while trying desperately to follow the day’s notes to complete homework problems?  Often this results in feelings of frustration and ineffective practice. 

The flipped model of instruction is an innovative teaching strategy that can elevate those frustrations and have students prepared to work problems in class, where the teacher can assist.  This also creates more time for application activities or labs, where students will be able to cover more material with a deep understanding. I used this model with great success in the mathematics classroom (on a small scale) to differentiate instruction, but only periodically as remediation or enrichment. The reaction from the students was extremely positive.  They enjoyed being able to learn at their own pace by pausing and rewinding at will.  EDMODO was a great tool to post lesson videos and elicit student feedback.  While reflecting and searching for new resources, I stumbled across this video.  The flipped model of instruction will take some teachers more time to become sold on the strategy.  This is a paradigm shift for teaching and learning.  Instead of our traditional role as “sage on the stage,” we are now the “guide on the side.” Watch the video below to see how the success of this strategy convinced a high school principal to FLIP HIS ENTIRE SCHOOL!  What do you think about this model of teaching and learning? Do you think there are any content areas the flipped classroom wouldn’t work for?

Additional Resources

Flipped Class Network: http://vodcasting.ning.com/

Co-learning Network: http://colearningnetwork.org

Flipped Class Blog: http://flipped-learning.com/?page_id=45

Research & Data: http://flipteaching.com/page7/index.php

Mastery Learning: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mastery_learning

Great Webinar: http://connect.enetcolorado.org/p8v0ubgtsa6/?launcher=false&fcsContent=true&pbMode=normal