Falling for Flipping

Have you ever watched a movie the first time, only to ask when it is over, “What just happened?” Well, two movies that come to mind where I asked that question are “Inception” (Leo DiCaprio) and “The Sixth Sense” (Bruce Willis and Haley Joel Osment). Yes, I admit to having watched both of these movies on several occasions, because I found them very interesting, and because I absolutely had to understand them. After seeing them both multiple times, I made connections that explained the parts I had missed during previous viewings. In a similar way, this is what the flipped classroom is for many students – a chance to learn, and an opportunity to see it again and again until the connections are made.

Last week, my colleagues and I (Masters of Educational Leadership Cohort –EPS/UCO) were fortunate enough to hear from Mr. Scott Haselwood, M.Ed, who has taught his high school calculus students at Edmond Memorial High School via the flipped classroom. Currently, Mr. Haselwood is working on his PhD at OSU in Educational Technology full-time. I am very interested in what Mr. Haselwood will share with the education world next! While I have heard of the flipped classroom concept before, it was something that I had actually not attempted to do with my own students. Mr. Haselwood talked to us all about the benefits of flipping one’s classroom, the misconceptions that come along with this (by parents, other educators, etc.) and how each educator can make this his or her very own platform for teaching and learning.

The idea of teaching a lesson in its entirety by simply videotaping myself, then uploading the lesson for students to access when they arrive at home, is one that is still a bit foreign.  However, I am very interested in attempting this for the many benefits to my students. Mr. Haselwood spoke to us about the different platforms that are available for different products (Apple vs. Microsoft). Some of the flipped classroom technology that Scott shared with us are: Techsmith.com, Snagit, Camtasia, Tackk, Knowmia, Wonderbox and Puppetpals. These are all good resources to check out if you are interested in flipping your classroom. Some are apps and some are actual platforms. There are so many options to which teachers have access when flipping the classroom. I believe that when I do my first flipped lesson it will be posted on my Edmodo account, as that is how my students access all work and communication regarding my classroom (especially if they are absent) when not at school.

At first when I was listening to Mr. Haselwood speak about flipping his classroom, I thought this sounded like a very daunting task. After about 15 minutes into his discussion, however, I questioned why I have not yet done a flipped lesson. So, I decided that it was time I become a part of this movement. I considered the units that I teach in my science classes that pose the most confusion and misconceptions. I decided that the Genetics Unit is definitely at the top of the list. It is for this reason that I am currently working on a flipped lesson for teaching Punnett Squares, probability, genotype and phenotype. I can absolutely see the benefit of applying the flipped classroom model to this lesson. Students will be able to watch the lesson at their own pace. If they need to hear or see something again, they simply rewind to where they stopped understanding, and view it until connections form.

So how does a flipped classroom look? Well, here is the way Haselwood set up his classroom. He and his teaching partner would film a video then upload it (usually with a green screen and fun graphics occurring behind them) several times a week. Students would go home and view the video, do the assigned homework after watching the video. Students then returned to school the next day and grouped up with other students to share their thoughts, learn cooperatively, clear up misconceptions and easily explain what they learned with one another. If a student was having a difficult time, the group was usually able to help explain in a way that made clear sense to the other student(s). Then, Mr. Haselwood would go over the lesson with the students, and if everyone was ready to proceed forward, another video would be created. Not only do I really like the concept of the students having the ability to watch the video repeatedly until they know the concept, I also like that students explain to one another. In my classroom, I talk about “kid words” and “50 cent words”. I find that when my students are having a tough time with a concept, it is usually because I am using “50 cent words”. Now, there is absolutely nothing wrong with increasing one’s vocabulary, but when a new concept is being taught, it is often best to stick to words that students already know. New vocabulary can be added on after concepts are comprehended, in my opinion. I like to think of this as building blocks…one at at time.

I asked Mr. Haselwood how the flipped classroom worked for learners at different levels (whether that be reading comprehension, auditory processing, ELL, etc). He said that he believed that it actually enhanced learning for all students, because they did have the ability to see the lesson over and over until it made sense to each individual student. I completely bought in at this point! The idea that I can teach a lesson to students, and they can go back and watch it over and over until they have complete comprehension is phenomenal to me! Haselwood said, “You can meet every single student where every single student is.”

Another suggestion Haselwood has is for teachers  to work together when teaching a flipped lesson. This way, there are several teachers facilitating the lesson and they can take turns explaining the concepts. I have already reached out to my counterparts in the same grade level and have asked if they would like to join me in my first flipped lesson on genetics. They both said they are interested, and I am feeling very optimistic about this new endeavor! I imagine how all 7^th grade students at my school will have a new way to learn all about genetics, learn to correctly make Punnett squares, learn the vocabulary, and how all of these parts work together. Another point Scott made was that it is very important to speak to one’s administration when deciding to do a flipped classroom, as this is not the typical teaching style. I feel that I would have complete support, and will happily share this information with my administration before publishing the video. I believe that as long as teachers are doing what is best for students, administration will fully support a teacher’s endeavors.

Something else that Scott spoke about was about the importance for teachers to emphasize that students move onto next lesson only after they have proven mastery of the previous lesson. I am very much looking forward to trying out this new idea in my classroom, and will probably blog a little about it after it occurs later this fall. And I might even watch The Sixth Sense and Inception for a refresher on those two great movies!

 For more great information and resources from Mr. Scott Haselwood:

Twitter: @TeachFromHere

YouTube: The Drive (podcasts)