Flipped Classroom

In late 2015, I attended a conference at St Stephens on the Gold Coast called FlipCon. The presenters were Jon Bergmann and Aaron Sams, two Flipped Learning pioneers and leading figures in the movement. The conference showed me how to flip my classes, the benefits of the flipped model, and some of the ways to improve my flipping skills. I was motivated to try to flip in 2016 and I started flipping my lessons in some of my classes late 2015.

My experiences with the flipped model have been very positive. I decided to flip my Ext 2 and Ext 1 Maths (Prelim year) in 2016 due to the smaller amount of content and the (generally) positive and enthusiastic behaviours of the cohort.

Anecdotal evidence from flipping:

• I have never finished the Ext 2 content as fast as I did in 2016 or to the depth I wanted. Since students were doing more of the easier questions at home or in studies prior to the class, our classtime was spent working on the questions in the middle to harder range, an area I could provide value and not have them waste my presence by completing routine or easier questions in the classroom.
• Students could work at a pace that suited them and allowed them to go harder or slower with the content as their workload demanded.
  • One student was away for the first two weeks of Term 2 with sport, so did a whole topic (Integration) in the holidays. They didn't fall behind and spent time away refining skills and processes at a level the other students rarely got to.
  • Students were able to focus on subjects that required time and effort and ease up on the Ext 2 content, knowing they could catch up at another time. For example, if there was a Physics or Chemistry task coming up, students could focus on that, knowing the lessons for Ext 2 were still available a week later, and they would commit more of the finite resources of time, energy and focus when they could.
• Students were able to use the videos I created as revision - just like being taught all over again!
• I am using the same videos for Ext 2 in my 2017 class and have not had to create or plan a lesson yet! The sequence, worksheets and resources are all still there and I am using my time to add value to our class by creating more resources etc.

• Direct instruction, typically done in the class, is done outside the class.
• What was done at home is now done at school.
• Teachers are going to change their role, and become more facilitators of learning. They are going to help kids when they need it the most, which is in the classroom.
• Teachers record lesson, students watch, take notes, come into class the next day ready to work. Teachers check the students understanding, and students engage in the work to consolidate, master, remediate at their level.
• Allows for more inquiry, creative work during the class.
• Allows for differentiation within the classroom.
• Students can pause, rewind and rewatch if they don’t understand.

To say a flipped classroom is doing your homework at school and your schoolwork at home is oversimplifying it. It takes direct instruction at a group level and application at a mostly individual level to a model which has direct instruction at an individual level and application to a group level.

• Doesn’t require great understanding of technology.
• It’s not about the video, but there are lots of ways of making videos. I started using Screencast-o-matic and a writing tablet, but have moved to using a document camera to show students better how I set my working out on a page.
• You can video yourself teaching. Eddie Woo lesson
• Screencasts. Brad Ryall lesson
• Document cameras. Jeremy LeCornu Lesson
• Lightboards. Joel Speranza lesson
• Delivery system Clickview, YouTube, Google Drive, EdPuzzle, Zaption, Playposit, etc.

I post on YouTube, assign the video via Google classroom and post it for prosperity on my Google Sites.

Good teaching has always been about connections, relationships and when the teacher creates the content, the connection stays.Production values don’t have to be great. The students value what you are doing and enjoy the mistakes, the bloopers and lifes interruptions (my phone ringing, my kids coming in and seeing daddy on the computer).

My students like seeing my face in the classroom as I am their teacher, and I think this holds true in the flipped model as well. This is why I always show my face in my videos. As Joel Speranza said to me during one of his workshops at FlipCon 2015,

"The way you look on video is exactly the way you look in real life. Get over it."

• Short and sharp.
• Create content you can reuse.
• Don’t use year levels.
• One topic/idea per video.
• Pause regularly to save time.
• Include interactivity when possible.
• Speak quickly
• Include your face.

• Many students have never heard of a flipped class, let alone participated in one.
• How do you know if students have done their “homework”.
• What do you do if students haven't done the pre-learning required?
• Technology requirements.
• Providing differentiation for students.
• Connecting the outside activities with the inside activities.
• Finding time, skillset and motivation to start flipping.
• Getting students feedback.
• Seeing yourself on video!
• Copyright issues?
• Is it better?

• Students can work at their own pace.
• There are two differentiation buttons on the videos. Pause and rewind.
• Learning is 24/7. Flexible.
• Learning never stops when you (teacher or student) are absent.
• Allows much better access to high order problem time.
• Elimination of need to repeat lesson.
• Customized for classes.
• More realistic for future employment/study.
• Immediate feedback.
• Time is minimised in instruction.
• Classroom becomes a more dynamic environment.
• Improved student outcomes? Need data.
• It’s there. Forever!
• It’s there for revision!
• Use class time for more meaningful activities.
• Great source of personalised feedback.
• Great for revision!

• Tinker with videos. Change those that need changing, etc.
• Use class time better. More focus, class engagement.
• Continue to use my Professional Learning Network via Twitter, Facebook, etc. AMAZING source of ideas, support, encouragement, affirmation.
• Support those who need advice, ideas, are trying to develop resources.
• Flip the feedback.