2014-01 Muhamad Zaki Bin Jalil
Instructions
Your personal page serves at least three purposes. It is a place for you to:
take notes
enable your flipped presentation
submit your individual assignment
Use the rough scaffold below as a guide. You may add headers and content, but not remove any.
Part A: Imagine that you are submitting a Wikipedia article on the flipped classroom. Draft your article here. Bear in mind that your writing will be public and subject to scrutiny and critique. What would you write to educate others like your school principal and colleagues about the flipped classroom.
Part B and C: You are a manager of other teachers, Suggest a plan for a group of teachers to flip their classrooms. Prepare a flipped presentation in Part C to get formative feedback on your plans.
Refrain from uploading presentation or other files to this space. Instead, host your files in the cloud and embed them in your page. For help on how to do this, refer to the iTunes U courses provided by CeL in the Resources section or search Google or YouTube.
Name: Muhamad Zaki B Jalil
School: Cedar Primary School
Role:Science HOD
Part A: Article on Flipped Classrooms
(To make this assignment even more useful to me in my role as a middle manager and an instructional leader, I am going to write Part A as a Wiki but in such away so that I can easily use it for the sharing session with my school’s teachers I intend to have about Flipped Classrooms.. It would be like a ‘script to a lesson plan’ to get buy-in from other stakeholders)
1. Definition and origins of the "flipped classroom"
The Flipped Classroom is where Flipped Teaching occurs. At the simplest level, a flipped classroom can be understood by reversing what happens in a traditional classroom.
Consider what usually happens when a child gets schooled: (1) Child goes to school and learns from a teacher in the classroom, then (2) The child goes back home to do work assigned by a teacher as practice of the concepts learned in the classroom.
The disadvantage of this is that the child has to learn at the pace in which the teacher has set it to be. Even if differentiated instructions has been adopted within the classrooms, the differentiated pace is still dictated within the confines of the period allocated to that particular subject, topic, and class profile. Also, when the child does the work at home, there is no guarantee that there will be assistance provided by anyone when he or she encounters a problem in understanding or in completing the tasks given. A Flipped Classroom can help remedy this problem.
Consider what can happen when the child’s classroom gets flipped: (1) At home, child starts learning by reading materials and watching lecture videos and other type of videos selected and provided by the teacher, then (2) The child goes to school to do work assigned by a teacher to consolidate learning and/or as practice of the concepts learned in the home-phase of the learning.
The advantage of the Flipped Classroom is that the child can now learn at the comfort of his/her own home and at a pace more suited for his or her own learning. The child can rewind and replay parts in which he or she has difficulties understanding. Even if the difficulty is not immediately resolved, the child can already identify and list a set of questions to ask the teacher even before getting into the classroom. Also, when the child does the assigned practice in school, the teacher can easily and readily provide assistance. The flipping done in the above comparison is of course a basic understanding of what flipping classrooms can be. More ‘dimensions’ of flipping will be explained in the sections below.
The idea of flipping classrooms was popularised by chemistry teachers Jonathan Bergmann and Aaron Sams in the spring of 2007 [1], who began recording their live lessons for pupils who missed class to not miss out on learning. They then posted their lectures online so that their pupils could access them. The idea of flipped teaching however, was not new.
In 2000 for example, Maureen J. Lage, Glenn J. Platt and Michael Treglia, were already writing about how “inverting the classroom” can be a great gateway to an inclusive learning environment [2]. In 1999, Gregor Novak, in a bid to get his part-time evening class pupils in a university engaged, experimented with another precursor to the Flipped Classroom called the Just in Time Teaching, or JiTT for short [3]. Even earlier, in the early 1990s, Eric Mazur developed a learning system involving pupils preparing to learn outside of class by doing pre-class readings and answering questions about those readings before discussing their answers and ideas with peers. [4]
Flipping Classrooms is now becoming more and more popular amongst classroom educators. Improvements in Video Technology means there are more readily available videos, more readily available recording devices and an increased know-how on how to use such devices. There are also great improvements in Communication Technology. Better bandwidth means more people are connected to the internet. Teachers are also less resistant to the idea of a flipped classroom as the realization that traditional classrooms are not suitable for everyone, that their pupils learn at different paces, that unguided practice or homework makes no sense when their realise that immediate feedback is the most important factor to good teaching, and that the learners themselves are fast changing the way they learn, with the increased connectivity to the world wide web.
Teachers are also able to learn from other teachers who have tried flipping and are also sharing their experiences with the Flipped Classroom. Below, are some examples of videos of teachers sharing their experience of flipping their classrooms:
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzGd8ONSPrg (Flipping Physics)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a5bYuYvl42I (Flipping The Classroom With FIZZ)
- http://youtu.be/RN1qhcMQic8 (A math teacher introducing what a flipped classroom is)
- http://youtu.be/hGs6ND7a9ac (What flipped clasroom is not)
- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4JPdGlyt6gg (Things I wish I knew when I flipped)
Flipping is also becoming more and more popular in Singapore. Advocates include:
1. Dr Ashley Tan, who is also my lecturer in my MLS course. 99.9% of what I learn about the flipped classroom, I learned from him. (http://ashleytan.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/my-flipped-classroom-course-is-live/)
2. Enoch Ng (http://www.slideshare.net/enoch07)
2. What the flipped classroom is/is not
As explained in the section above, flipping swaps what takes place where: What used to happen in class, content delivery, is done at home possibly with the help of teacher created or recommended videos. What used to be done at home as homework is now done in class. A video can be replayed many times and can be paused. Videos can also be linked to other relevant videos and web resources. Therefore, videos provide a whole lot of options for the learners. Class time is now for learners to connect the learning that they have done, communicating the learning that they have learned and creating new knowledge with the content that they have learned.
With any new pedagogical development however, misconceptions of what it is may arise as educators try to grasp its potential and apply something new to their varying context. Below is a list of what Flipping Classroom is not.
Flipping...
is not about increasing curriculum time. Flipping allows pupils to learn at their own pace before they enter the classroom and provides an opportunity for them to be assisted with their work and practice within the classroom.
is not about replacing learning with the teacher so as to learn from videos and websites. In a flipped classroom, the teacher is more important than ever
does not aim to solve all of the problems in our education system. It is just one tool to increase flexibility in teaching and learning.
is not a one size fits all approach. Each flipped lesson caters to the unique needs of the class and the pupils within that class, as the teacher adapts the learning experience to suit the syllabus and the curriculum.
is not top down. It needs to be created by the teacher, for the teacher, with their pupils in mind.
is certainly not a teacher holiday! In fact, teachers work harder than ever before. It is not about replacing the teacher with videos.
is not an online course. Teachers will monitor, provide individualised feedback, and guide pupils in how to learn from the materials.
is not about pupils working independently, in isolation, without structure.
is not about pupils spending the entire class staring at a computer screen.
Flipping is
a means to increase interaction and personalized contact time between pupils and teachers within the classroom.
an environment designed by the teacher where pupils can take responsibility for their own learning.
a classroom where the teacher is not the "sage on the stage", but the "guide on the side".
a blending of direct instruction with constructivist learning, most of the time with the use of technology.
an inclusive classroom where pupils who are absent due to illness or extra-curricular activities such as athletics or field-trips, don't get left behind.
a way to get higher returns in the longer run: content you selected and /or created is permanently archived for review or remediation.
a class where all pupils are engaged in their learning.
a place where all pupils can get a personalized education, going at their own pace.
a pedagogical solution to the needs of the class.
In the conventional flipping, the location of content broadcast (Online lectures, pre-class discussion and responses, etc) is done before the classroom phase of instruction. This however is not the only form of flipping. The traditional classroom can also be flipped in two other dimensions. (1) Flipping can be done at the content creation, as in who creates the content? The pupils can be guided to do their own research and create the necessary content so that they can learn from the content creation. (2) Flipping can be done at the role of content dissemination, as in who disseminates the content? The pupils can be guided to play the role of the teacher, effectively flipping the task of teaching, and pupils learning from the task of teaching. These dimensions however is descriptive in nature and is in no way prescriptive. In other words, not all the three dimensions need to be done every time a classroom is flipped.
3. Designing, developing, evaluating, and managing flipped classrooms
The design of a flipped classroom lesson is as important as the design of any lesson design. An engaging lesson can help achieve the desired learning outcomes but a poorly designed one can be as disastrous as a poorly designed traditional classroom.
Flipped classroom educators need to truly realise that pupils who do not enjoy listening to boring lectures in class will not enjoy listening to boring lectures at home. One way is to keep out-of-class work meaningful but concise. The online broadcast therefore need to be engaging. Other than engaging lecture videos, educators can also for example, make use of Webquests, ask pupils to learn actively like collecting data by taking screen shots, or even doing, collaborating and reflecting online.
Flipped Classroom designers need to begin with the end in mind. What is the specific instructional objectives of the home-phase activity and what is the specific instructional objectives of the classroom-phase activity. What do you wish to achieve at the end of both phases?
Flipped Classroom designers need to constantly question how they can help the learners learn better. Should there be an accompanying pen-and-paper activity to the lecture videos? Should there be a quiz at the end of the video? Teachers need to also think of ways ensure that the pupils have learned everything that was intended for them to learn from the videos
Most importantly, ensuring that the pupils have watched the videos does not equate to ensuring pupils have learned from the videos. Learning happens only when the pupils reflect and/or act upon that learning. Teachers need to ensure that the content that the pupils download is acted upon cognitively and not just passively.
Below are more strategies for Designing a Flipped Lesson:
Start with the end in mind (clear expectations of the pupil learning outcomes and learning products)
Identify the tools that would allow you to achieve the desired pupil outcome (video clips, powerpoints, prezi, audio files, reading materials, games)
Design instructions of how the whole learning can take place.
Prepare how the pupils can expect from what they can learn at home and pupils classroom
Make sure the pupils have internet access
Have a contingency plans if the pupils cannot access the online materials.
Have parents aware of the nature and intend of the flipped classroom
Flipping can be piloted on one class, or even on some lessons of a particular class. You don’t have to flip your whole school simultaneously.
Things to note during the “Home-Phase” of a flipped classroom lesson.
Have pupils aware of the rules to maximise their home based learning
Ensure pupils are aware of the learning expectations
Ensure clear instructions are provided for the deliverables at the end of the session.
Ensure pupils take notes of any inquiries that they might have of the presentation so that they can discuss them in the classroom
If video content is used, they should be concise -- no more than 10-15 minute segments
Things to note during the “Classroom-Phase” of a flipped classroom lesson.
Have a set of rules for learning in the classroom.
Have a structure for effective group work
Design a pupil centered lesson
Engage a TA in case IT support is required
Create meaningful learning corners
Cater for different learning needs
Make filler activities
Be mindful of time
Facilitate an appropriate conclusion for the lesson
Activities should foster peer-to-peer and pupil-teacher dialogue. Peer learning and active learning are most effective in promoting deep-learning.
Evaluation and development of the Flipped Classroom lessons can be done as a committee. Teachers in the department can do an After Action Review (AAR) of particular lessons and suggest improvements. This can be done in one of many forms of programme evaluation processes or staff development processes, like Lesson Study, Professional Learning Communities (PLC), and so on. Learnings from these evaluative processes can be used to further improve the flipped classroom lessons.
4. Flipped classroom issues and solutions
As with other curriculum innovations and shifts in practices, there will be issues in its implementation. Below are discussions of 3 common issues of flipped classrooms:
Digital Divide
A common worry is if all pupils have internet access in order to view the lectures. What about those pupils without a computer at home and no internet access at home. This is especially a worry with pupils from families of low socio-economic background. What can be done for them so that they do not miss out from learning in a flipped classroom? Schools can consider having free access to computers within the school. This of course give rise to other issues like scheduling teachers to maintain discipline and safety within the computer free access areas, proper and focussed surfing, cyberwellness, and so on. In other words, there is a solution, but proper planning needs to be done.
Extra Teacher-Workload
As with any other new initiative, there will be a spike in teacher workload and effort to come up with the necessary but new material. Planning for videos, preparing them and uploading them takes both time and skills. Ensuring that activities in the classroom will enhance the subject matter uploaded will require even more time and effort from teachers. What can be done here is to not be too ambitious in starting the flipped classroom. Flipping can be done in phases and over a longer timeline so that the preparation can also be spread. Teachers can also see that whatever was prepared will not go to waste as the materials can be recycled again with other classes and repeated over time. In other words, workload can possibly get lighter over time.
Preparation is not necessarily Participation
All the preparation will not mount to anything if pupils do not participate as they should during the home-phase. How does one ensure that the pupils actually watch the videos at home? Monitoring mechanisms, like accompanying worksheets can be easily copied from friends even if they have not watched them themselves. The knee-jerk defence to this worry would be as such: Pupils who refuse to learn won’t learn even if the lecture is done in class. Though that might necessarily be true, educators need to think of ways to ensure the pupils are motivated enough to watch the videos before coming to school.
5. References
1) http://www.thedailyriff.com/articles/how-the-flipped-classroom-is-radically-transforming-learning-536.php
2) http://www.jstor.org/discover/10.2307/1183338?uid=3738992&uid=2&uid=4&sid=21103503651573
3) http://www.indiana.edu/~rcapub/v22n1/p08.html
4) http://mazur.harvard.edu/publications.php?function=display&rowid=0
5) http://ashleytan.wordpress.com/2014/01/22/my-flipped-classroom-course-is-live/
Part B: Flipped Classrooms in My Context
(To make this section even more useful to me in my role as a middle manager and an instructional leader, I am going to write Part B as like a script to a presentation that I can easily modify to share with my school leaders my plans I have to introduce Flipped Classrooms.)
Outline a plan for mobilizing a group of teachers who will flip their classrooms. You might:
Describe your context (what levels, what content areas, how many teachers, etc.)
Devise plans for communication, buy-in, professional development, evaluation, etc.
Timeline
Flipping Science in Cedar
Context
1. Cedar Primary School.
Its mission is to “Inculcate Social Responsibility and Independent Learning.” The school’s mission shows our commitment and focus to develop Cedarians into persons with robust character and a sense of duty and service to the community and nation and into individuals who take ownership of their own learning and go forth to learn, discover and create knowledge.
The school’s vision is “The Making of Global Citizens for the 21st Century”. We hold the aspiration of nurturing Cedarians who think globally and act locally and developing them holistically into independent learners, creative thinkers and responsible citizens. So as you can see, independent learning is a clearly articulated desired character for a Cedarian, something that ICT and flipped classrooms can help to achieve.
2. Science Department
The content area that I intend to flip is of course Science, the department I am heading. Like any other school in Singapore, Science is only taught at Primary 3 and continues to be taught to Primary 6. It is a compulsory and an examinable PSLE subject.
There are 4 Science classes per level and the Cedar Science Team is made up of about 8 Science teachers. The teaching experience of these teachers range from 6 months to about 16 years. Most importantly, the Science team is made up of a wonderful group of teachers who are collegial and capable.
The school has had a positive trend in their PSLE results over the past 6 years, credit to the hard work of the Science teachers. The past two years however, the results have plateaued. The department is now therefore exploring ways to further push the pupils achievements to even greater peaks. In other words, this is a good time to try something new.
Devise plans for communication, buy-in, professional development, evaluation,
3. Gettting Buy-In
I don’t believe leaders should just walk the talk. I believe they should try everything “walk, run, sprint and jog” even before they start talking. I truly believe that change is best done by example and that has been my strategy for the past 6 years as Head of Department. Every time I would like to introduce something new, I would first try it out. Only with findings from the efforts of my exploration do I share with others what can be done.
On the other hand, there have been initiatives that has failed. Especially so with those with impressive and explosive starts but proved to be unsustainable. A lot of form, but not much substance. Such initiatives have proven to not work in my school. My strategy to get buy in would therefore be based on experience of the implementations of previous school initiatives. Learning from what works and what does not. It would be foolish for me to not consider the culture of the school and its historical context.
If I were to flip Science in my school, I would do the same. Probably, I’ll be flipping some lessons in Term 3 and then share the learning with my department teachers at year end. If I know my teachers well, some will be eager to try it out and slowly the practice will be perpetuated. This strategy has worked several times before in my committee, from teaching Inventiveness Principles in Science, to introducing collaborative learning in Science using a Social Learning Wall.
How about school leaders? I must say that I am quite fortunate to have very supportive school leaders. Even before MLS, I have already informed my Vice Principal that I would like to try Flipping Classroom and he said “Why not?”. If doubt do surface however, an alignment to the school Mission and Vision would be necessary to get buy-in from stakeholders. Findings of studies to show that Flipped Learning contributes to the flipped classroom can be shared with school leaders, as well as fellow educators.
http://scholarworks.montana.edu/xmlui/bitstream/handle/1/1790/MarloweC0812.pdf?sequence=1
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E61YKwA6B28
http://advanceclassrooms.com/?page_id=6274
http://www.getsmarterprep.com/tag/independent-learning/
http://www.avatargeneration.com/2012/08/supporting-independent-learning-through-the-flipped-model/
How about parents? From the experience of previous initiatives, the main concern from parents would be know if their child is disadvantaged in any way. The way we have addressed this in my school would be to start with a subject briefing. This is where we communicate and articulate our intentions. Parents also appreciate the opportunity to verbalise their worry. If the ‘digital divide’ is their main worry, and I would imagine so, then we would be working to ensure that pupils have access to computer labs during lunch time.
4. Professional Development
Professional Development can be done during the school’s half-year seminars and/or during scheduled fortnightly department meetings. This can be done in one of many forms of staff development processes, like Lesson Study, Professional Learning Communities (PLC), and so on. In my department, the PLC would be utilised.
To also create a culture of flipping, the PLC sessions too can be flipped. In addition to what has been shared in the many sections above, here are some resources that I can share with my Science Department teachers:
An introduction to Flipped Learning (which should lead to Part 2, 3, 4 and 5)
http://youtu.be/0_IYENuIIzo
Story of Flipped Classrooms by Aaron Sams
http://youtu.be/4a7NbUIr_iQ
Setting up a Flipped Classroom
http://youtu.be/ZRvmjjeZ9CA
Educational Youtube videos for flipping
http://www.youtube.com/edu
More Educational videos for flipping
http://www.knowmia.com/
Bite Scized Science
http://www.youtube.com/user/Lexie527
Steve-Spangler Science
http://www.youtube.com/user/SteveSpanglerScience
Veritasium
http://www.youtube.com/user/1veritasium?hl=en-GB&gl=SG
Watch Know Learn
http://www.watchknowlearn.org/
Show Me
http://www.showme.com/topic/science
Evaluation and development of the Flipped Classroom lessons can be done as a committee. Teachers in the department can do an After Action Review (AAR) of particular lessons and suggest improvements.
Timeline
This is a "worst-case situation" timeline. What that means is that, this timeline assumes that only the HOD will be making the flipped lessons. Learning from the past however, the teachers in my team is usually supportive of my initiatives and I therefore do expect the progress of flipping classrooms to be faster than this/
My plan will involve 4 phases:
Phase 1: Leading by example (Term 3 and 4, 2014)
HOD will discuss and work with ICT Coordinator (a passionate Science and ICT teacher) on the necessary conditions for Flipping the Science classes.
HOD will flip two P5 Science classes, ICT Coordinator will flip at least one P6 class.
He will share his findings with teachers once at end of Term 3 and then once a month during PLC Sessions in Term 4
Invites others who might be interested in trying it out in Term 4 and provide coaching.
Phase 2: Forming a Flipping Team (2015)
Form a team with teachers who have flipped to prepare resources and lesson plans
All P5 classes to be flipped by end of 2015.
Flip at least 2 P6 classes
Invites others who are not in the team in trying resources out and provide coaching.
Phase 3: Expanding the Flipping Team (2016)
Expand the team to the whole department and prepare resources and lesson plans
All P5 and P6 Classes to be flipped by end of 2016
Flip at least 2 P4 Classes
Invites others who are not in the Science Team to flip and provide coaching
Phase 4: The New Norm (2017)
All Science Classes to be flipped by end of 2017
Invites others who are not in the Science team to flip and provide coaching.
Part C: Flipped Presentation
Embed your presentation for Part B here. You may include notes in a shared Google Doc if you wish.
Choose your way of learning!
Click here for my Prezi Presentation
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Click below for my YouTube Presentation
Complete a simple quiz that accompanies the Prezi presentation.
Prizes for top 3 scorers! (While stock lasts)
This would be the Emaze slides I'll use to present in class! It is a summary of what was in my Prezi slides. I'm also testing all the platforms available :)
Your peers will view this presentation before the last session and provide formative feedback.