As Digital Learn Day of 2014 has come and gone, I can't help but reflect on all of the amazing digital learning opportunities that students had within our school. From coding, blogging, and Google Docs to creating videos and avatars, our students were blessed with a plethora of opportunities to learn how technology can be incorporated into their school day. One can only hope our teachers recognized the power of technology.
The highlight of the day, for me personally, was opening up my Flipped Classroom to others to share how we Differentiate Mathematics through Flipped Learning. In attendance was an amazing group of teachers, a principal, a commissioner of CESA, a school board member, and a parent. Their intrigue with Flipped Classrooms and our ability to meet the needs of all students amazed them.
We started out our morning with a short presentation on why I chose to Flip my math classes, and what it now looks like in my classroom. Much intrigue centered around our TWIRL Group Discussions and Challenge Problems. The participants were eager to see this in action...I could only hope our students wouldn't disappoint. (Check out the Prezi - Click Here)
As we entered our classroom, students were well prepared for our guests. A lively discussion about the video lesson was taking place amongst the students, and I chimed in my two cents to help explore "Angles of Polygons" and why the formula uses 180. To my surprise, students were eager to volunteer and didn't shy away because of the 'strangers' in the room.
As students transitioned to their group challenge problem, the open house participants were blown away by how much mathematical conversation was actually taking place. I cannot boast enough about how well the students handled the pressure and worked together to solve two challenge problems. Students even managed to snap pictures and email their work to me via our iPads. One participant even stated through her Twitter account, "Great classroom visit today with @CliffGoodacre in a flipped math class. It's refreshing to see how engaged 8th graders can be in geometry!" Talk about a great compliment for our students.
Upon finishing our class visit, four of our students agreed to join us in our meeting room for a student panel. While I knew these students were nervous, they handled themselves very well, answering each question with poise and honesty. As their teacher, even I learned a little bit more about them as students and their apprehensions about a Flipped Classroom.
Yet, for me, there has been a great deal of reflecting through this open house and the questions participants generated for me. High on my list is the transition to High School math for our students. Does the Flipped Class in 8th grade help or hinder their growth if they go back to a traditional class in high school? This is a deep conversation that I need to have with our High School Math Department.
Likewise, I also need to start collecting data - both student achievement data and student/parent feedback data. Both pieces of information can be critical to the direction my class continues to take!
In conclusion, my Digital Learning Day experience was filled with great pride and joy in sharing what my Flipped Class has become and how we differentiate our learning to help make it more personalized. I also take great pride in my life-long learning and am eager to answer some of the questions thrown my way to back up what I already know and see on a daily basis.
Remember, Mistakes are Proof You are Trying!
No comments:
Post a Comment