As I reflect upon what inspired me to consider Flipping my Math Classroom, there are two distinct events that I can pinpoint that helped my inquisitive mind make the leap and try something 'radical' at the time. I was a relatively young teacher at the time, only 3 years of teaching under my belt.
The first event that triggered a change in mindset came from a discussion with an 8th grade student that shared in confidence she wasn't able to complete all of her homework. She was confused by the steps involved and she didn't want to get them all wrong. Her parents were not able to help as they did not understand the methodology for graphing lines. She described to me how easy it seemed in class, but how when left to own, she lost confidence and forgot the steps. She was a very responsible and conscientious student that never missed an assignment. She jokingly asked, "isn't there a way you can come home with me and help me when I get stuck?" Well, little did she know that very question prompted me to start thinking about how to make that happen?
The second event was much more a series of events and happenstance. As students would come into class, particularly in the afternoon, they looked as if they were zombies and half asleep. They showed little to no life after already repeating the same cycle for most of the day - be to class on time, sit down in your desk, listen to teacher lecture, raise hand to answer question, look at clock to see when class was over, listen to teacher lecture, fill out a worksheet, wait for bell to ring, go to my next class, and repeat! The boredom on their faces was painful at times.
I was never that teacher that demanded control of the classroom - I knew students were sick and tired of the same old routine. I tried many times to find ways to make class engaging, and dare I say fun. One particular activity revolved around slope and impact it had on a car rolling down a ramp. After spending 10-15 minutes describing what the students would do in small groups, handing out supplies, and demonstrating, I would cut the students loose and let them explore to determine how the slope of a board impacted the distance a car traveled. And almost every time, without failure, the bell would as students were just getting into the activity and getting the hang of it. One particular class, two boys, usually disengaged and half asleep, actually thanked me for making math class fun and allowing them to play to learn!
It was during the drive home from work that night that two events collided. About a month prior I had attended a conference and sat in on a Flipped Classroom session. I was definitely intrigued by the possibilities, yet a little apprehensive with how my administration team would react. Give the account of the previous days and these two events, I knew the time was now to try and find more time with students while also being more available to them when they struggle. It made perfect sense to create videos to share with students as 'homework' and then use class time for practice, hands-on activities, collaboration, and a break from the 'normal' routine of school.
What was my 1st step to make the change?
The first step was definitely the recognition that a change needed to be made to value the time I had with students. How could I make more of that time and give them control over the speed with which they learned from my examples and lessons. This mindset shift needed to be clearly articulated with my administration team so that they were fully aware of what and how flipped learning would work in my classroom.
I continuously reached out on Twitter and learned from many great instructors that were already using the methodology. While I was eager to get going, I was quickly reminded that not only did my administration team need to know what was happening, so did our students and their parents. That's really were the first step began. I drafted a letter home describing Flipped Learning, what I was hoping to accomplish, and how it would benefit our students. I created a sample video to share as well so that parents could review the content with their child(ren) and see the benefits a video might add to instruction.
Surprisingly, the response was overwhelmingly positive. Many parents struggled in battling with their child(ren) to get their math homework done, only to not be able to help. They saw this as an opportunity for students to learn more, practice more, and become great problem solvers. What I never imagined was important this buy in from the parents was in helping me establish new classroom norms and expectations. Their support and questions made it much easier to describe to students and hold them accountable for coming to class prepared.
Where am I today?
Ironically, I know facilitate training and development at a local technical college in Wisconsin. While my primary role is to help on board new faculty that have no teaching background, I find myself promoting and teaching others how to flip. My experiences in Middle School Math and Flipped Learning have helped me to prepare the next way of higher education instructors for students that want to be actively involved in the learning process. I take great pride in helping others see and realize how powerful flipped learning can be for students.
