Identifying the Gaps Using Flipped Instruction

I recently read Salmon Khan's book The One World School House.  The book chronicles the history of the Khan Academy. It also presents alternative methods of instruction and curriculum design that emphasises personalized learning and pacing. I enjoyed the text and found myself in agreement with much of the content. 

One of the pilot programs that the Khan Academy setup involved a mathematics class. A class was designed in which the curriculum assigned was based solely on the Khan Academy. Students would work through the practice problems, view videos when they required direct instruction, and work with their teacher/facilitator for extra help. The resources and structure for this implementation are available on the Khan Academy website. While this concept of flipped learning and personalized planning is not a new idea their selection of "where to start" was unique. Rather than having all of the students in this Algebra I course start with Algebra I, the students started with simple addition and worked their way up through the math concepts.

The idea of starting from the beginning provided an opportunity for students to fill the gaps in their mathematical knowledge. If they struggled with a particular math topic in earlier grades or possibly just a had a "bad day" when a certain concept was taught the result may be a gap in knowledge that follows them.  What is interesting is that they were able to meet the requirements of Algebra I even by starting with addition because of the autonomy, personalization and accessibility offered by the Khan Academy. The class that followed this instructional shift recognized a significant increase in performance. One would assume that this method provided each student with the remediation that they needed in the most efficient manner.

In high schools across the country students are placed into remedial math courses if they have not passed a high stakes test required for graduation. These classes are test prep classes that prepare students to retake the assessment. I wonder if a better placement is to identify at-risk student preemptively and assign them a course based on the principles of the Khan Academy pilot?

 

The Flipped Classroom Model Is Not All That New

"Flipping the classroom" is a very hot topic in education these days.  The topic appears in journals, websites, blogs and just about all education based literature. The basic model requires students to review content/materials for homework and then apply what they learned during class. Most references to the flipped learning model discuss students watching video taped lectures or lessons for homework. The idea is that the process of transferring information to students is automated. During class time the students are provided opportunities to apply what they learned, receive individualized or collaborative assistance and to move forward at a more individualized pace.

The "flipped model" really isn't new. It has existed in english and social studies classrooms for quite some time. Students have been assigned readings for homework. The expectation during class time would be either a discussion regarding the readings,  or a written assignment or project that requires the requisite knowledge obtained from the readings. This model allows for more higher order learning experiences. It also provides an opportunity for teachers to assess student understanding immediately and provide targeted remediation.

Traditionally mathematics and science courses have not embraced this model of delivery. The flipped model provides an opportunity for teachers of these subject areas to differentiate the delivery of their content by individualizing the experience. Whole group, class lectures may be replaced with short video tutorials that are followed up in class with activities that apply what was learned and provide formative assessments for teachers. The advantages of the flipped model have been cited in numerous publications so I won't include them all here.

I do believe that when implementing a flipped model the following should be considered:

1. Collaboration:  Is it possible to have a group of teachers creating, sharing, revising and reviewing videos and assignments. No reason to duplicate efforts

2. Reflection and Active Learning: Consider creating reflection questions or guided questions for students to consider when reviewing recorded content.

3. Formative Assessment: Consider starting classes with a short assessment, possibly using student response systems (other options include cell phones or Moodle quizes), to receive immediate feedback regarding the students comprehension of material or if they did actually review the videos.

4. Structure:  Many teachers who start a flipped classroom model spend a majority of their time planning and implementing the development of video tutorials and not on designing the experience in the classroom.  How will your classroom look? What design aspects will you consider?  How will you facilitate and evaluate the student experience?

5. Informing Parents and Students: This shift in instructional delivery requires thorough communication to parents and students. Identify the benefits of this method and how you will provide each student what they need to be successful.

6. There is a time and a place for face to face direct, explicit instruction:  Not all lessons should be flipped. Not all students benefit from this method of delivery. Know your students and your content and decide where flipped learning fits best.

 

Flipping The Instructional Design In Core Subject Areas

One of the highlighted additions to the Common Core Standards is the focus on informational text. Students are required to demonstrate comprehension of such text as well as the ability to produce written text  grounded in research, analysis and argumentation.  In order to develop these skills and to prepare students for college and career readiness a paradigm shift must occur in many of our content areas. In many schools the approach to addressing this shift has been the integration of literacy instruction and application into core subjects such as social studies and science.

The design process looks something like:

What do we want our students to learn?

What content must we cover?

How can we integrate literacy into this process?

With the help of the Literacy Design Collaboraive teachers can now Flip this process in order to have a more focused approach to literacy instruction without minimizing the content. In  fact, teachers who have implemented the "template tasks" developed by the LDC have discovered students develop greater and deeper content knowledge.

This model involves:

Select a Literacy Based Template Task

Select a topic from your curriculum

Fill in the blanks in the task from the topic

Select the content/ text students will read

Select the text the students will write.

The task templates are available for download on the LDC website. The tasks are designed to be integrated into LA, Science or Social Studies.

An example task is:

 

[Insert question] After reading _____ (literature or informational texts), write _________ (essay or substitute) that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the text(s). L2 Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

Sara Ballute and Timothy Lent in New York City used that template to create a teaching task for high school world history:

Were the achievements and growth of the Industrial Revolution Era worth the cost to society? After reading secondary and primary sources pertaining to the British Industrial Revolution, write an argumentation essay that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

Monica Cressman, Sean Houseknecht, and Alex Shubert of the Elizabethtown (Pennsylvania) School District used the same template for middle school science:

Should animals be kept in zoos? After reading the information texts provided, write an essay that addresses the question and support your position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing views.

The integration of the template tasks provided by the LDC represent a paradigm shift in core content instruction. While this model has proven to be effective it requires significant PD for all. This is a great opportunity in high schools for interdisciplinary PD. Having English teachers host PD on writing instruction for content area teachers, developing common writing rubrics and developing PLC's with a focus on this topic are some ideas worth exploring.

Flip and Manage the Classroom with Khan Academy

I have written about the Khan Academy many times in my blog postings. It is a tremendous resource and  one that I believe can greatly impact student achievement.  The "flip the classroom" model of instruction involves having students review teacher or student made tutorials at home for homework. They then work on applying problems in the classroom. The benefits of this method of instruction are discussed in one of my previous posting "Are you ready to flip the classroom".



If you are planning on testing this method of instruction, the Khan Academy is a great place to start.  Here is a brief overview of the site from the publisher:

"Our library of videos covers K-12 math, science topics such as biology, chemistry, and physics, and even reaches into the humanities with playlists on finance and history. Each video is a digestible chunk, approximately 10 minutes long, and especially purposed for viewing on the computer.

 

"I teach the way that I wish I was taught. The lectures are coming from me, an actual human being who is fascinated by the world around him." —Sal"

The site now offers new features as well as integration with our Google Apps for Education Accounts. After students watch the tutorials they can also work on practice problems in a virtual environment.  Each problems can be broken down into individual steps with a the click of a button.  Students are able to track their progress as they progress through an interactive map of knowledge.

Managing this progress has now gotten even easier. They have added an entire new Student/Class manager. Teachers can monitor and report on student progress. Information regarding these features can be found here. ( You will be prompted to login with your Google Apps account.

Students and Faculty who have access to Google Apps for Education accounts can sign directly into Khan Academy with their accounts.  The site is well organized and easy to navigate.

Here is a video from TED that discusses Khan Academy



Enjoy!

Are you ready to FLIP the classroom?

There is a new paradigm shift occurring in classrooms.  Many of the most innovative teachers are turning the traditional K-12 classrooms upside down in an effort to individualize the learning experience for students. They are "Flipping" the classroom in order to make classroom instructional time more valuable to students.

"Flipping" the classroom refers to a new approach to teaching in which the students view videos, podcasts or vodcasts of classroom lectures at home for homework. In the classroom, students apply what is learned by completing what is typically identified as "homework" in the classroom. 

This innovative approach to instruction offers many instructional advantages. By viewing video lectures in Math and Science, students may pause, stop, rewind at their own will. They may also engage in the lesson at a time that is right for them in their own environment.  In the classroom students are provided the opportunity to apply what was learned in the lesson. Students work through the problems during class time. The teacher acts as a facilitator by circulating the room and providing assistance where necessary. Students also work with peers  or in small groups to collaborate on problems. This model allows the teacher to be available when the students need him or her most. It creates a student centered personalized learning environment.

In a typical classroom students would sit through a lecture in order to learn the content. They would then be assigned homework for that evening. Many students who did not grasp the lecture would struggle with the homework. When this happens they would just quit or not do it.  They would return to class the next day having to learn something new. By flipping the classroom, teachers can see who is struggling and provide immediate help for those students. The application of this new teaching style has presented fantastic results in student achievement and engagement.

Where do you start?

There are a number of free video screencasts available for math and science online. One example is The Khan Academy. This site, created by Salman Khan houses thousands or screencast lectures from basic math to advanced calculus. It also includes interactive practice sessions for students to apply what they have learned.   In the video below, Salman Khan explains how he created Khan Academy and how it is being used by educators.



In our district we have access to MOODLE. MOODLE is an online course management software. Teachers can post links to videos and other online tutorials that students may access from any computer with internet access.  We also use Google Sites or Wordpress Blogs. Each of these allow teachers to embed or link to videos that students may access over the web. There are also a number of free tools that allow  teachers to record screencasts of their lectures. Screencast.com and the Smart Notebook Software all offers these features.

My recommendation is to start small. One or two a month is a great way to get students exposed to the process and to measure its impact.