A flipped classroom might be the perfect solution for the teacher who has spent the last year making instructional videos. Those videos represent so much time and energy – surely they don’t have to go to waste when everyone is back in the classroom. We interviewed the flipped classroom expert to learn more.
Check out the player to hear the interview, or you can read the transcript that has been edited for succinctness below.
Who is our expert on the flipped classroom?
Mandy Rice, high school social studies teacher and mom of three, felt that her pace in the classroom was unsustainable. In her second year of teaching, she flipped her classroom and began training other teachers on the flipped classroom model. She now hosts The Sustainable Teacher Podcast and is the founder of Teach on a Mission.
Updated 10/2022: Since interviewing Mandy, we have learned some more things about the Flipped Classroom from our teacher community over in our Maneuvering the Middle VIP Facebook group. We have updated this blog post to reflect that.
What is the flipped classroom?
In the traditional classroom model, a teacher presents a lesson from the front of the classroom, students take notes, and typically, students go home and work on problems in isolation.
The flipped classroom model literally flips that sequence of events. Students listen or watch a lesson the teacher has assigned virtually at home and the practice (the messy part of learning) happens inside the classroom where the teacher is available to help. Students can ask questions and collaborate with their peers.
What are the benefits to the flipped classroom?
You are shifting how you use your time. For example, Mandy taught 4 sections of A.P. Psychology. Before flipping her classroom, she would present the material for about 30 minutes each class period, multiplied by the 4 sections to equal about 2 hours spent teaching. In the flipped classroom model, it takes (approximately) an hour to create the slides, press record, present the lesson, edit, and hit publish. It saves you time and energy!
But more than that, you are now more available to your students during class time – the entire time. You have taken the content delivery out of the class time. Teachers can be more effective with the time spent with their students.
And if you are an All Access member, the instructional videos are already created! The videos cover the student handouts, so students can watch the videos, take notes, and then practice in class. Since the videos do not go over every single problem on the student handouts, you still have problems to go over in a mini-lesson the next day or to assign to students.
Students benefit when their teachers are more available to them. They don’t feel like they are burdening their teacher with questions because their teacher is trying to accomplish 16 different things.
Updated 10/2022: What needs to be in place for the flipped classroom to work?
After a few years of teachers implementing the flipped classroom approach in their classrooms, there appear to be a few starting requirements for the flipped classroom to be successful.
- Parent and student buy-in – This is key. Parents will be relieved that they aren’t having to play teacher at home, but may not be used to this non-traditional method of teaching. Post Covid, they may be skeptical of more digital learning. That’s ok! Your job is to communicate with parents so they know what to expect. Student buy-in is going to be just as important. Before you decide if this is the route you take, you may want to consider asking your students what their experience with the flipped classroom has been like.
- Technology and reliable internet access – Internet and a device (in most cases) are 100% necessary for the flipped classroom to work. While some students are fortunate enough to have these things readily available, you cannot make the assumption that all do. One teacher recommended sending home a document that requires a parent to fill out and sign if they have internet or not. This prevents students saying they don’t have internet access when they want to opt out.
- A plan for when students don’t watch the instructional videos – See below for ideas of what you can do to hold your students accountable.
- Short videos – This is a MUST! Videos cannot be longer than 10-15 minutes. Without any interruptions, a teacher can cover a topic more succinctly. No one wants to watch a long math video, and you will have class time the next day to make any additional points.
- Study hall – This isn’t a requirement, but it does provide school time for students to watch your instructional videos if they will not have access at home.
- Instruction on watching a video with fidelity – In the first week of school, dedicate time to showing students how to watch a video. Play the video for the whole class, pause and take notes like you would expect them to at home. Then have students practice watching a video in class as you circulate. When students have mastered this, then assign a video for homework.
Updated on 10/04/2022: What are some of the drawbacks of the flipped classroom?
No teaching technique is perfect for every student. Digital learning is here to stay, but students may be fatigued from all of the screens. In our small sample, it seems that about half of students prefer the traditional classroom.
It can be easy to zone out in a video. Unfortunately, many teachers say that the same students who don’t complete traditional homework at home will also opt out of watching the videos.
Not every student has reliable internet access at home. This inequity is a tough obstacle to navigate, so it does leave room for pause.
What do you do when a student doesn’t watch a video?
Mandy talks more about this in more detail here on her podcast. Check it out because there are so many great, actionable steps!
You have to have a process in place when this happens. It is going to happen. You cannot make that learning optional. And giving a 0 still makes it an option for some students. Decide on a process and that way you don’t have to think about it in the moment. No frustration or emotional judgement.
What you should NOT do – deliver that missed content in your classroom. For the students who did watch the video for homework, they will feel frustrated, and ultimately you are enabling students to not watch the videos if you redeliver the content in class.
Updated on 10/04/22: Most teachers use the warm-up to gauge whether students are ready to practice after watching the videos. Teachers may decide that they need to go over a few more problems or that students are ready to practice. For students who did not watch the videos, you have a couple of options:
- They cannot do the activity until the video is watched. Teachers say the more fun your activities are, the more likely students will watch the videos in an effort to not miss out. Make sure the activities are done in pairs or with groups. 😉 If your videos are about 15 minutes long, and you have a 45-60 minute class, they are probably missing out on at least half of the practice time which is about what they would have missed out on if they chose not to complete a traditional homework assignment.
- Create rewards for students who watch the videos. Free time was always a huge motivator – for example, the class at the end of the week with the highest percentage of homework completion would get 15 minutes of free time.
What do you think of the flipped classroom? What tips would you add?
