Flip it. Flip it good.

I have long been an opponent of  homework. When I began to teach math about halfway into my teaching career, I realized that some of my struggling students would take home the 20 problems I had assigned them and practice them wrong.  As a result, not only was I dealing with students who didn’t get the concept when I taught it, I was dealing with a student who had practiced it wrong twenty times!  I then had to reteach AND undo all that bad practice. 

Enter the flipped classroom.  A flipped classroom takes the idea of the traditional classroom, in which the teacher delivers instruction at school and the independent practice takes place at home, and turns it upside down.  Instruction takes place at home in the form of a video lecture or even an online chat, and activities typically reserved for homework take place in the classroom under the supervision of the teacher.   

Flipping a classroom opens the door wide for an extended time of guided practice.  Often, this is the hardest part to fit in to a 45 minute class period; however, it is one of the most important elements to providing mastery of a concept.  If the passive learning can be done at home, the classroom time can be filled with activities, discussions, and practice (guided and independent) that are all supervised by the teacher.

My own kids are digital natives. They can learn how to do anything by googling and watching a YouTube video. Hairstyles, makeup tips, dance steps, and song lyrics are popular topics with my thirteen year old daughter. Her younger siblings are looking for more practical applications such as Minecraft hacks and practical jokes to play on your older sister. If children are independently seeking knowledge in this format, why not use that to our advantage in education.

One of my students who is typically not one to participate in homework has been placed in a partially flipped eighth grade math class.  When I ask him if he has homework, he says, “No, I just have to watch a video.”  I like to think of it as covert homework.  Learning when they don’t even realize it. 

For my students that have slower processing time or struggle with attention and focus, the flipped classroom can prevent them from missing valuable information that they wouldn’t typically get from a classroom lecture.  At home, they can watch the video two or three times until they are fully grasping the content of the lecture.  Scott Haselwood, a flipped classroom guru, would give his high school students packets to follow along with and fill out as they go, a fantastic idea for everyone but especially kids who struggle to remain engaged.

As a classroom teacher, flipping a classroom opens a thousand doors.  Many of us have brilliant ideas for active learning.  We are brimming with lessons full of discovery, movement, and creativity.  Our biggest enemy is time. Flipping the classroom gives us that precious time to be able to explore, investigate, and allow our students to have authentic learning experiences.