As a teacher in training most of our education on education
has been based in theorists and being critical of what has been done in the
past. This of course has led to many new teaching techniques and developments,
which we are starting to put into practice. There are some new ways of thinking
which I am completely willing to embrace, like using more hands on activities,
appealing to multiple learning styles and more specific things like the Backward
Design Process. The Backward Design Process
calls for some rearranging when making unit plans, and this is done by thinking
of the major assessment tools and tasks before creating the everyday lessons. This
to me makes sense, as you can set a goal and then work to achieve it. It also
lets the students know what is expected of them by the end of the unit and they
can work on the project or assessment throughout the course. This is just one
of the many new innovations that are appearing in my education that I support. However,
every now and then a new idea is put fourth that has me confused and unsure
about integrating it into the classroom. For me currently this is caused by the
flipped classroom. As to my
understanding the flipped classroom is a new movement among teachers where they
prerecord the lesson. Students then watch the lesson at home and then during
class time activities are done to support the lesson. Now I am a bit skeptical
about this, and the class discussion on this topic has left me with many
questions. So here is where I am left
wondering and confused.
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| http://www.livescribe.com/blog/education/2012/07/17/the-flipped-classroom-infographic/ |
1. What about asking questions?
While I support spending large amounts of class time doing
hands on activities, rather than sitting and taking notes, I still believe that
learning the lessons in class with the teacher is important. From my own
personal experience having the teacher physically teach the lesson at the front
of the class, or wherever they choose to stand or sit, has helped with
understanding the lesson. Students can directly ask the teacher a question when
they don’t understand or need something repeated. If there is no teacher to ask
while you are at home, are you supposed to write down your questions and save
them till the next day? What if your question hinders you from understanding
the rest of the lesson? Having a teacher there, in my perspective, has allowed
for questions to be asked and explanations given on the spot. The teacher can also
react to the student’s responses and body language while teaching, and should
be able to tell if multiple students are having problems or the lesson needs to
be altered. With just having the students watch the lesson at home, the teacher
won’t know if anyone understood until the next day. And this next day that is
supposed to be for activities, could easily be taken up with multiple questions
or a need to repeat the lesson if no one understands. The flipped classroom
seems to take away the ability to ask questions directly to the teacher in that
moment.
2. What about those who don’t have technology?
In most schools you will encounter multiple students that
come from a low SES background. The flipped classroom advocates for the student
to have the technology and resources available at home, and this is not always
possible. Outside resources, like computers at the library are available, but
some require paid usage. The flipped classroom to me assumes that all the
students have access to technology at home, and this is an assumption that
should not be made. Yes student have smart phones, but that doesn't mean they
have a plan that supports data usage. Yes there are ways to access the internet
outside of the home, but is that practical to assume that students have the
ability to use these resources every day? The flipped classroom is something I
can see as problematic to students without the technology or resources.
3. What about teacher accountability?
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| https://artofeducation.wordpress.com/tag/teacher-parent-relations/ |
As a future teacher one of the things that scares me the
most is the parents. I don’t look forward to the day when parents start
questioning the grades their child got. The flipped classroom to me is just
calling out to parents to pounce. Taking away the teacher directly teaching the
lesson puts the responsibility of learning in the students hands. Now don’t get
me wrong I fully believe students need to take responsibility for the learning
and should direct the learning when possible. However, this is taking the
control out of the teacher’s hands and it can be hard to explain to parents
that it was the student’s responsibility to learn the lesson that was not
taught directly by the teacher. Confusing I know, it’s just a thought.
4. What about the humanities?
The examples that I have seen for the flipped classroom have
revolved around science. Being a teacher for humanities I question how well it
would work for something like history, where notes are needed but artifacts and
physical examples can truly help the lesson. I think I just need to see
examples where it has been done in a humanities classroom, where lessons can be
heavily discussion and literature based.
5. Do you really want to expect students to sit down and
watch a long video for home work?
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By taking the lesson out of the classroom and putting it in
the student’s hands at home you are losing the guarantee that students will
actually learn/watch the lesson. Kids are extremely busy after school with extracurricular
activities, jobs and a good amount of homework. This video is to replace the
homework but now it is not just a reinforcement activity or work that didn't get
done, it is the majority of the lesson. And if the student doesn't watch the
lesson how can they proceed in class? I do guess that this can be said for
other types of homework and skipping class, but I think it’s a lot being put on
to a student’s plate, no longer is it just homework it’s the entire lesson.
So those questions have been bouncing around in my brain
since the topic of a flipped classroom came up. If anyone has any answers or
comments that can help me out, I am all ears.
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| Or will I? http://bartsblackboard.com/files/2010/03/the.simpsons.s17e16.jpg |
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