Homework and schoolwork “flip”

Designed into these learning stories:
Redesigning school
Visualizing the planet surface
Designing a physics simulation
Designing a math learning game
Okulu yeniden tasarlama
Gezegen yüzeyini görselleştirme
Bir fizik simülasyonu tasarlama
Bir matematik öğrenme oyunu tasarlama

Narrative

I’ve been teaching for nearly ten years and have decided to try the popular idea of “flipping” in my class. The basic idea behind flipping is that lectures become homework, while class time is used for collaborative student work, experiential exercises, debate and lab work. Videos and other e-learning materials are used extensively during “home time” to deliver learning content, while class-time becomes open to experimentation and collaboration.  I’ve read about flipping and realize it’s not a fully-fledged pedagogical approach, but a philosophy meant to be used flexibly and fluidly alongside all the tools I have gathered during my career. I’ve read how “flipping” can positively impact student learning regardless of the subject or the type of classroom.

It is important to me that the additional classroom time gained through flipping is used as effectively as possible, and that the resources students use in their own time are of the highest possible quality and appropriate to their current levels of knowledge. A content library that is integrated with online videos checked for quality and accessibility seems the best way to ensure success.  My colleagues and I have developed teaching resources, videos and online activities over the years, and I’ve also kept the best revision materials developed by students at the school. Now it’s time to put this rich repository of content to good use in a structured approach, filling any gaps with high-quality resources available for free over the internet.

I look within the curriculum to identify topics that lend themselves well to ‘flipping’, like those that don’t require significant initial student-teacher interaction and that have high-quality resources for the at-home instructional element. I also ensure that students understand the purpose and format of ‘flipping’.  I support students who lack access to resources at home to find other times and locations to view the materials.  I also take advantage of a new school scheme that provides students with notebooks, to help ensure access for students and encourage them to complete their home tasks.

After the first weeks of flipping, some initial challenges arise. I realize that class time requires a different, but just as rigorous, form of planning, and that collaborative activities and project work come with their own issues to be addressed separately. However, after some initial adjustments, the benefits become evident, as the classroom becomes a place for more effective learning activities and increased student-teacher and peer interactions. Many students begin to choose how they learn content and demonstrate understanding, all while being allowed to master it at their own pace.

This post is also available in: Turkish