The idea is we will blog about a common topic then participate in a live Twitter chat.
Here is Andrew's blog post with information about the new venture.
The first assignment for #flipblogs is:
"Write about a fun, rewarding, gratifying, or otherwise super-positive class experience that you can be pretty sure only happened because of flipped-learning practices."
I've blogged about all sorts of experiences that only happened because I flip my instruction. I thought about summarizing - again - these experiences but that felt like a cop-out. I tried hard to think of something specific.
And I did.
Her name is Taylor. She was in my Algebra 1 class my second flipped year.
Many times during the year, when I said, "Time to pack up!" at the end of class, Taylor would say, "What? Class is over already?!? That was fast!"
Taylor is not the only student who has said this since I flipped my classroom, but she probably said it the most frequently and enthusiastically.
And that statement would NOT have been said before I flipped my instruction.
Sighs? Yes.
Loud yawns? Frequently.
"How much longer until the bell rings?" Most definitely.
Listening to me talk for 30-40 minutes and then being told to "Start on these problems" - and work quietly, please - for the last 10 or 15 minutes makes for a L-O-N-G 51-minute class period.
But when you come to class having watched a 10-15 minute instructional video (or watch it as part of class activities), pick a partner, and work on an activity that requires communication and collaboration and might be even a little bit enjoyable, time moves much quicker. Having access to the teacher to answer questions as they come up helps, too.
Flipping my classroom has made my math class fun (yes, students have used that word). Those 51 minutes will be over before you know it.
And I find that extremely gratifying.
Yay for Taylor!
ReplyDeleteThere were some negative changes at my school last year, but one positive development was finally getting end-of-class-period bells (beeps, actually). Good thing, because in previous years I would also lose track of time while kids were working, and a crowd would gather outside my classroom door because all other teachers had already dismissed. Flipping definitely has intended and unintended consequences about TIME....