Flipped Classroom?

http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2012/08/29/02el-flipped.h32.html

Flipped Classroom
Deanna -----
University of South Carolina 

Important Ideas:

This article is expressing a new awareness for the teachers to use in their classroom. The important ideas to remember are, flipped classrooms are simply using technology to the maximum. Some teachers use videos for their lecture, instead of being in front of the students. A pair of teachers could create a video together to give different point of views for the students. The teachers who use this method switch material homework to technology homework (example: watching a video or going to a certain website). Some teachers use this method differently, for example; some will show a video in the classroom or post it for extra help for students to look at after school. Many educators feel like this is a waste of valuable time because what if the students don’t watch the videos. Also, if a teacher uses a video for lecturing all together it cuts social skills that need to be introduced in elementary and middle school.

What I learned from the text

This article was very interesting and I do agree with some of the methods used for flipped teaching. If I was given the choice to watch a video for math/science class, I’d probably do it because it would be extra help. Especially if other teachers put their own videos on the site (such as a blog designed just for that class), that way I could have a different view from all the teachers since all teachers teach a different way. However, I do not agree with just having a video lecture for the whole class time because it cuts from social interactions. Also, if there is a video being played, how do you know if the students are actually watching it? They could draw, text, or nap during the showing of the lecture. Likewise, as an educator we must realize not all students have the same privileges of others at home; not everyone has a computer. If this flipped classroom was to go into effect it could be difficult for those less fortunate. How would they watch the video? In high school most teachers expect students to take the time to go to the library or stay after school to do work. They never ask the questions such as; What if they have a part time job after school? What if they have to ride the bus? Etc.  Also, if we do use this method throughout the public school system, it seems that we are becoming virtual school instead of a social community.

As I read the article I noticed there was no statistical research to back up this method. Due to a lack of percentage, we as the reader do not know how effective this method truly is. This article proves to have latent opinions instead of numerical facts to back it up. We can read about other options from teachers but how does this method effect grades in the classroom? Do they go higher or lower? How about social communication, higher or lower?

As an English teacher I do not see how this method would be beneficial to my students. I cannot even image forcing my students to watch a video about a poem or a book. I’d probably drone on and bore them to death. I could however use a video for extra help in certain areas like poetry construction and essay writings. I think the flipped classroom method would be beneficial to those in the science/math fields, not language arts.