Sunday, October 27, 2013

Reflecting on 2 Flipped Classes

I figured that it was time that I took a few moments to formally reflect on the practices that I am using this semester. As mentioned in my last post I am implementing a "flipped class" model in two of my classes (a hybrid "flipped-mastery" model in one to be more specific). Approximately 3 weeks into the semester I asked my students for a START, STOP, CONTINUE feedback form about how the class was being conducted. Partly I wanted to see how the views had changed (if at all) and partly I wanted to have something to show them to try to get them to become more communicative about their needs as students.

The feedback was varied and helpful on both accounts and showed me that some more of the students were enjoying the model and were finding it helpful to spend more time problem solving in class and be able to rewatch the lessons as needed. It also showed me the maturity of a few of the students who had modified the model to fit their own needs (which is, of course, the overall purpose). 

I have come to realize that my stuggles to be creative are more pronounced in my Physics class than in previous semesters with the flipped model - students are craving more demo time and realistic explanation and I have struggled to bring that to light (especially in the kinematics unit where demos are harder to come by). This is something I would work on more the second time that I teach this course in this manner and am working to do more with the other units (Forces was a lot easier to talk about examples in real life and to show them ideas).

I am still struggling to get my International students (ELLs) communicating and collaborating more with each other. I don't think they are used to the idea of working together to improve collectively and are not always using the time productively (that part depends on the individual student across the board, not just the ELL students of course). Overall the seniors students use the class time well.

My Grade 12 math students are getting better and better at knowing what will work for them individually and are consistently working together to solve problems. They are getting better at informing me when they are struggling and they constantly keep me on my toes. The procrastinators are starting to see that they are going to be at a disadvantage if they continue with their usual ways, so I am hoping that the quiz completion rate will increase (as some are not doing it or are not far enough into the chapter to complete it within the "window").

I have done some comparison of my students results to their Grade 12 results and so far things are about on par as a class average and most students are working toward improving themselves as students. There are of course a select few who do not seem to be self motivating despite needing he credit and likely needing the mark for their university applications. I will be comparing my Gr 11 marks to previous semesters teaching this course to see if there is a difference between their results to determine the effect (if any) of the changes to my teaching method. I am looking forward to coming up with ideas to continue to improve the work that I have started and continuing to try to help students become more self-aware, independent learners.

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Here We Go! It's Flip or Flop Time.

A couple of years ago I started hearing about the concept of a flipped classroom. I wanted to work toward finding ways to make this concept possible in my classroom but knew I had to take steps toward it before throwing myself into it. I started by trying to shorten my physics lessons to give students more class time to problem solve, etc along with giving them access to the lesson notes online (pre-lesson notes with blanks and then posting the completed ones after the fact) - and before you ask, no, this did not lead to students skipping class but it did allow ones who missed class for specific reasons to stay caught up. I then moved this idea to using a protected class management site (in my board we currently use Angel) so that I could easily organize what I was posting, send students messages, etc. This process allowed me to get more comfortable with the course/teaching (I am currently in my 5th year of teaching) and to integrate more technology into my class without overwhelming myself.

Now I have taken the plunge and am "flipping" my Grade 11 Physics and Grade 12 Advanced Functions (math) classes. As a first time "flipper" I am making use of other people's (public) YouTube videos in addition to making my own so that I am not spending all of my time creating video lessons. I spent a couple of weeks in the summer looking through a couple of specific YouTube channels to find some lessons that I liked (i.e. followed formats that I would use, taught in a similar way, etc) and making note of which lessons I would have to create my own for (or would use investigations, labs, etc instead of direct instruction for).

I will blog on some more of the specifics of my new classroom in the near future (I just wanted to introduce how my technology integration has been/is a work in progress). If you have any parts of it that you would like to read about, let me know by commenting, etc (I am more likely to blog when someone else gives me an idea anyway). For now I would like to comment on something related to these ideas that I have mentioned in the past. I still very much believe that students are not getting the instruction related to technology that they need - I feel that many of us are assuming that children are so comfortable with technology that we are not teaching them (leaving students that aren't naturally inclined toward it behind).

Early on this semester I wanted to try Socrative (emails you a report in excel format), so I created a "quiz" (that was actually a survey) so that I could collect data on student technology use. 16 of my Grade 11s participated and 18 of my Grade 12s and the results were as follows:
- Most have reliable internet access at home (5 of the Gr 12s said "sometimes")
- Most usually or always have a personal electronic device (PED) available in class (6 said rarely or never)
- The majority that have access to a device is a Smartphone or iTouch (small screen - important to know, not effective for creation but fine for viewing with good eyesight)
- The majority of those devices are Apple products
- About half of my Gr 11s (fewer Gr 12s) would prefer to read on a device than from a paper book
- They admit to having a variety of learning styles, but the majority choose "doing" as their main source of learning (fits right into the flipped class idea)
- 7 of the students admitted to finding technology difficult and rarely convenient OR just plain scary

I felt that these results left me with some food for thought and have reminded me how important it is to make sure students are aware that there are options (i.e. it is possible for me to give them copies of electronic lesson plans on a USB, if needed I could download the videos and put them on a USB or DVD if needed, etc). A couple of them are taking me up on the first of those possible ideas and will make the flipped classroom less stressful for them as they will not have to stress over the use of Angel as much. They are also getting used to the fact that the "teacher computer" at the front of the room is available for use during class (since I am up helping people out most of the time) and they have learned that I am fairly knowledgeable in helping them figure out how to get their PEDs on the wifi and opening various files. Which has led me to wonder if there are not teachers and other students who have not been able to get past these difficulties - these problems could easily create barriers to using all sorts of technologies in the classroom.

Anyway, I have digressed a bit - the ultimate purpose of this post was to reflect on the technology use in the classroom (specifically as it relates to the flipped classroom) and how it affects students. And in the end, this week has led me to think that in order for more of us to teach students how to use the technology more of us need to be comfortable using it on our own (this part of the revelation also brought to you in part by the sentiments expressed by colleagues in their new school board blogs) and perhaps I can offer my services with some "drop in times" to ask questions about devices on the wifi and various apps and websites that I am familiar with.

Fellow teachers - would you take advantage of someone offering this idea? If not, why not (i.e. what is stopping you or what else do you need in order to want to)? If yes, what kinds of things would you want to come to ask about? (I would like to compile a list of ideas/suggestions for those that might not have their own initial idea).

Please comment or sent me a Tweet @TchngPassion

Saturday, June 15, 2013

Monitoring Back in the Classroom

I think that monitoring has taught me a lot this semester. Scratch that, I know it has. Joining the student success department involved a fairly steep learning curve. I have learned a lot about what a monitor does, how it can impact students, how the process of getting a student identified might go, how the ILC works...the list goes on. But I am ready to get back into the classroom.

On one hand, I learned a lot of valuable things that I can take back to my classroom as part of my overall perspective of student. On the other hand, I got into high school teaching because I loved teaching and still wanted to be intellectually stimulated. Funny that we don't generally associate emotion with intelligence (let me tell you, it was impossible not to at least feel emotionally attached to the stories I heard).

Here are some of the things that I think will be a lasting impression on me as a classroom teacher:

1. There is almost always more to the story behind a student's absences and/or lateness and/or late/missing assignments. It can range from school engagement to issues at home and beyond - but there is often something there and as a classroom teacher we have to remember this and be willing to investigate further (or at least seek out the resources that can do this and inform teachers).

2. It is possible to monitor a student and support them academically without removing them from their "less important classes" (I refused to pull a student some tech or gym - I do not see a benefit to making engagement more difficult).

3. I had the chance to be working and taking an AQ and diving into professional ideas that I want to bring to my classroom in September (a definite bonus).

4. We need to spend more time in high schools providing learning opportunities for learning skills, test-taking skills, etc if we want our students to become more successful. The sole resource of an academic monitoring teacher cannot do this alone!

5. Our failures are NOT personal. We cannot help everyone, no matter how much we would like to. We can keep them from falling through our cracks, but if the student and/or the guardian are not on board with the plan, it may fail. All we can do is keep trying. Keep supporting. Keep hoping.

I am really looking forward to being able to put my new perspective into the classroom and looking forward to trying new assessment and teaching styles. My most recent inspiration to work toward my flipped classroom comes from the "confession" from Eric Mazur, a Harvard Physics professor. It is an 80 minute video, but if you have an interest in this kind of idea it is worth watching. He started using this Peer Instruction style classroom in 1991!

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Student Support

This semester I have been put into a new role - I am on the student support team. I still consider myself a new teacher (been at this less than 5 years...but my how time flies) which comes with learning in itself, but I would have to say that I have learned more in the past two months than in any other two months in my career (such as it is). Having a role that is not classroom teaching has shed a new perspective on educating teenagers, I have found it more emotional (you have more contact with students with sad stories) and, at the same time, has the potential to be more rewarding.

As a transitions monitor (I track at-risk Grade 9s - and a few 10s) I have the opportunity to have some time to try to engage students in an individual way and create success plans. Some of them have emotional needs (usually due to family circumstances) which leads me to work closely with our counselors and social worker to try to engage them in school and take an interest in controlling their future while others have academic struggles that are rooted in poor work habits. As an ILC (Independent Learning Centre) teacher I work to find ways to help students complete credits in recovery and support students through independent courses. Both of these roles have shown given me a chance to see more of the Learning to 18 initiative first hand.

The most interesting part has been outside of this entirely. My admin has been giving me opportunities to get involved in some broader projects.
- Lead teacher for OSSLT support for non-identified students & moderated marking
- Working on planning process for Boys Night In
- Being asked to consult in planning meetings for our Early Release Day (technology PD)
- Attending various PD sessions (i.e. DI for ELL and Bullying and the Bystander)

I would like to write in more detail about some of my experiences, so if you are reading this and have any questions (about the above or the topics listed below) please comment and let me know. Here are some potential future entries:
1. Monitoring strategies (possibly to become useful as a classroom teacher?)
2. OSSLT prep
3. Technology PD (providing workshops/support for colleagues)

I look forward to writing about the technology piece in the near future. I still think it is ironic that I am seen as a technology "expert" in my school - at least my more technology adept friends think it is funny.

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

BYOD, Equity, and The Shrinking Computer Labs

I last blogged about the idea of the flipped classroom and what I was already doing to work my way toward the increasingly student-centred classroom that I have envisioned. Since then many weeks have gone by where I have continually thought that I needed to take the time to sit down and reflect on these ideas more and try to put into words what I envision our future classrooms looking like.

My school board has had huge announcements this school year with the intention to make all schools wireless (we are now in those first stages, working out those beginning kinks) and their ideas behind BYOD (bring your own device). There are mixed feelings on every level, especially on the equity piece.

It is true that many of our (high school) students nowadays come to school armed with a smart phone or iPod touch which have wifi capabilities and can contain many useful apps. We are armed with the ability for students to, at the very least, do simple research at the touch of a button - no computer lab necessary. But we are not armed with students who are going to want to type an assignment on their phone. We are not armed with students who are going to have devices capable of using the full abilities of a complex website that we might use to post assignments or edit work. So there is a ways to go.

Here we are at the brink of all of the new "21st century learning" and I have had the opportunity to use an iPad for the first time (I am involved in an action research project whose funding was used to purchase two iPad minis). Now I have actually been able to find and use some apps that I could see being useful (and have reason to do a bit of research and seek out people who can recommend things). But I have also run into the same equity piece - even if I were to find an app that could function in similar ways to something like turnitin.com (where students can self and peer evaluate and I can comment and evaluate) I would then have to make sure one exists for blackberry and android devices as well: or expect that my students can do this. I see this as quite the barrier. As our computers come off of warranty and have an issue they are no longer being replaced or fixed, so our computer labs are shrinking. What will I do in a year when I teach grade 9 science again and cannot take them to a lab to peer evaluate - a part of the process I have come to find valuable (but only if I get them to do it in class - at least the first time or two).

I am sure there are solutions to my concerns, but I don't have them. Hopefully somewhere down the road someone does.

P.S. There are some great, easy to use, apps on the iPad for the idea of a flipped classroom. Record lessons and post! Check out explain everything ($2.99) for enhanced functions (i.e. add photos and videos) or educreations for a free more simple experience.