Cool Cat Teacher Blog
"How to Make a Flipped Classroom Better"
by Vicki Davis
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What do you think about a flipped classroom? As for me, I am not quite sure what to think of them yet. I haven’t had any experience with a flipped classroom, and therefore haven’t given it much thought. That is one reason I decided to read Vicki Davis’s article, “How to Make a Flipped Classroom Better.” I came across this post on “Cool Cat Teacher Blog.”
This article consisted of a podcast called "Getting Past the Barriers to Flipping Your Classroom," which was a discussion between Vicki Davis and Jon Bergmann. Jon Bergmann is the co-founder of the “Flipped Learning Network.” He is also the co-author of the book “Flipped Classroom.” It was interesting to hear their points of view about flipped classrooms. Jon made the comment that a few problems he sees with some “flipped” classrooms are that teachers are only flipping classrooms part way, teachers are flipping classrooms without proper training, and that teachers are not using the best tools that they could be. Vicki and Jon said they have both seen positive results from flipping their classrooms. They have both noticed that there are less students struggling in their classes since flipping them. Vicki said having a flipped classroom is like the teacher multiplying themself by the number of students in their class because students can watch the videos at their own pace. It not only allows the students to listen and work at their own pace, but it allows her as the teacher to help the students more in the classroom. Jon also stated that studies show that flipped classrooms can work at every grade level and every socioeconomic group. Some tips Jon gave when it comes to classroom flipping are that the best tools for a school will depend on the schools IT set-up and that schools should be using simple tools. Also, teachers should be making their own videos because students like to hear their teacher’s voice. Vicki said she likes to use the video tool My Simpleshow. Although Jon likes flipped classrooms, he mentioned that there are four hurdles to cross when flipping a classroom: 1. You must convince the teachers; you need the teachers to buy into the system. 2. Teachers must have good training. Teachers need to know how to fully and successfully flip a classroom in order for it to work and to be an effective strategy. 3. Flipping takes time. It takes time to create videos and to plan a flipped schedule. 4. Teachers must learn how to use simple technology tools. Last, Jon mentioned that in order to have an effective flipped classroom and school, various factors must be considered:
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