I swapped to In-Class Flip Method with all three classes that I am flipping! Well, many factors affected this decision; having to move from one room to another (leading to unstable lesson structure), lack of devices (no back-up plan for those who could not work on the videos), being unable to prepare suitable number of student-centred, high-order activities (lessons were about to turn back to traditional).
It was a tough decision to flip all my classes at once. I am teaching maths to four classes, all of which requires preparation: Year 8s, Year 9s, Year 10s and Year 11s. In the first week, I decided to keep Year 11s traditional until I set the structure with others. My plan is to start flipping them after the half-term break, hence by November 2018. We had a blended learning experience with my Year 11s last year, hence they know how to work videos.
The other classes of mine are new to Flipped Learning. Regardless of how much information I shared with them about the lesson structure and their responsibilities, how many alternatives I have tried to create a proper means of communication (from group emails to group walls in Padlet), it did not properly start working smoothly. There was always a problem and students who could not work on the video the previous night is one of the few that I was prepared for.
Hence, starting this week, I decided to switch to In-Class Flip Model, as I once did when I was teaching in Abu Dhabi. My Year 8s, 9s will be in the IT Suite for 3 lessons out of 4 and my Year 10s for 2 lessons out of 3. I spared one lesson mostly for student-centred activities, sometimes for mid-term exams and/or introduction/revision sessions. This way, students will also have something different to do other than the videos. What’s more, they will have the opportunity to implement what they have learned from the videos on activities.
I should admit that it is a relief: classroom management issues dropped significantly, I was available to students more and everyone, yes, every single one of my students were engaged in the content.
My next goal is to create as many videos as possible during the half-term break so that I can plan my lessons in advance, and to properly flip my Year 11s, as there is so much to discuss and work on in the class to deepen our understanding of maths in Further IGCSE Maths content. Besides, my Year 11s are one of the best groups to flip the lesson; they are smart, well-organised, resilient and ambitious to learn maths.
Cannot wait for the half-term break! 18 days to go.
MisterB's Corner 