As we race toward the a new school year, I am excited to begin my flipped classroom journey. Excited…and a little apprehensive.
Why apprehensive you ask? I’m worried that my students will be reluctant to jump on board the flipped classroom train! Whew…I said it. 😉
Since the flipped classroom concept is likely to be completely foreign to my students…as it is to many…I have this feeling that I will need to convince them that this is actually what we are doing, and that it is going to work!
How do should you sell the flipped classroom model to students who…
- have almost completed their required education prescribed by law?
- have been taught using essentially the same type of strategy since they were in elementary school?
- have figured out how to “play school,” performing how they have been taught to earn their ‘A’?
An excellent question! I suspect I would be a millionaire if I had one, perfect, fool-proof response.
But, I don’t and no one else does, either. We’re dealing with students…young, inquisitive, largely unpredictable human beings…not robots.Â
Below, I’ve outlined my plan for selling the flipped model to my students.Â
COMMUNICATE the flipped model and classroom plan with parents AND students.Â
- During Open House, I plan to explain as much as I can about the flipped classroom model in the time I have…which is 8 minutes per class period. I’ll explain to parents and students what the flipped classroom is (in a nutshell), explain what type of homework they can expect, describe activities and assignments they will complete in class, and clearly communicate the consequences of simply not doing the homework.
MODEL how to watch an academic video.
- Many students have never heard of the flipped classroom model. When we introduce any new concept in our classrooms, we don’t just expect students to read our minds and jump right in. Students will need to actually see how the process works and practice. I’ll start by using a video…most likely a video I made for my students last year…and showing the students how to use a tool like Videonot.es to take notes on the video.
- As we view and discuss the video, hopefully students will notice that they can pause and rewind videos if they need to. If students grasp concepts quickly, they don’t have to sit no-so-patiently for slower students to scribble down the information, or ask questions about concepts they already know well.
How do you sell the flipped model to your students?
If you’re interested in viewing my Prezi for open house, please click here.
Thanks for reading 🙂
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