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What's it like to be a flipping history teacher?

7/7/2017

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        I read the original Bergmann and Sams book in June 2013.  Unlike me, they were chemistry teachers trying to prepare high-schoolers for an AP exam or a state test. But just like me, they struggled with student-attendance problems and widely heterogeneous classes -- external & internal circumstances that caused gaps of understanding.  They also wanted students to learn by doing from laboratory experiments.  If you don't know certain essential skills, concepts, and details then the materials can actually blow up in your face.
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[actual classroom footage]


        In a social studies class, the equivalents of a science lab would be primary-source analysis, independent research tasks, or interactive simulations. Failure is not as dramatic or as expensive as a destructive lab explosion ... but they can still blow up in your face with incorrect preparation.  Students can jump to inaccurate conclusions about Alexander Hamilton without the proper context for his words; I've had a student spend a full week researching the wrong Treaty of Paris; a role-play activity can go off the rails or sputter out quickly unless everyone knows what they're talking about.
        Constructivist student-centered activities can be as dangerous in a history classroom as they would be in a science lab: "Here, kids, mix some chemicals together and just see what happens!" = "Here, kids, browse some websites and just figure out what they mean!" My content partner and I strongly believe that our students need some essential knowledge and skill competency before we 'set them loose' in a history lab. Flipping the direct instruction of key terms, events, individuals, steps of a skill, etc. helps to avoid major confusions, misinterpretations, and awkward blow-ups in our classroom.
       Here is an example of what we do:
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You can see a generic example of our workflow elsewhere in my blog. 

          I'm not claiming this method is perfect for everybody, but it works really flipping well for us. (source
: year-end student survey results) Most importantly: 720 days without an accident
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    Who is this flipping guy?!

       Andrew Swan has survived 20 full years of teaching middle school (currently grade 8 US Civics/Government in a Boston suburb). Previously he taught 6th, 7th, and 8th grade English, US History, geography, and ancient history in Massachusetts and Maine. 
      For the past 7 years, Andrew has flipped nearly all his direct instruction to give more class time for simulations, deep discussions, analyzing primary sources, etc. ... and also to promote mastery for students at all levels.
      His wonderful wife and his 2 high school-age children indulge Andrew's blogging, tweeting, & other behaviors. These include co-moderating the #sschat Twitter sessions and Facebook page. 
      ​Andrew does not always refer to himself in the third-person. 

    Twitter @flipping_A_tchr
    Instagram @swanversations

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