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I did my homework!

2/13/2017

 
This is what I used to do, and I really believed it was the best system possible:
            Step 1:  Students receive reading (from textbook, paper handout, or other printed source).
            Step 2: Students read the material to learn (usually as homework, but I even tried 1 full year of in-class reading and note-taking).
            Step 3: Students take assessment to show their understanding, presuming they actually tried to read it.
            Step 4: Class reviews each question one at a time, whether you got it right or not. How else will they know the right answer? When else can I perform historical stories in front of an audience? What else is supposed to make history/literature interesting?
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Because this is what teachers have to do, right??!
        I had faith that it would make students learn responsibility, that they would absorb remedies to their mistakes and never make them again, that they would want to do their homework because of peer pressure and/or their positive feelings for me and/or just good habits. I knew about the concept of formative assessments, but who can really make time for that? I put loads of thought and time into selecting every assignment and activity, and I worked extra hard to differentiate for students of various abilities -- at one point that meant 3 different readings on the same topic carefully selected for each individual student.   I was not a lazy teacher, and many students were successful in my class. However, I was not yet a successful teacher.
​         
          Flipping the direct instruction gave me the time for formative assessments....
          Flipping got me off the stage (almost completely) and into more 1:1 conversations....
          Flipping forced me to re-visit my objectives, and boil most of them down to more manageable items....
          Flipping also gave me space to expand some objectives into more global ideas and relevant topics....
          Flipping made me see what my students know and what they do not know (yet)....

       It takes several weeks for all students to realize Mr. Swan's quizzes are not final. They have about 1 per week, based on the video lesson.  Everybody already knows the questions, because they were right next to the video: This is what I want you to know.  Most history quizzes seem to be a trivia contest or guessing game.  If they get even just one question wrong they do not pass this quiz.  That's what makes me a monster among some colleagues.  But it's not a permanent 50% score.  Revisit that topic. Meet me for help if you have to, but I already cloned myself in video form so check that first!  Come back, re-attempt the question(s) that you missed, and your score is at least a B.  I'm still working on the details here. My wife thinks the revised grade should be 100% if they now know 100% of the information. Recently I agree with her .... do you?

Snow days are a flipping problem

2/11/2017

 
      Many people think that flipped classes thrive on school cancellations. "All your stuff is online, so that must be great, right?" Well, actually no. Snow days still impact learning, and I could argue it's worse for flippers ... unless you plan just right.
         First, let me describe the trials and travails of snow day drama....


       It begins with a weather report. You hear about it from a friend, or a blurb on the radio, or maybe "Winter Storm Watch" pops up on your phone as you're walking out the building one Tuesday afternoon. If it's just 2 or 3 inches of snow then you know they won't cancel (unless you live somewhere like Tennessee or Georgia where an inch of snow paralyzes the community). But if it's around 6 inches in the forecast then you've got a good chance.  Timing also matters a lot: a snowstorm that starts around 1 or 2 pm will not cancel school if it's over by midnight. 
          So we live through 1 or 2 days of confusion and rumors-- "I heard we might get 12 inches!"  "Channel 7 said that it might go out to sea and we'll get almost nothing"  "We might be on the rain-snow line for this storm..." -- and the uncertainty impacts your lesson planning. You do the best you can in the couple of days before The Storm, but these questions plague you:
  • Should I change that assignment due date?
  • Maybe we shouldn't do that activity today, in case we can't debrief it tomorrow.
  • Would this classwork be okay as a homework item instead?
  • Do I have enough ibuprofen at home to survive all that shoveling??
          
      The phone call comes from the superintendent's office. Some simply announce the cancellation (or occasionally a 2-hour delayed start) and others explain their reasoning.  When the storm is huge (10+ inches on the way), we get the call as early as 4PM; usually they wait until the 5-6 AM hour on the morning of.  
asdf  Many hours of the snow day itself are enjoyable, but that's not what this post is about.

      The main purpose of flipped learning is to activate and invigorate the shared learning space: class time.   When you lose that time, then you lose (or postpone) that learning.  The video lessons do not replace me and they cannot replicate the classroom experiences where deeper learning takes place.  If I am clever enough and the stars align, then I can schedule a video homework assignment during the snow day ... but I cannot fully assess and apply their understanding until we're all back at school.
      For example, my students are currently working on improving a specific discussion skill during our "Creating the Constitution" unit. A few days ago they learned* from a 9-minute homemade video about the purpose, issues, conditions of the Philadelphia Convention.  I prepared 2 primary-source readings that I would scaffold and support with students last week, and they would be the basis for deep class discussion about the Executive Branch and the Federalists vs Anti-Federalists ratification debate -- plus connections with current events.  You cannot replicate that practice in the online world. (Discussion boards are a completely different animal than face-to-face conversation, so don't even try....)
       In past winters, other snow days have impacted a project-based learning activity, a classroom simulation, or another shared learning space experience that cannot be 'flipped' into homework.  I blogged about my struggles in the epic winter of 2015 in real time.  

       The inescapable lesson is that flipped learning does not replace the teacher, and video lessons will never replace the teacher. As a corollary, we see that flipping adds value to class time and adds anxiety to the teacher who loses this time.


​* Claim supported by quiz results below. In addition to the 39 "A" grades, 27 students scored a "B", which reflects proficient understanding (accurate but light on some factual recall).  Seven students haven't taken it yet because of illness/absence, and another seven students scored a 60 or lower, which means they need teacher intervention...another casualty of the snow days.
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    Who is this flipping guy?!

       Andrew Swan is in year 20  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 6 years, Andrew has flipped nearly all his direct instruction so we have 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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